In 2003, I set out to hike the last of the trails on ISRO that I'd not hiked. All I needed to do is hike the Greenstone from Mt. Franklin to Hidden Lake and the Greenstone from East Chickenbone to Ishpeming Tower. I managed to do the Hidden Lake hike, but messed up the knee about two miles from East Chickenbone. In 2006, I thought I'd give it another try, only to have the same knee go out again on the McCargo Cove, East Chickenbone, West Chickenbone loop. Foiled again. Last year, Kat and I paddled and day hiked the east end of the Island and the knee felt pretty good.
In the meantime, Kat bought a backpack while she was in college in California. She was hooked on backpacking. She wanted to go backpacking with me, but her time was limited this summer and we had to find something nearby. Nothing was working. We had about an eight day window and I said, "How about doing Isle Royale?" Well, the timing was right, Capt. Don had room on the VII, and JohnH would have left the island before we arrived. We set off across the Trans-Canada Highway from the Upper Peninsula on June 5th.
We stayed at the Naniboujou Lodge in Grand Portage--everyone ought to try this place. No phones, TVs, internet access, or radios. Since I'd only had about a week to put this trip together (I usually spend six months in the basement planning), and this would be the first time in six years I'd put on a pack, weight was of a primary concern. So, we spent Friday afternoon going through all our stuff and deleting what we thought we really did not need. We eliminated a lot of the food and, for the first time ever, we actually ate everything we took! We didn't weigh the packs, but I estimated they weighed about 30 and 40 pounds respectively.
Saturday morning, we were greeted by sunny and moderate temperatures (not like the first boat snow storm!).
The boat ride out was smooth and, after the obligatory orientation with Ranger Val, we were off to McCargo Cove. Our plan was to hike to West Chickenbone the first day to see if the knee would act up. Hydraded and full of Motrin, we were off.
Within about 30 minutes, we saw our first moose feeding on the bottom of West Chickenbone. We made camp in Site 6. I felt pretty good and Kat was loving it. We saw another moose and watched a bald eagle soaring over the lake.
On Sunday morning, we made the ascent up to the Greenstone for the first leg of unhiked trail. I have to admit that I was a little nervous and much slower than I remembered I used to be. But, I did not want to re-injure the knee and Kat, bless her heart, was understanding. As we hiked the Greenstone, enjoying the beautiful vistas, cool temperatures, and strong wind, I felt pretty good. The hike to Hatchet Junction took about 5 1/2 hours--less than 2 mph, but we made it in good shape. However, the steep descent into Hatchet Lake would pose a problem for me. It is the steepest descent the I can recall on the Island (correct me if I'm wrong). So, for the next 16 hours the ascent was in the back of my head. Was I going to be able to make the climb?
Continued in Part II
165 Miles in 33 Years Part I
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Re: 165 Miles in 33 Years Part I
I don't think enough people are appreciating this hilarious bit right here, Nick. I laughed for quite a bit.Nick wrote:and JohnH would have left the island before we arrived.
Good trip report. I'm glad you got out finally after being thwarted so many times, and congrats on 165 miles of trail!