Backcountry Hiking...Thoughts and Advice Please.

[Rafiki]

You guys getting excited? Less than two months before regular ferry service kicks into gear for the 2012 season. I can't wait! I plan to complete the whole island with regards to all of the foot trails and sites that do not require a kayak or canoe this year during my fourth (July) and fifth trips (October) to the island. I remember when I first learned of Isle Royale a decade ago. This was when I thought carrying an 80LB pack made me look like the macho man of the the group who had all the luxuries of my home life jammed in the depths of my Kelty 6650 cubic inch bag. Ah it feels good to have grown up and gotten wiser But as I have said, this will be the year that I can offically declare what foot accessible camp sites and routes are my favorite after having explored them all.

As I begin planning my itineraries, I have realized, one part of the island is a real pain in the butt to access, or at least it could be for many visitors. The part that I speak of is Lookout Louise. It is the last easternly strech of the greenstone trail. It is the part of the island whose closest access points are either from the three mile camp site or the lane cove camp site. This is where you will have to stay in order to get to this point of the island. If it were me, I would suggest accessing it from the Three Mile site because it will take you 6.9 miles to get to Lookout Louise or 7.8 miles to get to the dock on the northside of tobin harbor right next to hidden lake just opposite of Lookout Louise. Lane Cove on the other hand would be 7.4 miles to Lookout Louise and 8.6 miles to get to the dock. Not only is Lane Cove farther, but I think the accent from the campgrounds is a little bit more rougher than three mile when it comes to making it to the greenstone. Oh, and keep in mind, the miles listed above are for one way trips only and since there are not any campsites to crash at along the way, you will have to make a round trip. Thus leaving you with a 14-17 mile day hike. CRAZY RIGHT?!? Not for me personally, but I know there are a lot of people that do not enjoy hiking more than 10 miles a day and some that simply cannot physically handle hiking more than 10 miles a day. I know my girlfriend has hiked 21 miles in a single day before, but the enjoyment for her starts to fade after about 12 miles of hiking and I believe many people fall in a similar type of realm. Its not that they physically can't handle it, it's just that they flat out mentally do not want to do that much hiking.

WHAT AM I GETTING AT?!? Well frankly, I do not know if enough people have the opportunity to enjoy this part of the island (unless, and someone please inform me if you know, you take the Sea Plane which would or does in fact drop you off at the dock on the north side of tobin harbor which leads to the begining of Greenstone trail). So what is my BIG IDEA? Well needless to say I am going to do the round trip hike from three mile at some point this season even if it will be 15.8 miles when you include lookout louise and the north tobin harbor dock. However, in 2013, I want to do some backcountry hiking and I want to see if I can access Ducan Bay from the Greenstone and Ducan Bay Narrows from Lookout Louise. According to the backcountry map, this is a legal area to go off trail on throughout the entire year that the island is open. Whether or not it is actually possible to access either of these two sites from the Greenstone Ridge or Lookout Louise based on the elevation points of where I would break off from the trail is beyond me. However, if it were possible, this would eliminate having to do such a long round trip to get to Lookout Louise in a single day. If there is anyone that has tried or has done what I aim to do, please let me know how you fared with your endeavors. I think where there is a will there is a way, but if say for instance, it is extremely marshy entering ducan bay from the backside, I'm not sure if it would be worth traveling through knee deep muck. If that were the case, it might turn out that doing such off trail exhibitions are only worthy in Fall when things have had the opportunity to dry up. Regardless, whatever the case maybe, I know that it will be best to take another individual or two with me just to be safe when exploring the unknown and uncharted. So do not think I will be not be cautious enough to do this on my own

In the future, if I enjoy such adventures, I may make it a goal to see if I can backcountry all the way over to Merrit Lane campgroups via the east part of the greenstone, from North Desor to South Desor (or vice versa) going around the west side of the lake, and accessing Lake Richie Canoe and Intermediate Lake campgrounds from the Lake Richie Trail in September when it is legal to do so. Any thoughts or advice on all matters would be greatly appreciated. If this is ever something you thought about doing and would be interested in tackling together definitely don't be shy and make yourself known, because I know my girlfriend will be sitting out on this adventure Can't wait to hear what type of comments people will send my way. Thanks.

[Ingo]

re Lookout Louise: There are 2 other options for Lookout Louise. First is to take a water taxi to the Hidden Lake dock from Rock Harbor--that is by reservation only. The other is to take the tour boat (the MV Sandy) on a Tues or Thurs morning--presumably you'd come in the day before and spend the night at Rock Harbor. Looking at '11 rates, the MV Sandy is cheaper for 1 person, the water taxi less for 2+ and more flexible. Doesn't work for Oct though, since the lodge is closed. The seaplane is not an option for landing at the Hidden Lake dock--it has very restricted landing/takeoff zones.

re Bushwacking: The Greenstone ridge in that area is pretty much a cliff on the north side. I really can't imagine climbing up or down off-trail and if it is possible would be exceptionally dangerous. You will gain appreciation when you hike it this summer. I would plan to hike down the portage trail where it crosses the Greenstone to scout it out, remembering that that's the easiest place to get up/down even without the trail. In general it seems that bushwacking on I.R. is a pretty miserable experience for most from reports I've read.

[srparr]

No comment on the bushwacking, other than I'm eager to hear how it goes!

When we did the east Greenstone, we split our group of five into 2 parties. One group took a canoe across to Hidden Lake and hiked back to Rock Harbor. The other group left Rock Harbor and hiked out to Lookout Louse/Hidden Lake and paddled back to Rock Harbor. It worked pretty well!

[Rafiki]

Hey Ingo and Srparr

Ingo: Thanks for the ideas. I didn't think the seaplane could drop people off at the north tobin harbor dock, but I'm glad you were able to confirm matters. I heard of the MV Sandy boat tours and the water taxi, but I did not know that they would be viable options that I could use to get to Lookout Louise. Totally learned something new, it really made by day. You are correct it looks likes the Water Taxi would be slighty cheaper compared to the Boat Tour if both my girlfriend and I are going. However, since it does not appear to be a serious difference in price, do you think the tour and knowledge that would come with the MV Sandy ride would be worth it or is the information something that would be more benefical for a newcomer to the island. I have decided that I will take advantage of one of these options to make my first trip along this part of the greenstone simplier to access, but afterwards I still want to do some bushwhacking to see if I can get over to either of the Duncan sites. If I could only access one, ideally I'd like to be able to reach Duncan Narrows. Being able to make it to both of them would be my intial goal of course. I think your idea about taking advantage of the portage trail would be an excellent idea. It would at least get me down the bottom of the ridge instead of me trying to find my own way only to travel a half a mile in to find out Im stuck.

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Srparr: Thanks for expressing your eagnerness to see how it goes. I hope there will be many people that take interest in what I am doing. It will be what will push me to continue onwards on days where I feel stuck or unable to reach certain points. I also thought you way of tackling Lookout Louise was very creativity. Unfortunately, I do not have a large group like you to go with where I could pull this off. Nevertheless, I thought it was absolutely fantastic that you devised such a plan. It also made me realize to what extents people have to go through to see this part of the island and it makes me that much more enthusiastic to discover a way to make it to one of the Duncan sites.

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After looking at the map further today, I realized that if my intial backcountry experiences go well regarding the places Id like to bushwack to, I thought of a couple of other places Id like to make it to. However, Im not going to get ahead of myself. For now I'm going to keep things simple and try to achieve making it to the three places I mentioned. Just the same if anyone has any other places they would like to see if I I can navigate to by way of bushwacking let me know. And if anyone as any more thoughts or advice on what I am planning to attempt to do, please don't hesitate to fill me in. Finally, if there are any brave souls out there that would like to work together with me on this mission by all means let me know. I just do think it would be safe for me to do this on my own. If I fall or some serious happens to me, I'd like to know that there is someone that is with me to get help and likewise that I could do the same for the other person. Thanks for the two comments I received so far.

[IncaRoads]

I would like to suggest you try backcountry camping first rather than attempt to access campsites that are primarily reached by water. Not that you couldn't, but after a tough backcountry hike there is nothing better than the privacy of a backcountry site. If you really want to check those water sites off your bucket list, try doing Isle Royale with a canoe/kayak sometime. It is a whole different experience.

For examples on backcountry hiking and camping, check out my last two trip reports. In 2011 I backcountry camped on Angleworm Lake and in 2010 I did a backcountry shortcut from Ishpeming Point to Little Todd Harbor. This spring I am planning on 1-2 backcountry camps and 1 backcountry dayhike (Siskiwit Bay to Lake Halloran for some fishing). I spend a lot of time perusing the topo maps and satellite imagery to make sure these excursions are both doable and safe (I use the Acme Mapper, http://mapper.acme.com). And I am not afraid to modify or abort my travel plans if the terrain does not pan out as planned. Sturdy, durable clothing to resist the brush and some type of eye protection is a must. Approximately 0.5 miles per hour is a typical pace for me. Actual mileages are more than the straight line distances on the map as one is constantly adjusting/backtracking to avoid obstacles.

FYI. The date restrictions for backcountry zones are for overnight camping only. You can bushwack anywhere at anytime but are advised to stay away from loon nests on the shore.

[Rafiki]

Hey Inca. Something you said really got me:

...but after a tough backcountry hike there is nothing better than the privacy of a backcountry site.

I truly believe you would be correct. I never thought of the seclusion and privacy one can experience by backcountring there way into an undesignated section of the island. I will definitely be dwelling on this as I decide which I want to do first. I plan to do both, but now you really got me excited to branch out into the unchartered and be on an escape within an escape ha ha ha.

Besides the acme site you mentioned, do you have any other specific sites you suggest I research ahead of time? I have the National Geographic map, does this particular map do a good job at indicating where all of the secret unnamed bodies of water are located or are there other materials you would suggest me to reviews. Thanks in advance for any information you can provide. I'm going to to read some of your past trip reports in the meantime

[ericcharette]

As an ultrarunner I am looking to set the fastest known time on the Greenstone Ridge Trail. From my research, it looks like the fastest known time (FKT) from Windigo to Lookout Louise is 10 hours 17 minutes (but this is sketchy, with no official details behind the record, so its validity is in question). Having just run rim to rim to rim in the Grand Canyon for fun in 11 hours (41 miles) I think that I can run the GRT in well under 10 hours.

I am looking at running from Windigo and ending up at Lookout Louise. I post a reply here because of the notes about travel from Hidden lake dock back to Rock Harbor. Not knowing my exact time of arrival at Hidden Lake Dock (which makes water taxi service tough, but I could pad my times and have them arrive later than my plan). Hiking the 5 miles back around to Rock Harbor is not preferred, plus in order for this to be a true FKT, it has to be the official trail length from Windigo to LL.

I have a crew coming with me. Is it possible to rent a canoe/kayak from Rock Harbor and then portage it across into Tobin Harbor and paddle across to pick me up? The maps show a trail across the Rock Harbor peninsula but it doesn't list it as a portage.

Or is arranging a water taxi my best option?

I really am trying to find someone who is experienced with the trails, island and transportation to talk through this plan with, so if you know of someone to forward this onto, I would appreciate it!

Thanks, Eric