Anyone headed to the island the second week of May?

[BackCountry11]

I'm in the process of planning out a trip to the island and plan on starting at Windigo on May 12th and then from there make my way towards Rock Harbor to catch the Queen heading back to Copper Harbor on the 18th. I was just curious to see if anyone else has trips planned during that time?

[drobarge]

I'll be in Rock Hbr on the 14th and will depart RH around 21st maybe a few days later. I don't have any plans made as far as where I'm going though. I'll figure it out each day when I put my pack on.

Lane Cove (never been), Todd/Little Todd, Moskey ( for a night of loonyness) and Chippewa are stops I enjoy though.

[LeftOvers]

... starting at Windigo on May 12th and then ... Rock Harbor to catch the Queen heading back to Copper Harbor on the 18th.

Are you going out from Grand Portage? How do you plan on getting from Copper Harbor to GP? It's a long walk.

[Rafiki]

Ya, I was curious about that too, but I thought to myself, well whatever the man has a plan and I'm not going to be going there the second week of May so I'll just leave well enough alone. But of course, Leftovers you just had to solve the mystery ha ha ha and now I want to know too. Actually after a little detective work, I think I have made a conclusion as to why he wants to do this based off of his other post.

He wants to travel the island from one end to the other or experience two different ferry rides. The only way to do this, or so he thinks, is to travel to the Grand Portage Sea Hunter/Voyageur location and come back on the Isle Queen IV to Copper Harbor. Little does he realize (or maybe he does, but I don't think so, and this is where I am excited that I can be a huge help...maybe) that he could take the Isle Queen IV from Cooper Harbor or the Ranger III from Houghton and then hop on the Voyageur at Rock Harbor once it makes its stop there which would take him over to Windigo, unless he wanted to get off at one of the many stops along the way: Daisy Farm (I would just walk it), Chippewa Harbor, or Malone Bay. This plan would allow him to tour the island from one end to the other if this was a goal of his and it would allow him to take two different ferrys if that is something else he was aiming to do.

I'm not done yet BackCountry11 in your other post you were concerned about how you would get from Duluth to Grand Portage because you had a bus that would take you to Duluth. Well, I don't know what the Greyhound system is like by Marquette, but I do know that there is a Greyhound bus that goes from Chicago to Houghton, at least that is what I was told by a solo hiker that was hiking at Isle Royale in October last year. He said this was the only way he was able to make his trip because he didn't have a car and he didn't have friends that wanted to go. He told me that the bus dropped him a block away from the Ranger III dock and he stayed at a nearby hotel only to leave for the island on the following day. So the point I am trying to get at is maybe there is a bus that goes from Marquette to Houghton. If there is one, rather than dinking around with Duluth, why not just aim to take the Ranger III if you can get door to door service by using Grey Hound. Ill try to do a little research for you if I have time, but look into it yourself if this is an idea that might work better for you.

[Rafiki]

Ya, I was curious about that too, but I thought to myself, well whatever the man has a plan and I'm not going to be going there the second week of May so I'll just leave well enough alone. But of course, Leftovers you just had to solve the mystery ha ha ha and now I want to know too. Actually after a little detective work, I think I have made a conclusion as to why he wants to do this based off of his other post.

He wants to travel the island from one end to the other or experience two different ferry rides. The only way to do this, or so he thinks, is to travel to the Grand Portage Sea Hunter/Voyageur location and come back on the Isle Queen IV to Copper Harbor. Little does he realize (or maybe he does, but I don't think so, and this is where I am excited that I can be a huge help...maybe) that he could take the Isle Queen IV from Cooper Harbor or the Ranger III from Houghton and then hop on the Voyageur at Rock Harbor once it makes its stop there which would take him over to Windigo, unless he wanted to get off at one of the many stops along the way: Daisy Farm (I would just walk it), Chippewa Harbor, or Malone Bay. This plan would allow him to tour the island from one end to the other if this was a goal of his and it would allow him to take two different ferrys if that is something else he was aiming to do.

I'm not done yet BackCountry11 in your other post you were concerned about how you would get from Duluth to Grand Portage because you had a bus that would take you to Duluth. Well, I don't know what the Greyhound system is like by Marquette, but I do know that there is a Greyhound bus that goes from Chicago to Houghton, at least that is what I was told by a solo hiker that was hiking at Isle Royale in October last year. He said this was the only way he was able to make his trip because he didn't have a car and he didn't have friends that wanted to go. He told me that the bus dropped him a block away from the Ranger III dock and he stayed at a nearby hotel only to leave for the island on the following day. So the point I am trying to get at is maybe there is a bus that goes from Marquette to Houghton. If there is one, rather than dinking around with Duluth, why not just aim to take the Ranger III if you can get door to door service by using Grey Hound. Ill try to do a little research for you if I have time, but look into it yourself if this is an idea that might work better for you.

[BackCountry11]

Haha heres my reasoning and my plan..... Ok so I have a short window before I start an internship back here in Marquette that begins on May 21st and I get done with school on the 4th. So my plan here is because of this short window and lack of a vehicle... I'm taking the Indian Trails/Greyhound bus to Duluth on the 11th and then getting to Grand Portage somehow lol (still working on the logistics) to catch the Voyager departing at 730 a.m. on the 12th heading to Windigo. From there my plan is to take the next 7 days to hike to Rock Harbor. Now I'm hoping what I have in mind will work but anyway... I'd like to catch the Queen on the return trip to Copper Harbor on the afternoon of the 18th (it's second round trip of the season). And right now I'm still figuring out how to get from Copper Harbor to Marquette. I figure maybe stop in the bar and see if maybe I couldn't hitch a ride back to Houghton with someone and then figure out of to get from Houghton to Marquette. I'm not really sure yet haha. But for how much it is to go by ferry I would like to go for at least a week but can't wait for the Queen's first trip because I wont be back in time to start my internship...... I just really want to go back after doing an 8 day canoe trip around the north end last September. Just looking for some peace and quiet for a bit after a very long school year ya know? Any help with the transportation logistics would be awesome in anyone has any ideas. Thanks!!


And for Rafiki, I saw earlier last week your post on back country camping around the Lookout Louis area. My roommate and I canoed around the north end last September as I had mentioned, we stayed at Duncan Bay campsite on our second night and him and I actually bushwacked up to the Greenstone for something to do. It is really marshy on the back end of the bay and also very steep and thick on the north side of the Greenstone but its doable for the right person haha. Same goes for the Greenstone down to Duncan Bay Narrows. If your looking to get out to Merrit Lane tho a canoe or Kayak would be your best bet. I did some exploring around the Merrit
Lane campsite on our first day at the island and it was almost impenetrable unless you come across a moose trail haha.

[LeftOvers]

(April fools! - no, for real)
You can actually get a cab from Copper Harbor to Houghton at a not too unreasonable price (good luck making the phone call, though).

Don't know much about going by way of Grand Portage, but have read some threads here about a shuttle service from Duluth to GP.

Houghton to Marquette? Doesn't the Indian Trails bus (an Amtrack connector) get to Houghton by way of Marquette and return the same way?

[Oops - my bad:] As to your time frame and not wanting to wait for the Queens' first voyage, the Ranger out of Houghton is taking a limited number of passengers pre-season, check their website. [Post season only this year]

Good luck and post a trip report when you get back (maybe add how you ultimately worked out the logistics).

[Rafiki]

Thanks for the heads up on your backcountry experiences. I will keep what you said in mind for my future adventures in 2013. Out of curiousity, are you coming from Marquette, WI or Marquette, MI? I might have an idea for you. Let me know. Thanks.

[BackCountry11]

Ill be leaving out of Marquette, MI on the 11th as of right now I think lol.

[Rafiki]

The idea revolved around you living in Wisconsin and being able to get off a little earlier from school by a couple of days. Nevermind nix that idea lol I am going past Marquette, WI at the begining of May, I was going to offer you a ride. Sorry I cannot be of assistance