Why so many return trips?

[manumuskin]

I have not yet been to the Island. I have been to UP Michigan three times and northern Minnesota once but have not made the crossing yet. I have never seen more beautiful woods then in the UP and I assume the woods on Isle Royale are similar. I was at Horseshoe harbor on the Keeweenaw peninsula and am told it is simmilar to the Island. I have read that Isle Royale gets more return visits then any other National Park.I am interested in why? I love islands and have camped on an island in the Okefenokee Swamp and many islands in swamps here in my native Pine Barrens of South Jersey. I must admit though I have been on islands in lakes before but never on an island in a lake on an island in a lake:-)So why is it? Why do you folks who return time after time do it? Is it just the beauty of the woods that have kept me returning to the UP? Camped south of Seney NWR once and heard wolves howling,maybe thats it? Seen many bears but never a Moose yet. Another reason I want to get out there. saw tracks and poop along Lake Michigan down by Birch point but never an actual Moose.There were tons of some kind of lake week washed up along shore and they seemed to be feeding on it.
Al

[Tightlines01]

Why return trips for me.....

I've made 4 trips to the island. With my young kids I only go once a year (but I'd love to go twice). I never found somewhere with the combination of beauty, remoteness and unimproved areas. The fact that its so undeveloped is special. I love it and will be back every year (already planning next years trip)

[manumuskin]

Tightlines
That was short but so to the point.I like the large trailless areas I see on the topo. The many lakes and open ridges with no trails to them or down them.They seem to be very easy going on the fishing regs and very flexible on allowing for changes in route and allowing backcountry travel. So many parks want to control every last detail of your trip. I understand the park rangers wanting a good idea of where your at in case of emergency but I appreciate the recognition of the need of some to get entirely off the grid including official trails and campsites. Here in NJ the policy is to cram all campers into sites right next to each other so you can enjoy each others loud music at night and other peoples kids running through your campsite. I know many many sites in the barrens that no one hardly ever sees except a few hunters. All are highly illegal camping of course but you do what you gotta do in order to avoid the latest Rap album at 1 AM. Cross country is the only way to get away from the crowds around here.
I do plan on getting to know the island through the trails and by water before I strike off through the bush.The Barrens tend to be quite thick except where recent fire has thinned the woods out and some cedar swamps are surprisingly open.How are the woods on Royale? The aerials that cover the island aren't as good as the ones that cover the Barrens,(we have Birds eye coverage) but the woods do look fairly thick except on ridge lines.I found a lot of open woods in the UP so I am assuming there are some differences on the island.

[zims]

Why so many times back...
I have been to the island 7 times. I will continue to get there with every chance I get and I try to bring someone new to experience what it is all about. The island will talk to you.
It pulls you into its remoteness and beauty. We have spent trips staying in one spot instead of hiking, spending days watching mother cows and their twins right in front of a washington creek shelter. We have spent hours watching bull moose at grace creek and sat at lakes on the interior just taking in the serenity....enough said my friend. Love the journey in life, we get one ticket to ride.

[manumuskin]

Thanks Zims. Still working on my first trip here.It's a twenty hour drive to mackinack bridge for me and then probably another six hours to Copper harbor whcih is as close as I've been. I am making the crossing next time I"m there.Will satrt with the trails then hopefully bring the yak and then start hitting some of the trailess areas. All those little lakes and meadows off trail looke really inviting on the aerials.

[Tightlines01]

Your plan to stick to the trails your first time is a good one. While hiking off trail is certainly possible I have little desire to do an entire trip of it. Maybe one or two spots just to see them, but I have little desire to go completely off the grid on the island (and I do lots of bushwhacking downstate).

There is an amazing amount of beauty on the trails and in the campground and the off trail hiking is much harder than normal cross country travel normally is. Nothing wrong with "getting the feel" of the island before planning a much harder trip.

Andy

[manumuskin]

How are the woods as far as thickness is concerned.In the UP in the places I was the high ground seemed to be much more open then most woods here in NJ and the going easier but the swamps were quite thick though without the mats of briars commonly found here.Am I correct in assuming that you can be in open woods one minute and regardless of no topographical changes you may be hemmed in the next minute depending on the natural history of the site? Here fire has a lot to do with this. You may get a ground fire that will thin things out for maybe five or ten years and then you may have a worse mess then pre fire or you may have a hot hellacious fire that burns everything down to mineral soil and that may set the area back a hundred years. Actually the hot fires seem to do the woods better here then the controlled ground burns the state favors.Of course this is NJ and turning a fire loose can result in untold human devastation so the regularly rip the woods up with earth movers to avoid a fire "getting loose". I doubt fires on the Island play as much of a part as here though I understand the birch groves are mostly a product of fire.Not much birch here,mostly pitch pine,scrub oak and cedar. Hemlock and spruce only live in peoples yards here:-)
Forgive me for going on so but photos can only do so much and most photos are of scenic settings not of a face full of brush.Trying to get a feel for the place before I show up is all.

[hooky]

I'm no expert by any stretch, but a week of bushwacking on the island wouldn't be my idea of a good time. What I've seen is thick, gnarly and full of laydowns unless it's a swampy spot or a lake. I amazed at how the moose are able to move through it. Maybe a few little side trips as mentioned above, but not more than a day of bushwacking for me.

[manumuskin]

I would like to walk up some of the creeks that appear to have waterfalls on them.Also I'd like to walk down the length of Stanley Ridge and whack out to some of the more isolated lakes but to whack just to whack I wouldn't do it.If I feel the reward is worth it I"d do it.I'll definitely get a feel for the woods before I try it.I"m used to negotiating ten foot briar walls and massive blowdown lanes in cedar swamps but the one thing we don't have here is rocks of any kind and cliffs so I"d have to take that into account.

[Midwest Ed]

One expedition I was going to undertake many years ago was to travel cross country from Chippewa Harbor CG to Malone Bay CG. For me the motivation was to get from one dead end campground to another dead end campground while short cutting the 26 mile trail mileage to about 7.5 miles as the crow flies. I spent a good deal of time in contemplation at the time but all I had to go by was topographic maps. This was long before satellite image availability. It appeared to me at the time that several ridge lines would be available. I backed out when I was offered a at the last minute boat ride at the Chippewa Harbor boat dock. Subsequently, satellite imagery reveals not just the ridges but many bald ones (as can be common).

Sadly, at my present age I am quite certain I'll never realize that goal although I did make the trip once via canoe and inland portages.

I have heard it's been done but I've never met anyone who's done it. If you ever accomplish it I would love to hear out it went.

[philranger]

I have been hooked on Isle Royale since my first visit back in 2005. I have been blessed with 6 trips . . . so far and I plan to continue to come back as long as I am able. This place is special. From the sound of the water lapping the shore, to the song of the white throated sparrow. It could be a glimpse of a red fox or a quiet staredown with a majestic moose.

Then there are the people. Almost everyone who comes here is helpful and friendly. This is true for the folks you briefly stop and chat with on the trail or those you share a campsite with. The people are special and they make the trips memorable for me. These are people who would lend you their water filter if your's broke or even share their food. The people who come here are not car campers. It takes a lot of planning and effort to get here.

At 55, I wish I had discovered Isle Royale earlier in my life. I come for the solitude, the chance to see a moose, the people I meet and the opportunity to expose one of my friends to the beauty that is Isle Royale.

[manumuskin]

I have wanted to get there for quite some time but I live far away with limited vacation time.I"m 49 and have already wasted much time.Hopefully I"ll get there either this coming year or the next.Have to settle for memorizing maps and aerials for the time being.

[zims]

May I suggest you make the choice, and just make it a point to go. There really isnt that much to it. You dont need to spend tons on equipment, if you take some time here in the forums you will realize that a trip there can be done very reasonable. I have used the same jet boil for years, same tent I got on clearance years ago, and have realized things like water bottles can be anything that holds water. We live on dried fruit and nuts, one dehydrated meal a day and good old stand by tuna in a pita. If there is any way We can help you achieve your goal of getting there, let us know. all the information you need can be found in these forums.

[manumuskin]

Basically just waiting for vacation time.Wife may want to go to New England one more time before we head back to Michigan so I may be looking at 2015 for Isle Royale.Maybe 2014 if I can convince her we don't need to see the rest of those covered bridges:-)