1st Isle Royale Trip in the planning phases

[Moonflower]

Hello all! First post. I'm so glad this forum exists.

I'm planning to take my 16 year old son on his first backpacking trip next summer to Isle Royale. This will only be my fourth backpacking trip ever, so I want to be prepared. However, I'm in really good shape and can carry a 50 pound pack no problem. That said, I've hiked easier trails such as PIctured Rocks National Lakeshore as a backpacker. And, more challenging hikes as a dayhiker carrying far less weight.

About a month ago, I sat down with the DuFresne book and planned out a trip for us. I'll spell it all out here and see if anyone has any recommendations. This hike bounces around kind-of crazy. I can't remember the details now, but I think I planned it so we can see as much of one side of the island as possible and I went off of what I had read here on the forum for people's favorite campsites, etc. It's o.k. if you tell me I'm crazy, I won't be offended. Also, I love to hike, but I've never done this many days of rugged hiking. And I don't live where I can train for it (middle of the mitten in MI). But, I will be in really good shape before this hike.

We plan to go in mid to late August, so I'm especially wondering about my first day's hike since it will not be the early summer.

Day one: Ranger III from Houghton, arrive ~3 pm hike to Lane Cove (6.9 miles)

Day 2: Stay at Lane Cove and day hike the Greenstone Trail to Lookout Louise (12+ miles)

Day 3: Moskey Basin (10.8 miles)

Day 4: Chippewa Harbor (6.2 miles)

Day 5: McCargoe Cove (10.6 miles)

Day 6: Stay at McCargoe and day hike to Todd Harbor (6.6 miles x 2)

Day 7: Lake Richie (6.7 miles)

Day 8: Daisy Farm (5.8 miles)

Day 9: 7.1 miles to Rock Harbor to catch the Ranger III

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

[jerry]

Welcome to the forums! Arriving at 3 pm on the Ranger should present no issues for you getting to Lane Cove before dark. Since you plan to be in shape and probably have a healthy 16 year with you I expect that you could average about 2 m.p.h hiking on the Tobin Harbor trail up to the Greenstone. I'm an old man and would feel that I could get to Lane Cove by 7 (it'll still give you time to set up your tent(s) before dark) if arriving on the Ranger. The trail down to Lane Cove has some switch backs that are a little bit of a challenge, but not super hard. I believe you'll enjoy that site. You'll see the glow of Thunder Bay at night, but it won't interfer with star gazing (sometimes comets are viewed well there too). You have a nice plan and the sites should be good for you at all the locations. If you could plan to be at Daisy Farm on a Wednesday evening the Petersons give a nice presentation at the dock about wildlife at ISRO NP.

[Ingo]

Sounds like a good trip to me. The 7 miles from Daisy Farm to catch the Ranger III by 9:00 am seems pretty aggressive to me, though. I'd probably go for Three Mile the night before, instead of Daisy Farm. My other thought is to consider taking the Queen IV out of Copper Harbor--that gets you out to the island before noon, and then back in the afternoon, giving you a little more relaxed first and last days, and a little time to explore the "civilization" of R.H. if there's any appeal to that. The hike out to Scoville Pt is nice.

[Moonflower]

Thanks for the ideas so far. Good point, Ingo, I hadn't read the time for the Ranger III correctly. I thought it left later in the day. I've made a note of your suggestion. That could have been a nightmare!

I'm looking back and wondering why I had settled on Houghton and the Ranger III. Doesn't make sense now, except that it's a little cheaper and that it's less of a drive from home for me. Any advantages to taking the Ranger III??

[Vandy]

I've never taken the Ranger III so can't vouch for any advantages. For me, I would rather spend the extra time in the car to Copper Harbor, less time on the boat to the island, and more time on the island with the better ferry schedule. Using the Queen allows you to get an earlier start on your arrival day, and lounge around more on your departure day.

[jerry]

I took the Ranger about 5 years ago. Positives-parking is included in the fee (not included in boat fee when leaving from Grand Portage or Copper Harbor). The leave no trace session is done on the boat and you schedule where you'll be camping with the park ranger that's on the boat (so you can leave from the dock for your campground as soon as they unload your gear). You have to do those activities at the dock and visitor center for the other boats. Some folks might like the chili (kind of spicy) and ice cream that was available back then. The park ranger played some music and sang for us. Hhmmm.
Negatives-the ride over is long, but you might get to know some nice folks and they might be returning to the island and can share some of their good times with you. The arrival time (3 pm) doesn't work for many folks, but the ride over can be smoother when there are larger waves.

[bergman]

I don't mean to step on any toes here (as far as the previous replies), but your planned itinerary is insane. Under safety tips in the annual Greenstone park guide, it reads: "Many people underestimate hiking travel times and overestimate their abilities. Plan shorter, realistic travel days; don't turn your wilderness trek into a forced march."
The glacier scraped away most of the soil, so that park trails after decades of use by people and moose, are fraught with rocks and exposed tree roots. A good part of the time, u dont have the luxury of looking up and around, lest u want to risk a sprained ankle or fall flat on your face. The wonderment of the island is not just in walking the trails themselves but in experiencing the true wilderness when u have a chance to relax and explore the park, especially immediately adjacent to your camping outpost.

If in the first day or so of hiking, u dont make a conscious and visual effort to avoid stepping on rocks and tree roots with your forefoot, your feet will be so sore it will be agony for the balance of your journey. I've hiked in VA, NC, WY, CO, WA, MT & AK. None of it compares to the difficulty of Isle Royale's trail surface. It would also be wise for you to google "Canadian shield" b/c that's what you are walking in.

Isle Royale is too beautiful and unique a place to risk spoiling your first visit by trying to take it all in. It's not possible. I once came across a backpacker sitting on the boat dock at mcCargoe Cove. He was waiting for the voyageur to pick him up so that he could "ride out" the balance of his planned visit at Rock Harbor. The soles of both feet were covered with blisters, with more area blistered than not. This was a tall slim man.
So be sure to take time to "smell the roses". More often than not, memorable wildlife sightings and experiences occur right at the camp outposts and not on the trail.
Until u actually visit the island, u cannot imagine what true wilderness is. Isle royale is like no other place. Take advantage of its wilderness-that's the secret. Park your butt in the same spot for 2 or more nites and do some off-trail bushwhacking/exploring, but bring a compass and maybe a cheap GPS.
Hope this helps. Have fun. May it be a happy 2013!

[bergman]

Guess i shouldn't throw stones unless i'm prepared to give u an alternate itinerary so here it is (i prefer the ranger III):
Day 1. Stake your claim to a shelter or campsite@RH. Rent a canoe (not sure if 1/2 day rental will give u enuf time); canoes are already down at the seaplane dock on TobinHarbor; paddle across and down the harbor a bit to the trailhead for lookout louise.
Day 2. Camp@lane cove.
Day 3. Camp@moskey basin.
Day 4. Camp@hatchet lake.
Day 5. Camp@todd harbor.
Day 6. Camp@todd harbor.
Day 7. Camp@west chickenbone (prepare4mosquitoes).
Day 8. Camp@three mile.
Day 9. Hike to RH to catch the Ranger III. Plan to be there by 8:15. If either if you have a foot, ankle or knee issue at that point, be sure to take the Tobin harbor trail back to rock harbor from the 3mile outpost. The rock harbor trail is quite rocky but more important requires u to walk on a slanted (sideways) rock surface on much of the route. Can easily cause a sprained ankle or knee; brutal if u are already injured and trying to get back, having to carry a backpack.
McCargoe Cove is overrated. Chippewa harbor is gorgeous, but 1 nite there can never do it justice. More important, u will be visiting during warm weather. The CH outpost is located well inside the harbor, and although u can certainly swim there, Todd Harbor being on the north shore and being located directly on "The Lady" proper - will be spectacular in comparison, especially if it's hot. Since this itinerary has u spending 2 nites on the north shore at todd, i would suggest u cut lane cove & spend a nite @ chippewa instead. And bring a decent hat to hide a bit from the sun, and spf lip balm.
When u are at todd harbor, if u feel capable, a day hike to little todd harbor is well worth the effort, but u can make that judgment when the time comes.

[Moonflower]

I am glad you spoke up! I actually expected people to tell me I was crazy. I'm glad for the viewpoint that I actually am!!

I'm going to look at the alternate itinerary you sent. I'd like to spend over half my time near Lake Superior, so I'll keep that in mind too.

[Ernest T Bass]

I would like to second the assessment by bergman. My wife and I made our first trip to IR last September the week after Labor Day. I still tease her, as when I first mentioned going to hike on IR and had planned to come over on the Voyageur II on Monday and leave on Thursday, she was convinced that we would hike from Windigo to Rock Harbor in 3 days.
I spent an enormous time reading these forums. I cannot thank the people enough that post on here routinely. I felt like I had a really good sense of the challenges that we would encounter. Even when I convinced her that doing the Feldtmann Lake loop was a good goal, she still wound up bringing two one liter containers of wine, and three library books. She is a PhD scientist and one of the smartest women I know, but common sense is not exactly her strong suit. She basically said that doing that hike was one of the tougher things she has ever done (we are both 50 now), but she is really pumped to come back again. And she also now realizes what IR is all about having actually been there.
We have fine tuned our packing (trust me, I still chide her about the 6.75 pounds on booze and books) so next time we should be much better off. Right now, I plan to be (minus food and water) at a pack weight of about 23 pounds with her at about 15 pounds. The bottom line is there is great advice here on the message boards. Be sure to take full advantage of the information that abounds here. The idea of going lighter weight, and less miles is not a bad one.
Cheers,
ETB

[bergman]

The 2012 canoe rental was $24(1/2 day)&$40(full). The paddle from the seaplane dock to the dock/trailhead for lookout louise is exactly one mile(as the crow flies). U will be there in Aug so the H2O will be "warm"(a relative term). If u stay to shore the first 1/2 mile, u can cross the harbor where it's only 1/4 mi across (aiming for the E end of tiny Bailey Island); then paddle on the inside of both Horn Island and the next (unnamed) island (both islands are long&narrow, and very close to the shoreline), which will "escort you" right to the dock. Make sure u secure your canoe on shore; by that I mean don't let "The Lady" (the lake) steal it from u while u are on your hike (it's only 12 mi back on foot to Rock Harbor and of course u didnt bring your rain gear b/c "it was a beautiful sunny day when we started out...").
If u stay at Hatchet, u will have a short hike to Todd, and u may get to Todd early enough to stay in the one shelter there for your 2 nites, which would be a welcome luxury in the midst of your sojourn.

[Moonflower]

We weren't sure that we'd be able to go to Isle Royale this summer because my 16 year old has to have a small surgery. It turned out that the surgeon had an opening for next week and said that he'll be all ready to go at the end of August.

I've revised my crazy schedule. My sadness with my new itinerary is that we will be missing Todd Harbor. I just want to put this new itinerary out there since I haven't looked at the topo map yet:

leave from Copper Harbor
Day 1--3 Mile
Day 2--Moskey Basin
Day 3--Chippewa
Day 4--Chippewa
Day 5--Daisy Farm
Day 6--Daisy Farm (day hike up to Mt. Ojibway and Mt. Franklin??)
Day 7--hike to Rock Harbor and either leave on the boat or camp one more night

Any suggestions for a possible day hike from Chippewa? or any alternates?

Thanks!

[Tightlines01]

Sounds like some good ideas here. I love the occasional zero day to sit and listen to the big lake.

Perhaps instead of a zero day at Daisy Farm leave Chippewa and go up to McCargoe. The hike from McCargoe to Daisy isn't that bad. You can go out from Daisy up to Ojibway and over to Franklin then into Rock Harbor via the Tobin Harbor trail. Much nicer and easier IMO then the Rock Harbor trail to Rock from 3 mile. If doing this I'd likely plan on staying the night in Rock. You can take a shower, clean up, get a "Tasty Ale Treat" at he lodge and day hike to Scollvile point the next day before catching the boat.

It would be a very nice trip with Many nice areas/views.

[Rafiki]

Sounds like a good trip to me. The 7 miles from Daisy Farm to catch the Ranger III by 9:00 am seems pretty aggressive to me..

I laughed when I read this part. Sorry for making an old post come back to life. All I have to say is that I am glad that i wasn't drinking any liquids at the time I read this.

[Rafiki]

I still tease her, as when I first mentioned going to hike on IR and had planned to come over on the Voyageur II on Monday and leave on Thursday, she was convinced that we would hike from Windigo to Rock Harbor in 3 days.
ETB

Well now that I've already reactivated this post may as well continue making responses on it. On that note, Ernest you wife sounds like my kind of woman so quit teasing her