Your thoughts on our trip itinerary...

arandombackpacker · Post by **arandombackpacker** » Tue Jun 24, 2014 3:55 pm

So some friends and I are going to take our first IR trip in mid July and we've come up with this itinerary and was wondering what your thoughts are on it, for those who've been there.

First off, it's worth noting that we based our trip on the weakest link in our party, based off of what he thought he could handle. He's never been backpacking before but claims that he's in shape to handle it.

We've come up with two possible trip ideas.

Idea One:

Day One- Arrive at Rock Harbor and hike to Lane Cove
Day Two- Lane Cove to Chickenbone West
Day Three- Chickenbone West to Moskey Basin
Day Four- Moskey Basin to Three Mile
Day Five- Three Mile to Rock Harbor to catch same day ferry

Idea Two:

Day One- Arrive at Rock Harbor and hike to Moskey Basin
Day Two- Moskey Basin to Chippewa Harbor
Day Three- Chip Harbor to McCargo Cove
Day Four- McCargo Cove to Three Mile
Day Five- Three Mile to Rock Harbor to catch same day ferry

Now obviously the first trip is relatively light, which would benefit the newcomer, but the second trip (from my understanding based off the research) hits up much better scenery and campsites although it seems a bit more strenuous. What are you thoughts?

MikeT · Post by **MikeT** » Wed Jun 25, 2014 7:03 pm

I'd say #1 for sure. #2 is just too much for a first time, in my opinion. RH to Moskey off the boat, first day, full weight might do everyone in.

If you want to get to McCargoe, you could cut up East Chickenbone trail to McCargoe instead on going to West Chickenbone campground or, and what I would most likely do, go to West Chickenbone and walk to McCargoe without packs. It is an easy walk.

You really cannot go wrong (except East Chickenbone) and the campgrounds you get to will be much nicer when you (and everyone) do not feel like they are on a "death march"

My thoughts...

Post by **Ingo** » Wed Jun 25, 2014 8:40 pm

arandombackpacker wrote:First off, it's worth noting that we based our trip on the weakest link in our party, based off of what he thought he could handle.

YES!
And what Mike said...

Tightlines01 · Post by **Tightlines01** » Fri Jun 27, 2014 8:21 am

Honestly both seem rough to me for a newbie backpacker. Could be done but make sure that he is in shape take your time and make sure his first time pack isn't too heavy.

Don't underestimate the climb up the Mt Franklin trail to the ridge going into Lane. That climb is a rough one.

One tip is make sure you rest on the boat so your legs are as fresh as possible when you hit the Isle. The first trip I took I spent the entire trip over on the Queen standing on the front of the boat gently rocking back and forth "watching" the island appear. It was a great way to spend the trip but my legs were half shot before I got off the boat lol.

arandombackpacker · Post by **arandombackpacker** » Fri Jun 27, 2014 2:47 pm

Hey guys, thanks so much for your input, we're talking to the new guy about what ya'll suggested, kinda letting him make the route so that he's comfortable with what we're doing. I think we're leaning towards numero uno and going to go with that and see how we feel at the time regarding the day hike to McC.

Rafiki · Post by **Rafiki** » Fri Jun 27, 2014 4:20 pm

You could always shoot for option #2 but go into it with the frame of mind that if anyone questions their abilities on the first day, wherever you decide to camp, a new plan could be discussed there. I think this is the best way to do things with novice backpackers that are new to the trails. Why try to plan anything? Sure a general blueprint is nice and fun to discuss, because planning the trip is almost as fun as going on it. However, I think the best measure to use is to gauge how everyone is feeling on the first day. This is something I should have done on when I went to the island on my first trip in 2004. We had a gung-ho type of plan and 80lb backpacks. We planned to make it to Moskey Basin on our first day and while it turned out that my brother and I were capable, our friends were not. Truth be told, while we did stay at Daisy Farm the first day, Three mile would have been a more preferable choice for our friends. Continuing on that note, had we made a plan B before going to the island, it probably would have been to stay at Daisy Farm rather than Moskey Basin. Yet, as I just mentioned, even this hypothetical plan B still wouldn't have been ideal. I guess what I am trying to say is that, as fun as it is to plan, I think it's best to play things by ear when hiking with newcomers to the island. When you have planned out opinions set into place, whether "Easy Plan A" or "Hard Plan B", sometimes neither of these turn out to be ideal. However, the newcomer may think that by not doing the "Hard Plan B", he or she has to commit to the so called "Easy Plan A" when really in the back of his or her mind, he or she is saying...this Easy Plan A really isn't really turning out to be my cup of tea either....but it's been deemed the "easy" plan so I don't want to reveal that my body isn't able to handle this challenge which seems to be insignificant to others. Plus from the perspective of the experienced hikers, sometimes it can be a let down if and when you inexperience hiker speaks up about both plans sucking. Here you were thinking that "Easy Plan A" or "Hard Plan B" was going to take place. While you wanted to do "Hard Plan B", you prepared yourself mentally to deal with the let down of only being able to do "Easy Plan A". You told yourself, while "Easy Plan A" wasn't the most ideal choice in your opinion, it still was a compromise that you found worth making because it still allowed you to see some of the sites you were hoping to visit while still providing your friends with a comfortable trip. Now all of a sudden, you're on the trail and come to find out that, neither of these plans are going to work if your friends are going to have a comfortable trip. You realize you're kind of bummed out by the matter, but you also know that keeping your friends in mind is most important. Still now all of a sudden you find yourself being part of a trip that has the following itinerary - Day 1: Three Mile. Day 2: Rest Day, Day 3: Daisy Farm, Day 4: Rest Day, Day 5: Three Mile, Day 6: Rock Harbor, Day 7: Leave Island. In your mind, you come to conclude that not only are you not going to see your favorite site Moskey Basin, but you're also going to be staying at sites with a lot of traffic which will take away from your idea of being deep in the woods away from society. You felt a little bit of entitlement to at least "Easy Plan A" at a bear minimum since that was the backup plan that everyone agreed on, but now that's not going to happen. How are you going to handle it? Hopefully better than I did when I was 20.

Don't get me wrong, while planning is one of the best parts of the trip, I say freeflow it with the new guys and let them navigate the itinerary in the moment if you truly care about whether or not they have a fun time and enjoy themselves. I know I didn't it 2004. I was young, eager to see as much of the island as possible, and quite stubborn. Unfortunately, I did not keep my partners abilities in mind and we didn't make it past Daisy Farm. They wanted to base camp from Daisy and do day hikes to the areas that surrounded us and I wanted to see everything East of Hatchet Lake. We cut the trip short on the account of differences in opinion, and while forgiven by my friends, looking back on it, it was a shame we didn't spend more time on the island as planned. Any day on the island is better than one back home.

tree rattt · Post by **tree rattt** » Fri Jun 27, 2014 5:30 pm

May I ask how new is the newbie, how many people,what is your experience ? What are projected packweights?Details may be helpful.For example a12 year old kid with a 48 pound pack first time.....either trip may be his last

the but on the other hand. A 25 yr old with a 30 lb pack first trip but athletic, either trip would be easily doable, sedentary....not even close...... if ya already posred such info then sorry, I must missed it.Either way respect each other, keep the packs light! I you can swing it try a practice backpacking overnighter,it may be the best help for planning you can get!

tree rattt · Post by **tree rattt** » Fri Jun 27, 2014 5:35 pm

As far as Mcargo cove goes ....personally I wouldn't want to go that far without the ability to call it a day when ya get there....it is a nice spot.....it may make you wish you had your gear! The minong mine is just up the trail, for those of you that can push a little x- tra. It is worth a checking out!

arandombackpacker · Post by **arandombackpacker** » Tue Jul 01, 2014 2:57 pm

tree rattt wrote:May I ask how new is the newbie, how many people,what is your experience ? What are projected packweights?Details may be helpful.For example a12 year old kid with a 48 pound pack first time.....either trip may be his last the but on the other hand. A 25 yr old with a 30 lb pack first trip but athletic, either trip would be easily doable, sedentary....not even close...... if ya already posred such info then sorry, I must missed it.Either way respect each other, keep the packs light! I you can swing it try a practice backpacking overnighter,it may be the best help for planning you can get!

Sure, thanks for the help!

We're now down to 4 people, the newbie has been on one hike before but has admitted to not being in the best of shape. The others and I are prior military with many humps to our credit and have been on a few backpacking adventures in the civilian world as well. We're late 20's early 30's and have an averege pack weight of about 30-40lbs.

tree rattt · Post by **tree rattt** » Tue Jul 01, 2014 5:18 pm

Wow,impressive!Thanks for your service to the country! Sounds like you have it made....definately well trained,no doubt....your poor newbie!

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