Itinerary Feedback Request - Late June 2017 Trip

[brendan_z]

Hello all,

I just discovered this forum and have found it extremely useful for planning a backpacking trip to the island. My girlfriend will be joining me and it will be her first extended backpacking trip. This will be the first trip to the island for both of us. We are both in our late 20s and fairly fit. She has plenty of experience with longer day hikes (10+ miles at elevation).

We are looking at a six night stay between June 24 and June 30. As it stands, the plan is to drive to Copper Harbor from Milwaukee on Friday June 23, spend a night at the Bella Vista and then take the Queen IV to Rock Harbor on June 24. We are looking to leave the island on June 30 on the Queen IV. The routes that I have come up with are mainly loops on the east side of the island. Going to save a west-to-east thru hike for another year.

Below are the options of have come up with so far. Your input and wisdom would be greatly appreciated. I should mentioned that we are going to take a weekend backpacking trip to the Porcupine Mountains in late May as a warmup trip in order to gauge whether our itinerary for Isle Royale needs to be adjusted.

Option #1
June 24: Rock Harbor > Lane Cove 6.9 Miles
June 25: Lane Cove > Daisy Farm 7.2 Miles
June 26: Daisy Farm > McCargoe Cove 8.0 Miles
June 27: McCargoe Cove > W. Chickenbone 2.7 Miles
June 28: W. Chickenbone > Moskey Basin 5.9 Miles
June 29: Moskey Basin > Three Mile 8.3 Miles
June 30: Three Mile > Rock Harbor 2.7 Miles
Total: 41.7 Miles

Option #2
June 24: Rock Harbor > Daisy Farm 7.1 Miles
June 25: Daisy Farm > McCargoe Cove 8.2 Miles
June 26: McCargoe Cove > W. Chickenbone 2.7 Miles
June 27: W. Chickenbone > Moskey Basin 5.9 Miles
June 28: Zero day at Moskey Basin 0.0 Miles
June 29: Moskey Basin > Lane Cove 10.8 Miles
June 30: Lane Cove > Rock Harbor 6.9 Miles

For option #2, I was debating between W. Chickenbone and Moskey Basin for the zero day. Does anyone have a strong opinion either way on which of these campsites is better for a zero day?

We have also toyed with the idea of doing the trip between July 1 and July 7. This would save me a day of PTO at work, but I'm concerned that the crowds might be a little much during the holiday. Does anyone have experience backpacking on the island around 4th of July? What are the crowds like?

Thanks in advance and I sorry for the length of this post.

[JerryB]

Welcome!
Target your preferred campsites. I suggest McCargo, Chippewa, Moskey, and Todd. Another thought--If you start at Lane Cove, take a water taxi to Hidden lake and hike from there. Not sure of the distance but I think it is comparable and it will lessen backtracking. You are also smart to consider a layover day. Be flexible with it. If the weather is bad or you need a break, go ahead and use it. Otherwise, pick your favorite site and stay two days. You are not bound by the itinerary on your permit so you can afford to be flexible. Don't forget the day hike on the Stoll Trail in Rock harbor!

[Ingo]

Moskey tops many people's list as their favorite campground. In fact, I would modify #1 to skip W Chickenbone and go straight to Moskey. Also be prepared for significant skeeter and flies that time of year--highly recommend bringing headnets (and hoping you don't need them). They're usually worse on the inland lakes, which also argues for Moskey.

There is a bump up in visitors the 4th of July week, for exactly your reason for considering it--how noticeable it is in the backcountry, I'm not really sure. It's definitely noticeable around Rock Harbor. But busy/crowded is all relative, of course--still fewer folks than probably any week in Aug.

[Keweenaw]

Moskey for sure for a rest day. Some of the trails may still be a bit muddy at the end of June - be prepared. Definitely bugs - plan for the worst. Are you familiar with blackflies? Not black flies - BLACKFLIES! Like little gnats. DEET keeps them about a 1/2 inch away from you for an hour or so. Headnets will prevent constantly breathing them in. If they are hatching when you are there they are maddeningly annoying.

[brendan_z]

Thanks for the input. We will heed the advice about the flies and pack the headnets and DEET. Per Ingo's advice, we are leaning toward adjusted option #1 to spend two nights at Moskey Basin. I'm sure I will have more questions before our trip. Thanks again!