First time to Isle Royale - hike and paddle

[camp girl]

Hi all,
Love reading all of your good advice. My daughter (30) and I (67) are going to IR for the first time this month. We rented a canoe from RH, thinking that we only have four days and wanted to see as much of the east side of island as possible. Thought we'd canoe, set up camp and take day hiking trips, though the more I read, I"m wondering if this is a good idea, as we would have to do a lot of backtracking to get back to camp. Possibly camping at Moskey or Caribou Island. We are Minnesota girls with some experience canoeing in the Boundary Waters, both fit. Rather than break and set up camp each day and carry everything/portage, thought we'd cover more ground by hiking around each day and canoeing/fishing in the evening.

Thoughts or suggestions?
I'm in much admiration of the knowledge and good advice from you multiple Isle Royale trippers!

Thanks!

[Ingo]

It’s not the most backcountry plan, but something I’ve done a couple times and never been bored. You will see boats on Rock Harbor. But you hopefully get to Caribou Island with a great pebble beach, a visit to and up the lighthouse across the channel, Edison Fishery, and the wolf/moose researchers cabin with an amazing number of moose antlers, skulls, and bones. And Cemetary Island is right there. Paddle over to Daisy Farm and do the 5 mile loop up to Mt Ojibway. Hikes from Mosley are in and back, but that’s OK. And take time to do the Scoville Pt trail from Rock Harbor.

You do need to be weather aware on Rock Harbor, but it’s usually OK to canoe. I love Caribou, but if it’s iffy getting out there stay at Daisy. A weather radio is highly recommended, and VHF is better if you have or can borrow one. Just remember you have to get back, so adjust as necessary based on the 2-3 day forecast, particularly for any strong or sustained NE winds. And finally pay attention for swells coming through the gaps in the outer islands, as they can take you by surprise.

[Midwest Ed]

I second Ingo's ideas. Having the canoe more than triples your options along the Rock Harbor channel if your time is limited to get out of (and back to) your drop off point of Rock Harbor. Both Daisy Farm and Caribou Island allow 3 consecutive night stays, so I would head to one or the other and base camp from there. Caribou is more isolated but you might be competing with power boaters. Daisy Farm is the largest of all the campgrounds (with 16 shelters) so those seeking isolation try to avoid it. But based on it's strategic position it can and does get busy. I tend to enjoy an evening of conversation variety it provides. From this central location you can day hike to the Greenstone. With just a day pack it would be a fun day to take the loop from Daisy Farm to Mt Ojibway, to Mt. Franklin, to 3 mile then back to DF. You shouldn't worry about leaving your gear and canoe unattended. As Ingo points out, the canoe opens up access to locations that most hikers only dream about. If you want one night at a great and more secluded campground and the wind/weather permits, then canoe one morning to Moskey Basin. Get there early and you'll probably get a shelter right on the shore with a sunrise potentially waking you the next morning.

[camp girl]

Thank you for the great suggestions. We’ll aim for Caribou Island and use Daisy as a backup plan. Hoping we won’t run into terrible headwinds over the weekend. Will post our outcome. All packed and ready to go!