This was my first trip to Isle Royale, despite the fact I live in the Midwest and have been backpacking for 22 years. My companion on this trip, Eddie, is someone I've known since we were kids (he's a year and a half younger). We've been on the same softball teams for nearly 30 years. I took him on his first backpacking trip 7 years ago. We've been to Kentucky's Red River Gorge, the Shining Rock Wilderness in North Carolina, Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park in Michaigan's Upper Peninsula, and the High Peaks of the Adirondacks in New York state.
We really enjoyed Isle Royale National Park.
Leaving Woodridge, Illinois (western suburb of Chicago) 4 AM Saturday, at noon we made it to Gooseberry Falls State Park on Minnesota's North Shore. On the drive to Ryden's in Grand Portage we also visited Pallisade Head, Caribou Falls, and Sugarloaf Cove. Sunday morning on the short drive from Rydens to the marina at Grand Portage we saw a magnificent bull moose by the side of the road. I slowed down and stopped, but he moved back into the woods just before I could point my camera. Shortly after we got back up to speed, a squirrel darted across the road and met his fate under my car. With all due respect to the unfortunate rodent, my first reaction was to exclaim (in my best Boris Badenov accent): "Moose and Sqirrel!"
We were the last to board the Voyageur II, and it left 10 minutes before the scheduled departure time of 8 AM. Apparently they must do a head count, and didn't even ask us for our tickets. Isle Royale is only about 20 miles from the Minnesota mainland and we could see it from the start. Getting there seemed like a crawl; it took the advertised 2 hours. The water was choppy enough to spray you when standing on the starboard side of the bow. It was pretty chilly, but it turned out that Sunday was the coolest day of the trip. Monday night after we were in our tent was the only time it rained. I'm glad I brought my lightweight sleeping bag; I never did wear the warmest clothing I brought. The passengers on the Voyageur II were very friendly. Most were just taking a day trip to the island.
****How do I upload images?****
I'd like to share my photos from the trip, but I don't see how to do it. Copy & paste won't work; nor does typing in the JPG code. When I click on the Img icon it doesn't prompt an import. Please help this not-very-computer-savvy backpacker.
