First Trip Memories

[johnhens]

I was talking to a few friends about Isle Royale, when I first went and how I found out about it. It got me to thinking about my first trip and how I came to know of Isle Royale.
In the late 70's when I first started to become interested in backpacking, I had subscriptions to National Geographic and Backpacker. I would read both from cover to cover each month when they came in the mail. I found out about IR initially through articles in both and the idea of being on an island that had moose and wolves facinated me. The remoteness of IR was also intriguing and so the planning began. I contacted the Park Service and spent time finding out as much as I could about backpacking there.

The summer of 1983, I was working full time while going to school part time. Come August, I decided I would make a trip to the UP and IR. I went to Pictured Rocks and did part of the lakeshore trail. Lake Superior was spectacular-and cold!! While I enjoyed PR, I could not sleep thinking about what IR would be like. I had a picture of the Island taken from a plane that showed a seemingly heavy wooded island. We elected to take the Queen out of Copper Harbor. I think it was the Queen II.
The ride over was nice, smooth and sunny!! I spent most of the time on the foredeck watching the speck of Island grow.
As we neared the Island, I could see seaplanes taking off from Rock Harbor and the everpresent orange lichens on the rocks.

After tieing up at the dock, we grabbed our packs and listened to a brief orientation (unlike today's LNT talk ) made our itinerary and took off for Daisy farm. We only had 4 days till we had to head back (a big mistake!). The hike along Rock Harbor was incredible!!! The views of the harbor from the open rocks was spectacular and much to my surprise, we were not hiking on heavily wooded trails with limited views. We arrived at 3 mile and stopped for a break. We went out and soaked our feet in the clear cold water. The smile on my face was ear to ear!! We put our packs back on and continued to Daisy Farm. For some reason, the hike to Daisy Farm seemed to go on and on. We saw moose tracks, I was thrilled to say the least. After seeing the tracks, I was sure we would meet a moose around every turn in the trail. When we finally arrived at Daisy Farm, I couldn't wait to get rid of my pack. We grabbed a shelter and I went down to the dock to filter water. I stopped at the cabin that used to be near the creek near the Visitor kiosk to speak to the ranger there. I went to the dock with the bucket one could use from the cabin and began to filter water. My filter then was a blue gravity type filter that took 20 minutes to filter 2 quarts. I had a Coleman Peak 1 400. I am sure we had-what else-Kraft mac and cheese!!!
I spoke to the ranger at length about the moose and wolves-would I see at least a moose? We sat on the dock talking to others about their trips. I had to pinch myself, I was finally here!!!

We returned to our shelter using the flashlight that was before the headlamp days. We sat at the picnic table planning tomorrow's day hike to Moskey looking carefully at the map for the everpresent swamps that were sure to have moose falling out of them!! I had a Pentax 110 SLR. It was a great camera, small, easy to use with interchangeable lenses (2).
We soon went to sleep on our blue ensolite pads!! Soon, we heard loons, my first ever. I heard something moving through the brush outside the shelter, I was sure it was a moose. The thought it might be a wolf kept me in the shelter. I looked in the mud the next day, come to find it was a fox, which I would see later. We took off early for Moskey after a breakfast of pop tarts and instant oatmeal . We soon were up on the ridge and had tasted my first thimbleberry!!! I stopped at every clearing looking out throught the birch trees. We had a little trouble following the cairns across the rocks, mostly because I was looking for moose instead of cairns!!

We stopped whenever we heard a noise lookng through the trees for the moose. We eventually did see a moose about a mile before Moskey. A cow. I took pictures, most of which were a black head that you had to use a magnifying glass to see in the 5x3 prints. I didn't care, I had seen a moose!! I was in true wilderness!!

We arrived at Moskey and immediately I thought I need to come back here to spend time exploring and waiting for the hordes of moose that must use the swamp down the trail and gather in the little bay in the evening for the benefit of those wishing to take pictures.!!!

We headed back to Daisy Farm thrilled with our trip so far. I knew we would surely see a wolf on the way back. Surely!!!
We arrived back at Daisy Farm, not having seen any hikers the whole day. I told the ranger of our sighting, he smiled I am sure thinkng, I see moose all the time!!!

We again filterred water, during which time I thought I have to find a better filter system.
We had dinner and sat on the dock talking to others who would be heading to either 3 mile or Rock Harbor the next day.
We saw a fox walking along the shore. I took pictures, sure they would be on the cover of National Geographic!!!
We went to the shelter, finally I was tired enough to sleep!!! We woke early and enjoyed the stillness of the morning. I walked around the beach looking for wolftracks I was sure were out walking around at night.
We packed up and were on our way. The girl who was with me was moving slow. We took breaks often. Finally, we decided I would move on to 3 Mile and I would come back and carry her pack, which was a Coleman Peak 1 Plastic frame pack that she rented from the College Rec Center-and did not fit!!!

I moved quickly down the trail looking for wolf tracks. I got to the 3 Mile, dumped my pack and went back down the trail looking down. Sure enough, I saw wolf tracks that were not there 10 minutes ago. I felt a chill down my back and then thought of my girlfriend, whom I am sure the wolf was following!!
Soon we met up, she was taking a break with some scouts we had met at Daisy Farm. I told them of my seeing the track and was later told by one of the leaders it was indeed a wolf track and very fresh!!!
I was thrilled as was my girlfriend who was now hiking well without the ill-fitting pack!!
We arrived at 3 Mile and soaked our feet. I thought about going swimming and waded in and quickly waded out (this was before the days of Superior reaching 70 degrees in late summer!) We enjoyed a nice sunset and nice moonrise!!

The hike to Rock harbor the next day was "easy" as I was carrying most of her gear. At this point I wanted junk food and we arrived in Rock Harbor before the Queen. We went to the store and pigged out on junk food. We watched as the Queen pulled up to the dock, we now experienced veterans of Isle Royale watching the cleanly dressed hikers getting off the boat!!

The ride back was fun listening to the stories of those who were there with us. I was sad to leave but I knew I would be back! I did not get the call from National Geographic for my fox pics... they must have been lost in the mail!!

So share your stories of finding Isle Royale and your first trip!!!

[fonixmunkee]

Late 70s! Holy cow!

My first trip to IR was with my girlfriend...her father had been coming here since the 60s, and came back at least two times every year since. We decided to check it out. Being as I wasn't a very hearty outdoors man, we decided to take the easy Indian Portage trail, from McCargoe Cove to Chippewa Harbor.

As soon as I set foot on the Voyageur II, I remembered thinking "this isn't a normal trip." That sentiment was continued through when we got to Windigo and got our LNT briefing, along with what was going on in the island (it was the third boat out, there was still snow and ice on the rocks around the island). We loaded back up and sailed off to McCargoe.

The entire boat ride I was freezing to death, but I wouldn't leave the front or the back of the VII, taking in all the scenery. When we sailed into McCargoe, I knew I was hooked...I couldn't believe a place could have such ruggedness and still be so damn beautiful. The girlfriend and I stayed in McCargoe that night, almost completely alone. We saw otters splashing around at the end of the dock, and I nearly started the shelter on fire with my old white-gas stove (my girlfriend's quick-thinking saved the place!). Later on, we went down to the community fire ring to help out with a sad little fire that the other three people in camp had started. We chatted with those gents for a bit and then noticed the sky was turning all sorts of green and blue above us...the northern lights had went off! We sat there until we could no longer keep our eyes open, watching the amazing spectacle above us. It was an incredible experience, and one that I had not been able to relive until this past winter in the U.P.

The other memorable moment would probably be when a wind & rain storm blew through West Chickenbone our second night on the island. It knocked down trees and flooded the campground. One tree nearly fell right on top of us...a huge birch that crashed down about 15 feet away from our tent. You can still see the bottom 10-12 feet of the thick birch tree at campsite #3 (or is it #4?). It's the campsite up the hill on the other side (non-lake side) of the trail in West Chickenbone.

The rest of the trip, we made lots of friends, and I found the most important thing out about IR...that everyone is part of a camaraderie or brotherhood. Everyone was so nice, from the individuals who gave us some tips to weather above said big storm that was about to blow through West Chickenbone, to the people at Chippewa who offered us some walleye fillets. And on the boat ride back, we chatted it up with even more friendly individuals who invited us to Sven & Ole's in Grand Marais for some delicious pizza and beer after our trip. I had stayed in touch with them for about 5 years after that trip, even.

Ever since all the experiences of that single trip, I've gone back at least once every year to IR. It continues to impress me (snow in June!!), scare me (almost getting trampled to death by a moose!), and amaze me (watching the storm surge from Lake Superior). I've also got to meet some great individuals...both on the island and off (read: these forums) that have made me grow even more passionate about that amazing place.

[philranger]

My first trip was in 2005. Mostly good memories: Watching the Northern Lights at the VII marina, Meeting John and Tricia, Seeing 5 moose including the pair just above E. Chickenbone (up close, I mean within 25 feet), Meeting Matt & Erika, swimming in Desor, shower at Windigo, steaks at the Beaver Bay Roadhouse.

I wish I could forget about the 12.5 mile day going from Three-Mile to W. Chickenbone. We should have stayed a night at Daisy Farm. Like my boss used to say, "Other than that Mrs Lincoln, how was the play?"

[fonixmunkee]

steaks at the Beaver Bay Rioadhouse.

That place has the best food! And cheap too, with Summit beers on tap...a great place to stop!

[psolimyn]

In Tom Powers' book on hiking Michigan's state and national parks, he states that few people come to Isle Royale on a whim.

I am one of those few.

I stayed in my '88 bronco ii for 3 rainy days before leaving copper harbor. the lake was flat and covered in fog. 4 hours later i saw tips of trees cascading the ridges, each row emerging from its own separate mist.

here's what i had on me:

a green cotton hoodie, a long-sleeved black cotton shirt, and a white cotton tee. i was wearing levi's jeans and converse chuck taylor sneakers.

in my small bookbag i had the towel i rented from jimmy the stitch at the store (douglas adams says always have a towel). i also had 1/2 a bag of cheerios, a pack of fig newtons, some wood-tipped swisher sweets, a lighter, 3 emergency road flares (seriously), and a standard german sledgehammer (seriously). my only means of navigation were the greenstone's newspaper, and a cheap aluminum compass.

seriously.

so then i go to the snack shop, eat a burger, talk up a clerk and fill out an application. interview tomorrow at nine, says kim.

i go on my hike and make it to 3 mile in no time. some campers go bug-eyed when they see me, completely unprepared and utterly oblivious to this fact. i go up to mt. franklin, smoke a cigar, and decide to go to lookout louise.

now, because it had been raining for 3 days in copper harbor, and what with the fog on the island, and what with me in cotton, head-to-toe, by 11 o'clock at night i was soaked, freezing, and lost somewhere on the greenstone ridge. my thougts turned to hungry wolves and cruel moose and after playing heads-or-tails with god i decided to bushwack due south to tobin harbor.

this was quite possibly the stupidest thing i have ever done.

it didn't take long before all i could see were gleaming leaves; anything porous (branches, trunks, earth, rocks, -- anything besides leaves) was utterly black and void of light. i went knee deep in a couple marshes, scratched my face, tore my clothes, and finally hit a wall.. literally.

this was a rock out cropping that, for all i knew, extended infinitely in either direction and was directly in my way. i climbed it, probably 15' but no less than 10'. i got to the top and was greeted by heaven. it was dry, it was high, it was open, it was covered in this weird stuff (reindeer moss) which i used (along with sheets from the greenstone newspaper) to insulate my sodden jeans. i promptly fell asleep for an hour or two.

i woke up, quite possibly on the verge of hypothermia, and headed on.

when i got to tobin harbor i almost fell in. the lake was absolutely flat, absolutely silent, and absolutely invisible with the fog so heavy. so i get there, find a stump, beat it to death with my german sledgehammer until i had a fine pile of dry wood, lit a road flare and got myself a fire going, right on top of the wet stone shore.

my clothes dried, more or less. i slept, more or less.

dawn came and i walked the shoreline until, according to my "map" and some imagination, i saw what appeared to be a white dock on the otherside of the harbor. i used my white towel as a flag on the end of a stick, made friends with a family of ducks, and waited about 2 hours before someone took notice of me.

it was bill, the ranger!

from about ten feet, and still on his boat, he smelled smoke on me and his eyes lit up like the fire i had illegally set, and he took me to rock harbor to hear the details of the story i've just set down here.

he shook his head and sent me on my way. i was 15 minutes early for my interview.

i got the job, filthy dressed as i was am had a great summer. definately learned a few things about camping.

oh yah, i was so clueless that when i got to copper harbor, i stood on the queen's dock and asked a guy if what i was looking at (a couple hundred yards away) was isle royale.

he was like "no... man... um, isle royale is like 4 hours away. it costs $80 bucks just to get there"

i figured, hey, i've got $80 bucks!

[Don_P]

I can't compete with psolimyn but here is my recollection from my first trip in 2003.

Preliminaries:

A friend from Nashville first suggested the Isle Royale trip for three us - all college friends who tried to take one "big" hiking trip per year. My wife and I had just moved to Dallas and I recall her insisting I get life insurance in case the wolves tore me up. I'd put this off too long, anyway, so complied. I was to meet hiking buddies from Nashville for the trip, and our flight itineraries worked so that we met at the Minneapolis airport for the flight to Hancock/Houghton. One of my friends had arranged through Karen at the Brockway Inn for a Michigan Tech college student (Tony, who works at the Keweenaw Adventure Company) to pick us up.

We flew in late on a Saturday evening and I remember being amazed at the small size of the Houghton airport and the terminal sign that warned against planes being parked there. We all laughed when we saw the little lawn tractor used to carry luggage from the plane. Tony picked us up and shuttled us to the Brockway Inn, and to our surprise also let us know where he would be the next day if we wanted to borrow the car. We puttered around Copper Harbor on Sunday and took Tony up on the offered car and went to the top of Brockway Mountain for some great pictures. Later in the evening, after splitting up our shared gear, we went to Zik's Bar where our new friend Tony tended bar. I also recall eating at The Pines and Harbor Haus, and the little restaurant in front of the King Copper (don't recall the name).

The Trip:

Judging from "before" pictures it was dry when we boarded the Queen III, though the ride over was fairly rough. I'm prone to motion sickness so took dramamine, but Craig and Joe were fine without anything. Many of our fellow passengers were not... Lots of folks outside hanging over the railing. Aside from this the trip was uneventful.

After the obligatory LNT speech by Karen (I think that's her name) we set off to Moskey Basin. I remember the inland stretch between Daisy Farm and Moskey Basin being the longest, rockiest stretch I'd ever hiked. I was exhausted when we reached Moskey Basin, but we were rewarded with shelter #2 right on the water. The bats were very active later that night while we played cards.

Day two - We hiked to West Chickenbone and had another great site right on the water. It's not an overly-difficult hike but I remember being so tired when we got there that I took a brief nap. Or tried too... Around this time I'd gotten on a major lightweight kick and my shelter of choice was a homemade tyvek tarptent pitched with my hiking poles. The concept was fine but it didn't have any bug netting. The area was very wooded and right on the water, so spent the night fending off mosquitos to the delight of my hiking buddies.

Day three - Weather was perfect and we had a day hike to McCargoe Cove. On the way Craig spotted a moose in the water. We watched it for a long while before heading off to the campground area where we filtered water and headed back.

Day four - We were to hike from West Chickenbone to Daisy Farm via the Greenstone. Early in the morning we had our first close encounter with several moose not more than 10 yards ahead on the trail, All of us were amazed at the size. We finally moved on and saw another couple of moose just off the trail. It started raining - hard - around mid-day, and we slogged into Daisy Farm. I'm pretty sure we went on to Rock Harbor for the night as it was cold and threatening and we didn't want to hike the next day in the rain.

Day five - The day started clear and we decided to rent a canoe for a trip over to Lost Lake, where we saw several moose. Really cool. It started raining again mid-day and we were all wet for the ride back to Copper Harbor. We showered at the Brockway Inn and devoured dinner at Harbor Haus.

Day six - We dined again at Harbor Haus - good for breakfast too! Tony gave us a lift to the airport and we were off. Great memories for all of us.