First trip itinerary, am I crazy?

[Pfeifdog]

Would love to hear some advice on my prospective itinerary. Solo trip planned for first ferry a week from today, May 13th-17th.

Copper to Rock Harbor to Lane Cove
Lane Cove to McCargoe
McCargoe to Hatchet Lake
Hatchet Lake to Moskey Basin
Moskey Basin to Rock Harbor to Copper

I know day 2 & 4 are long at 13 miles each. The milage doesnt bother me much but I am wondering how clear the trails are mid May? Specifically will cairns be up and easy to follow along the Greenstone? Another concern is the last day trying to do 11 miles and still catch the ferry in time. I am thinking the Daisy Farm to Rock harbor section will be well groomed and extremely easy to follow. I have seen some recommendations of doing copper to Rock to Moskey the first day. Should I potentially reverse the route to have a shorter last day?

[JerryB]

No need for cairns on any of your trails, and there will likely be none. Those trails are generally easy to follow. But I suspect they will not be clear of downfall. Another thought: If you skip hatchet and go from MB to Moskey, you can spend your last night at 3 Mile or Daisy Farm for an easier hike to the ferry.

[fonixmunkee]

As JerryB has said, these trails are well-established, and you won't lose them. They will be wet and muddy in May and June, but that's not a show-stopper at all.

Hatchet Lake is kind of a boring campsite in my opinion, and I would skip it. Plus, the hike in and out of Hatchet Lake is brutal (almost a 3/4 of a mile downhill/uphill respectively). I'd rather do Moskey and/or Daisy.

[Pfeifdog]

Seems like the two chickenbone campsites arnt well liked and daisy farm and 3 mile are just more civilized/crowded. Thoughts on going from McCargoe to Chippawa harbor instead of hatchet lake? That will give me a really short second to last day (chippawa to moskey) and the option to push on to daisy or three mile if I feel pressed for time.

[fonixmunkee]

McCargo Cove is beautiful, and at that time of year, it won't be very busy. You'll probably see some wildlife there, too.

West Chickenbone is also beautiful and the bugs won't be out, so it will be very enjoyable.

I'd do either McCargo or West Chickenbone before Hatchet lake.

[JerryB]

Chippewa and Moskey are two of my favorite sites. That would still leave you a long last day to catch the boat.

[torpified]

Chippewa is beautiful. For my money, the ~4 mile spur trail you'd take to reach it from the Lake Ritchie trail junction, and then to return the next day, gets more interesting the further south you go. (It also had a lot of deadfall in early May 2 years ago.) If you stay at Chippewa, you'll either have to skip staying at Moskey (which is a shame, because Moskey sunrises can't be beat) or cover 11 miles in time to board the ferry the next day. So, like JerryB said, Chippewa + Moskey + a leisurely last day might be too much to hope for.

Another configuration would be McCargo to Moskey to RH (or 3-mile)---with an option to stroll the Stoll trail before the ferry collects you on the last day. All the options are terrific, and you're going to have a great trip! Having to decide which great trip, exactly, to aim for is a good problem to have.

[ktfgzi]

I would not try to do trips with that mileage (especially 11mi before catching the ferry) until you have a taste for the type of terrain on IR. I planned a similar route for my first solo trip and ended up having to cut it much, much shorter.