renting boats v. water taxis

[mlbmichigan+]

What a treasure trove of info on this forum, and so many patient and supportive guides! I'm a solo slow-goer on my first trip to IR. 4 days, 3 nights. Taking 8am plane from Houghton to RH Wednesday in August, departing from RH Saturday 5pm by plane.
Haven't determined my route or campgrounds yet but want to avoid long steep ascents and difficult trails this trip. My only objectives are to stay safe, see moose and make good use of my time while experiencing the magic of IR!
I see you can rent motorboats in Rock Harbor and maybe I'm missing something but they seem a lot cheaper than a water taxi trip and you have them the whole day. Anyone use these to explore farther afield when you have limited time? I love listening to ranger talks so I thought if I grab a spot at RH campground when I get in I could take a boat someplace that day, then hear a ranger talk at night. Would head to DF or MB the next day.
Or, I could grab a water taxi to give me a head start, then hike back to RH over the next 2 days so my last night is there. Then on my departure day I could hit Tobin, Hidden Lake or Scoville Point -anyplace that increases my chances of seeing moose.
Any wisdom you can impart is appreciated!

[Ingo]

You're limited to Rock Harbor (the 10 mile harbor) with the rental boats, so on the main island to Three Mile, Daisy Farm, and Moskey Basin, which you will likely visit anyways. The main advantage is that it allows you to visit the Edison Fishery, RH Lighthouse, and moose boneyard on your own time (there is also the tour boat). Or camp at Caribou or Tookers Islands, and hike Mott or Raspberry Islands. In the past they have also kept a couple of rentals in Tobin Harbor--those are limited to Tobin Harbor, so you could use one to Hidden Lake and hike up to Lookout Louise.

With limited time and miles, I'd probably suggest taking the water taxi to Moskey on Weds, Daisy Farm on Thurs, and RH on Friday. Scoville Pt at the end is a must do for me, and a good chance for seeing moose.

[JerryB]

Scoville Pt at the end is a must do for me, and a good chance for seeing moose.

Definitely agree on Scoville Point (although i never knew it was good for moose). You can also rent a canoe and explore around RH that way

[Ingo]

Scoville Pt at the end is a must do for me, and a good chance for seeing moose.

Definitely agree on Scoville Point (although i never knew it was good for moose). You can also rent a canoe and explore around RH that way

I suppose it's not particularly better than elsewhere--but I have had 2 trips where that's the only moose I saw. mlbmichigan+, seeing moose is much about luck--yeah, there's places they like to hang out, but mostly it's just getting out and paying attention. They are more likely to be up and about early and late in the day (and at night).

[dcclark]

Then on my departure day I could hit Tobin, Hidden Lake or Scoville Point -anyplace that increases my chances of seeing moose.
Any wisdom you can impart is appreciated!

As Ingo said, moose are more about luck than anything. But you can increase your luck by getting up early and looking in swampy areas (e.g. along the Mt. Franklin trail north from the Tobin Harbor trail intersection, and some parts of Scoville trail). On the other hand, I've seen moose walk right along the paved trail at Rock harbor -- they seem to like it there too.

We had a trip once where we saw ZERO moose, but another couple hiking our same itinerary saw them every day, following the exact same trails. The difference? They got up and were hiking about an hour earlier than us!

[pixtory]

My last trip (2019) the first moose I saw was on the Tobin Harbor Trail (at the shoreline near the trail to be more specific) shortly before the turn toward Suzy's Cave. This was in late afternoon as I had arrived on the Ranger III. That's an easy enough trail (easier than the Rock Harbor one for sure!) You just never know where or when they will be. Hopefully Bruce the Moose will be hanging out at RH and you'll get a good look!

[backwoods doc]

In 2019 we encountered 3 moose at the RH campground, including a big bull that people call Bruce. There was evidence that at least one moose had bedded down in the tall grass just adjacent to where we pitched our tent.