Downtime activities at camp?

[alicecw]

I have a trip planned for the end of June when sunset will be quite late, so there will be a lot of daylight hours spent in camp. Are there any camp activities that you recommend? Usually when I go backpacking, I spend nearly all my daylight hours on the trail and then curl up with a book in my tent once it gets dark.

So far I plan to bring my Kindle, quick dry shorts & water sandals to go wading in Lake Superior, a deck of cards and a micro-boardgame, and a field guide for identifying plants. I’m also hoping to do shorter hikes without my full pack once we set up camp (for example, to go see the Minong Mine). I know some people fish, but that’s outside my wheelhouse. Any other camp activities that I should plan for on my trip? I don’t want to miss out on something great! Thanks!

[Bobcat1]

The thing to do at Isle Royale is to take your book, your chair, and most importantly your binoculars. Do some scanning around for interesting things to watch, be they boats, birds, moose or people. The docks are gathering places and people will always stop to talk.

[alicecw]

most importantly your binoculars

I will put them on my list! I'm not very adept at bird identification, but it sounds like they will be good just for taking in the scenery. Thank you!

[Base654]

My hiking partner and I learned to play cribbage on the island. We (he) made an ultralight cribbage board out of a paint stir stick and a couple of tooth picks. you can play with a standard deck. just print the instructions before you leave.

[torpified]

In addition to all of the above, you might like writing about what happened to you that day.

I bring a little notebook and a pen, and while I'm waiting for it to get dark enough to crawl into my tent, I settle in someplace (ideally with a view of the water), pore over my maps and that day's pictures, and try make some record (ranging from fully-realized paragraphs in respectable english to telescopic jottings such as "porn squirrels") of the experiences that struck me. Two bonuses: (i) I walk off the trail with a trip report almost written. (ii) It's really fun, and evocative, to go back later and read the notebook.

little notebook: I love field notes. Somehow both the County Fair editions ( https://fieldnotesbrand.com/products/county-fair ) and the national parks edition (https://fieldnotesbrand.com/products/national-parks -alas no ISRO yet) seem especially apt for this use.

[alicecw]

@Base654: Thanks for the cribbage tip! I have a couple micro-boardgames that fit into an Altoids tin, but I'm always looking for more lightweight games.

@torpified: This is definitely a trip I want to remember so writing in a travel journal is perfect! I always keep a tiny notebook in my pack, but it's too small for me to comfortably write in and I never actually use it. I'll check out the Field Notes notebooks!

I also had the idea of picking up some blank postcards at the Visitor Center in Houghton and then writing a couple of them in camp each night. I thought I read somewhere that you can mail letters from Isle Royale and one of the boats brings them back to the mainland. Does anyone know if letters mailed there get an Isle Royale postmark? If they get postmarked from Houghton or Grand Portage, I'll just drop them in the mailbox directly when I get back to Houghton.

Thank you all for your ideas!

[torpified]

postcards: Brilliant! I'm not sure there's anywhere to drop mail on the Island (maybe the Rock Harbor lodge?). Even if there were, I *think* the actual post office the mail would pass through is in Grand Portage, so the postmark would be from there. As disappointing as this is, it does spare you the weight and the hassle of packing postage stamps!

[bloodbuzz]

i like to journal about the days activities as well. reading trip notes from adventures past brings a smile to my face.

coffee! sometime a second or third coffee is in order during extended towntime. bring extra vias, the water is FREE.

[johnhens]

postcards: Brilliant! I'm not sure there's anywhere to drop mail on the Island (maybe the Rock Harbor lodge?). Even if there were, I *think* the actual post office the mail would pass through is in Grand Portage, so the postmark would be from there. As disappointing as this is, it does spare you the weight and the hassle of packing postage stamps!

There is an actual mailbox in the lodge office near the restaraunt.

[Base654]

I was told there is no more Isle Royale post mark. the last post card I sent from the mailbox at the lodge was post marked grand portage I think.

[Bobcat1]

The Voyager-II ferry is the official US Mail carrier, so all the mail comes and goes through Grand Portage Minnesota. There is a mail dropbox, that stands on a post just in front of the Rock Harbor lodge office. I tend to write postcards for my family on the ferry on the way over, then run them over to the mail drop just before I leave Rock Harbor for the backcountry. That way, my family gets them while I am still on the island. Then at the end, I buy more postcards, and write them on the ferry on the way home. I also enjoy a little dice game called Farkl, that's kind of like playing poker with dice rolls. It's more entertaining with a competitor, but is also fun to play alone. I never travel without a deck of cards, to play endless games of solitaire. A mini-deck weighs less than 2 ounces and I have bought cards at the RH harbor store more than once when I didn't bring my own. Another thing about backpacking - the afternoon nap is a good thing! On clear sunny days, I do the odd bit of laundry in the afternoon, but on rainy days I tend to nap.....but probably the thing I do most in the downtime is listening and looking for wildlife - hence the small binoculars I usually carry.