TR: 6/8-14 2021, RH-3M-DF-DF-MB-DF-3M-RH (first-timers!) (hammock advice)

[seymourdunn]

I knew on day 1 that I'll be coming back...

My buddy and I were two first-timers. I purposefully planned our visit during the New Moon to maximize my 14lbs of camera gear during the New Moon's dark skies in a Bortle 2 zone. Plus, there was a partial annular solar eclipse on June 10 at sunrise... We'd hoped to make it to Chippewa Harbor for a mid-trip fire to boost spirits, but the trail from Moskey to Lake Richie looked super swampy, and Lake Richie is COMPLETELY UNDRINKABLE right now, so that was an easy decision.

Day 0:
Left the Milwaukee heat wave and stayed at Fort Wilkins campground in Copper Harbor. We stayed at FW East campground, which has some viewing platforms built above Lake Fanny Hooe. The foliage was a bit thick, but still got some nice Milky Way shots. I wasn't at all impressed with FW campground: the narrowest, closest campsites of any campground I've ever seen. But it was fine, and the bathrooms were among the nicest, cleanest campground bathrooms I've ever seen.

Day 1:
Isle Royale Queen ferry. A little hungover, a lot sleepy, smooth sailing. Enjoyed my nap. We didn't rush out of Rock Harbor - some good stretching on the warm dock, etc. Quick jaunt to 3 Mile to start chowing down on superfluous food. Trails were in good shape, weather in the 70s/80s, 60s overnight. Excellent clear skies. Milky Way snaps from the dock and beach. Milky Way core visible to the naked eye - looks kinda like a big long line of clouds that doesn't move.

Day 2:
Excellent weather in the 70s, I think. Took the long way to Daisy to scout out eclipse locations. We had a cross-country permit because I'd hoped to bushwhack a camp to the hillside north of Ransom Hill, at 48.104070, -88.597983, to be as close as possible to the Ojibway Tower on the Greenstone for optimal eclipse viewing conditions at sunrise. This was to abide the regulations (1/2mi from any tower, 1/4mi from any trail, >200ft from any water). So we left Daisy up the Mt. Franklin Trail, which was steep and a bit rough but not unfun. Saw our first and only moose! A young bull having a bath in an unnamed lake - must be seasonal, because it's only a marsh on all maps. We were about a hundred yards downwind of him, and he noticed us and began to move away, but in no rush or agitation. Up to the Ojibway Tower where Canadian cell towers gave me 8 texts - 7 spam and 1 from mom. Thanks mom. Thanks FRIENDS. Took a few shots of the tower with a wide angle hoping I could do some midnight star trails around it; would be a killer shot and no one has done it yet to my knowledge, but we didn't make it back. On the way down to Daisy, we passed the unnamed hill I thought we could camp at - a big stand of birches had been felled, and it was too thick. The prospect of bushwhacking in, camping, then bushwhacking back out and up to the Greenstone before dawn sucked, and someone we met said he though the eclipse would be viewable (at 53* NE) from Daisy dock, so we left for Daisy with no qualms. Got in late to Daisy, around 6, and it was full up. Camped at Group Site 3, basically all that was left. 2 was open, but 3 was more hammockable. Went to bed with a drizzle and anticipation...

Day 3:
Woke up to rain. Didn't even bother going to the dock for the eclipse. Hugely bummed, went back to sleep. Daisy, already flooded from the beavers, was now a truly miserable swamp. Boots got wet just from the paths' mud and puddles. We wanted two nights at Moskey, but waited for Daisy to clear out to snag a spot to dry out. A nothing-burger day, but relaxingish, I guess. Boots and socks didn't really dry. Weather in the 50s and 40s. Poor spirits. Good thing there was still whisky left.

Day 4:
Out to Moskey. Good hiking weather, bad camping weather. I bet Moskey Basin is way more beautiful in better weather, and when it's not flooded. Shelter site 7 has a killer view on the peninsula, but crazy headwind. The privy behind #8 has, pants down, the best graffiti on the island (that I saw).

Day 5:
Muggy and buggy on the way back to Daisy. Clear skies broke! Sunlight! Hello friend! Warmth! A good relaxing day at Daisy and another clear night. Laid out on the dock under the Milky Way until I got chilly. So humbling to look straight up at our galactic core. Also saw a UFO. Maybe. Definitely didn't look like a satellite, iridium flare, or plane.

Day 6:
Back to Three Mile. Crazy weather - warm, cold, hot, cool, repeat. Clouded over at night, and I was too tired from being awake from 1230-230 every clear night, so I set an alarm, looked up from my cocoon and saw the Milky Way through a hole in the clouds, smiled, went back to sleep.

Day 7:
Headed back Rock Harbor in cool weather in the mid-50s, I think. Took the Tobin Trail as planned; glad we did. What a great trail. A little more upsy-downy than I expected, and rocky of course, but also often very smooth. About 10 minutes before we made it the seaplane dock area, the sun came out and it got into the mid/upper-70s! We made such great time (for us), so we had like 3-4 hours to spare before the Queen's departure. More warm dock stretches, a couple beers and Yooper Bars, and a quick jaunt out to the America Dock, which is closed (because it looks like an MC Escher work right now).

Hammock remarks:
I use an 11' fixed ridgeline Dutchware Chameleon with 15' webbing straps, and a 12' asymmetrical tarp. I had zero problems getting a good, comfortable hang at all sites, but the tarp wasn't a good fit some nights - too large for my chosen trees. I've read lots of hangers are wary of IR's birches; I had no problems or concerns. I always look up for dead branches and won't hang from dead/dying trees. I always stretch my thumb and pinky finger apart - that's the minimum width/diameter of the trees I'll choose to hang from. You will both need and want quilts at IR - top quilt and under quilt. I'm toying with the idea of getting an ultralight sleeping pad in case I need to use my quilts in a shelter on the floor. But I lash my tripod to my pack's butt where I'd otherwise put a pad, so.

I'd like to start a resource for Isle Royale hammock hangers, down to which campsites are hangable or preferable. Anyone here, and/or at /r/isleroyale, and/or hammockforums who's interested in helping, please reach out!

3 Mile: I hung at tent site 7, which was a great hang with plenty of room, but very poor view. Site 9 had an excellent view (and water access) and a comfortable hang, but my tarp was very unhappy and didn't fit. Good thing the rain was brief and light. 8 looked hangable. Can't remember 6. One or two of Group Sites 1, 2, and 3 looked hangable, but I had only a quick walk through and can't remember.

Daisy: Group site 3 had a great diamond of 4 big birches (iirc). Plenty of options. Got poured on, but stayed dry. Later, Individual tent site #15 was excellent. My favorite hang of the trip. 4 trees made two different options. My buddy put his tent between my two preferred; the other two were still great. Excellent sunlight and very close to the shore. Path to 15 was pretty overgrown. Group site 2 looked hangable, but group site 1 was unhangable. ([http://isleroyale.info/campgrounds.html]Group site 1 also has a very convenient shortcut path not on the maps, between 1 and shelter site 22. Very helpful.[/url]) Didn't bother looking at sites 16, 17, or 18 because 15 was so nice.

Moskey: Site #5 was excellent. Right on the edge of a beaver swamp, but some good upright birches, great view, and good foliage overhead. Site 6 was super wet from the heavy rain two nights before.

Photo gear:
Manfrotto tripod - I thought I'd remove the legs to shave a pound off, but I'm glad I didn't (I'm tall).
Canon 100-400ii - for wildlife closeups and the eclipse, mounted to my shoulder strap with a Peak Design Clip. Worth the weight. Got a lot of compliments and good natured "You're nuts!" Y'all are great.
Canon 2x - for closeups and eclipse. Barely used - just for our moose.
Sigma 14mm f/1.8 - for Milky Way and landscape panoramas. Also worth the weight.

It was sometimes frustrating missing all focal lengths between 14 and 100mm, and I'd wished I'd brought my nifty 50 1.8. I will for next time; it'd be worth the weight. If I had a mirrorless system lighter than the 7d mk2 tank, I'd have brought it instead.

Closing thoughts: BUGS - were not too bad. I can tolerate mosquitos, but not biting flies. I treated my hammock, pack, pants, and jacket with Permethrin and only have a few mosq bites. Maybe 1-3 flies bit me. Very surprised for June; expected the worst. It's been awhile since we've backpacked; we both brought waaaay too much food, even in spite of our calorie-planning spreadsheets. I guess we just overestimated how hungry we'd be, but we were doing pretty low mileage to not feel rushed and take it all in. Also, I should've known better, but I brought bad boots. I went with my ventilated pair hoping they'd dry faster than inevitably wet waterproof boots. And while I didn't have a single slip or skid on wet rocks and stones, the toe-boxes were far too wide for me, and didn't have enough structural support to keep my feet happy. Bring better boots. My #1 take-away life-applicable lesson from Isle Royale - equally applicable to hiking soggy trails or living life: If you see no good options, you're not looking hard enough. And if there just aren't, grin and bear it.

[DarkSkyFalcon]

Great trail report! I think we met on this trip. I was David, the guy with the SmugMug astro photos. Sorry you got rained out for the eclipse, but I hope you got some killer Milky Way shots. Would love to see them if you're able to post.

[Ingo]

Nice report, thanks! A note on the birch trees though: a couple days ago there was a big birch laying across the tent site #5. Must have happened right after you were there.

[chief54]

seymourdunn I guessed i missed it, what kind of camera body do you use? On my upcoming photo trip will be bring Canon 1dx Ml for birds, 90d wildlife/birds, 6d astro/landscape along with a waterproof Nikon. Have narrowed down to a Canon 100-400mm/1.4 extender for birds/wildlife, Rokinon 14mm for astro, Canon 24-105mm landscape/people and Tamron 90mm micro. Have decided not to bring my 150-600mm. where is a good site to see your work? Very good trip report.

[seymourdunn]

Great trail report! I think we met on this trip. I was David, the guy with the SmugMug astro photos. Sorry you got rained out for the eclipse, but I hope you got some killer Milky Way shots. Would love to see them if you're able to post.

Hi! I'm glad you found me and reached out! I couldn't find you on smugmug after all. Could you send me a message with your page so we can catch up? Were you up for the eclipse, or rained out too?

[seymourdunn]

Nice report, thanks! A note on the birch trees though: a couple days ago there was a big birch laying across the tent site #5. Must have happened right after you were there.

I know the exact one you mean - it about halved the usable area of Moskey #5. It fell on the storm the night before the eclipse, while I was still at Daisy Farm. I never felt unsafe hanging from the birches I used on Isle Royale. They all appeared and felt wide and tall enough. And MB#5 was a way better site than the mudpit that was #6. Whew.

[seymourdunn]

seymourdunn I guessed i missed it, what kind of camera body do you use? On my upcoming photo trip will be bring Canon 1dx Ml for birds, 90d wildlife/birds, 6d astro/landscape along with a waterproof Nikon. Have narrowed down to a Canon 100-400mm/1.4 extender for birds/wildlife, Rokinon 14mm for astro, Canon 24-105mm landscape/people and Tamron 90mm micro. Have decided not to bring my 150-600mm. where is a good site to see your work? Very good trip report.

I'm using an old 7Dmk2. Heavy as hell. Wish I'd had something lighter. I think I made some overall poor ISO choices at IR, but I'm still deduping. When they're ready, I'll have an album posted at https://www.flickr.com/photos/130052588@N04/albums

[seymourdunn]

seymourdunn I guessed i missed it, what kind of camera body do you use? On my upcoming photo trip will be bring Canon 1dx Ml for birds, 90d wildlife/birds, 6d astro/landscape along with a waterproof Nikon. Have narrowed down to a Canon 100-400mm/1.4 extender for birds/wildlife, Rokinon 14mm for astro, Canon 24-105mm landscape/people and Tamron 90mm micro. Have decided not to bring my 150-600mm. where is a good site to see your work? Very good trip report.

Hey Chief and David, photos are up! https://www.flickr.com/photos/130052588 ... 524973560 Astrophotos forthcoming; they're taking a bit longer to edit. I'll post them directly to the Pictures thread when they're ready.