backwoods doc wrote: ↑Fri May 06, 2022 8:46 am
Way to walk back that ageist-sounding comment
Regardless of what shape you're in, I prefer canoeing. It's a great way to get away from the crowded trails and campgrounds. We have gone 2 days without seeing another soul while paddling the inland lakes of the island in late July.
I'm an expert in walking backwards
I think that is another great reason to paddle. My dad enjoys solitude even more than I do, and from the sounds of it the "hikeable" campgrounds are full to overflowing during the peak months as it currently stands. The first real camping outside of a state park campground I ever experienced was canoeing with my dad, so it sounds like I better start planning anther IR trip with paddles involved!
alicecw wrote: ↑Fri May 06, 2022 9:19 am
You may want to consider taking the Tobin Harbor trail out of Rock Harbor when you arrive. Even though it is about a half mile longer, it is a faster trail because you aren't contending with the rocks of the Rock Harbor trail. Last year, we took the Tobin Harbor Trail to Three Mile for our first night (based on the recommendations from this forum) and beat quite a few other groups from the Ranger to 3M.
This sounds like a great idea - it should be a nicer "warmup" hike than the Rock Harbor Trail, which we could use heading back into RH the night before we leave. And of course it'd be great to grab a spot earlier rather than later on our first day, especially if the weather isn't cooperating.
Thanks for the pictures and the Suzy's cave heads up as well - we'll be sure to make a stop there!
I was just on IR last week and had an itinerary set very close to yours which we slightly modified. Commenting since you stated that you have a member of your group without a lot of hiking experience and I had zero before this trip. This is what we did and I think it was really great.
Day 1) Arrive at RH from Copper Harbor and hiked to Daisy via the Rock Harbor Trail to stay the night. This trail was really rough I personally though but was very doable for someone like me with no experience.
Day 2) It rained in the morning so we moved from our campsite to a shelter at Daisy and then when it cleared mid day hiked to Moskey Basin and back without our packs. It was really great to be a little lighter while hiking and we brought dinner and ate while we were there.Once we got there we had wished we had brought all of our stuff since there was a free shelter right on the water, but it was all good:) It gave us more time the next day.
Day 3) Hiked to Mt Ojibawa and back from Daisy again without our packs. When we got back to Daisy we packed up and hiked back to RH campground to stay the night but this time took the Tobin Harbor which was a bit easier and was also a plus that we could cover more trail and have a different view.
Day 4) Hiked to Scoville Point and back from RH campground. Departed back to Copper Harbor in the afternoon.
We hiked about 30 miles on the trails and we didn't see many people except on the last day to Scoville only because I think alot of people on our ferry were completing that as their last hike before departing.
j84 wrote: ↑Sat Jun 25, 2022 1:54 pm
We hiked about 30 miles on the trails and we didn't see many people except on the last day to Scoville only because I think alot of people on our ferry were completing that as their last hike before departing.
That's good to hear. After the overcrowding of last year I was apprehensive about going this year.
'22: RH-LC-DF-MB-CH-DF-3M-RH
'21: RH-DF-MB-MC-HL-Malone-SD-WC ~75 miles hiked including side trips.
'20: WC-FL-SB-IM-WC
'18: RH-DF-MB-ECB-DF-RH
'16: RH-LC-DF-TM-RH
'14: WC-HC-WC
j84 wrote: ↑Sat Jun 25, 2022 1:54 pm
I was just on IR last week and had an itinerary set very close to yours which we slightly modified. Commenting since you stated that you have a member of your group without a lot of hiking experience and I had zero before this trip. This is what we did and I think it was really great.
Thanks for the run down! It sounds like you had a good time. Unless we are stuck with really brutal weather, I think we will probably hike out to Moskey Basin and stat a night - we purposefully didn't have any long hiking days, so I'm hoping we can get out there, as I've heard great things about staying there.
Is there anything off the top of your head (aside from maybe staying at Moskey a night) that you wish you had done differently, or brought along on your trip? My friend and I are making lists and would love to hear of anything that you would recommend or wish you had brought.
