Minong Ridge Navigation with a Garmin

[JPlant]

Hello all, I’ll be headed to the island for my third visit in late August. I'm attempting a solo trek from Rock Harbor to Windigo via the Minong Ridge Trail. I’ll have my Garmin InReach for emergencies and navigation.

I'm wondering how accurate the maps on the InReach will be for the MRT. My last trip, two years ago, had me scratching my head about some rerouting on the Feldman loop. It turns out that the maps on the InReach were based on USGS maps from the 1980s.

Am I doing to run into any trouble if I use my InReach if I lose track of the trail?

Thanks so much!

[torpified]

I carry an Inreach (mini), but I haven't tried to using it for navigation. I suspect that there are at most shortlived and local differences between where the 80s maps think the Minong is and where the Minong is---so I don't think you'd be misled for long. And it could be that the InReach maps depict the present Minong accurately! (Some crude evidence that they do: the Gaia mapping app lets you see "public tracks"---the routes travelled by actual people on actual walks (and occasional Voyageur trips!). Those tracks align pretty well with where the Minong is shown on Gaia's version of the US topo (also for that matter, the USFS and NatGeo) map.)

[JerryB]

I wish i had an answer for you but i will offer one caution. Four or five years ago (I think), there was a fire on the Minong. I understand that a portion of the trail was rerouted the next year. Others may be able to confirm. In any case, if I am correct, Inreach may not reflect that.

[JPlant]

Thank you both. I’m sure it’ll be ok. I just wanted a little reassurance.

[TopCarrot]

A general tip to remember on the minong, is if you’re off trail you are probably low and should check up hill. The drop off is steep on the northwest side of the ridge and the trail doesn’t doesn’t go on that side.

[JPlant]

So, I'm back from my trip and working on a trip report. I figured that I'd report my way finding experience here. It seems that on the ridges, the trail follows the same path as it always has. I saw evidence of really old looking blazes painted in red-orange paint on the rocks marking the trail before they started using cairns. The only place I really got turned around was on the section from N. Desor to Huggnin. There was a spot where the trail crossed a stream and was marked by yellow and red ribbons, but there was a well-worn trail straight ahead. I saw a trail camera not long after the split and assumed I was on the right path until I ended up in the middle of a swamp. I pulled out my Garmin and saw that the trail was actually quite a bit further north. After a bit of backtracking, I found the stream crossing and was back on track. Thanks for your responses!

[torpified]

hypothesis: the trail camera was monitoring wildlife, and you were following a game trail! That---done to leaving a beribboned route to follow a better-worn path---is exactly how I wound up in a swamp on my way to the Greenstone from Chippewa Harbor a few years ago. Looking forward to your TR!

[TopCarrot]

So, I'm back from my trip and working on a trip report. I figured that I'd report my way finding experience here. It seems that on the ridges, the trail follows the same path as it always has. I saw evidence of really old looking blazes painted in red-orange paint on the rocks marking the trail before they started using cairns. The only place I really got turned around was on the section from N. Desor to Huggnin. There was a spot where the trail crossed a stream and was marked by yellow and red ribbons, but there was a well-worn trail straight ahead. I saw a trail camera not long after the split and assumed I was on the right path until I ended up in the middle of a swamp. I pulled out my Garmin and saw that the trail was actually quite a bit further north. After a bit of backtracking, I found the stream crossing and was back on track. Thanks for your responses!

We got lost in the same spot last year. And I finished this old post to prove it. LOL

viewtopic.php?p=31207#p31207