5-day Interior Canoe Trip

[cannythomas1]

Hello everyone,

I'm planning a canoe trip to Isle Royale with my father in May to celebrate his retirement and have been gleaning some great information here, so I figured I would see if anyone had thoughts or suggestions on our prospective route. Our plan is to come in from Copper Harbor on a Monday and head back on Friday, either the week of or the week before Memorial Day.

We would plan on exploring Rock Harbor after coming in on the ferry on the first day, staying nearby so that we can take the Voyageur II to Malone Bay in the morning, portaging into Siskiwit Lake and fishing for a bit, then staying at Wood Lake. On day 3 we would portage through Intermediate Lake and into Lake Richie, staying at the Lake Richie canoe site, again planning to fish a bit and take our time. For day 4 we would do the long portage to Moskey Basin and paddle some of the way back up the harbor, staying at Threemile or Tookers Island. On the Friday we would take our time paddling the rest of the way in to grab the ferry back to Copper Harbor in the afternoon.

We're confident paddlers, but not very experienced. We would love to explore some of the interior waters, without biting off more than we can chew. Would love to hear any thoughts on how challenging this itinerary might be compared to exploring the area around Rock Harbor on canoe.

Also, I've seen that Lake Richie has recently had an algae issue. Has this cleared up at all, or is it best to assume that we should not count on Lake Richie for drinking water or fishing?

Any thoughts or suggestions much appreciated!

Thanks!

[dcclark]

Welcome! I'm no paddler, and others can give you more direct advice about your itinerary, but I can jump in with a bit of general island advice:

Most important, it's ambitious to have a must-do plan for every day. The island has a way of laughing at plans and you will almost certainly be unable to follow yours due to weather conditions. I recommend building in at least one zero day and have a bunch of backup plans. (This is one of the advantages of the island, however: You don't have to follow any specific itinerary. No campsite reservations needed.)

In particular, there's no way you can be certain that conditions will let you get to Rock Harbor on your last morning. I wouldn't risk putting yourself in that kind of do-or-die situation.

This all is particularly true in May, which is still very much spring. Expect cold nights, likely some below freezing, highly variable weather and winds, definitely rain, potentially snow. You'll be even more likely to get socked in by weather in May than in later months.

For Lake Richie, algae blooms have sometimes happened later in summer, but not in May. You should be just fine. I don't think there were any blooms this past year.

[Ingo]

Having canoed on IR many times, dcclark is spot on. For a trip like that you really need more time and experience. A couple of other factors that time of year are water temps (especially dangerously cold) and the fact that you'd probably be the only souls on the inland lakes. It's very early for paddling trips, so I'd suggest the week of Memorial Day if possible.

Hanging around Rock Harbor with a canoe is actually a rather nice trip, something I've done a couple times. It gives you options to watch and wait if necessary. And it's not unusual that Tobin Harbor will have nice paddling when Rock Harbor is a no go.

So my suggestion is to plan to paddle down the harbor if/when there's a good 2-3 day weather window, but stay at Rock Harbor if not. I'd head out on Mon. off the boat if it's OK. Then plan to be back at the RH campground by Thurs. night in any case. That gives you at least 1/2 day leeway to get back if the weather unexpectedly turns. And the hike out to Scoville Pt is a great way to end the trip on Fri. before you catch the boat.

[backwoods doc]

Your comment that you are "confident paddlers, but not very experienced" concerns me. Have you done much wilderness backpacking or paddling? If not, you might want to do an overnight trip closer to home before heading to Isle Royale. That'll give you the chance to test out your sleeping/cooking/water filtration gear.

A lightweight Kevlar canoe will be a blessing on portages. When you look at those distances, remember that one of you will likely be hiking each portage trail three times (in my experience: dad and son each carry their own pack, paddle and life jacket from point A to point B. Dad lounges at point B while son goes back to point A to get the canoe.) Some people carry a canoe and a pack simultaneously, but at that point I'm not sure they're still on vacation...

Consider taking your trip in July or August. It might be chilly (and/or wet), but not freezing.

Paddling on Lake Superior in an open canoe scares me. I'm told it can be done safely if you have time to wait out waves and weather.

Consider either of these 5-day itineraries if coming from the Michigan side. (Note that a 5-day, 4-night trip really only gives you 2 nights camping in
the backcountry):


Day 1: Copper Harbor to Rock Harbor. Take a short hike. Overnight RH.

Day 2: Take Voyageur II to Chippewa (careful: they don't run every day). Paddle and portage into Whittlesey, where Northerns will be caught by trolling, or fishing along the small island near the campground (which is not too nice). Portage into Wood and paddle to the campground. The site on the bluff (to the left and above the landing) is my favorite site in the park. Watch for moose and otters, be entertained by loons. Overnight Wood.

Day 3: Decide whether to keep Wood Lake as your base camp. Paddle a laden (or very light) canoe to Intermediate (nice campground just into the woods with luxurious tent pad), and on to Lake Richie (very nice canoe campground with a sweeping view), then potentially back to Intermediate or Wood for the night. Do some fishing. Overnight Wood, Intermediate or Lake Richie.

Day 4: Paddle Siskiwit Lake to Malone Bay. Wind out of the southwest and whitecaps can be an issue. The lake tends to be calm in the early morning, so get packed up and going at first light. We have not had trouble making the short paddles from Wood or Intermediate (Richie might be pushing it). Troll for Lake Trout. Arrange for water taxi in afternoon from Malone to Rock Harbor. Overnight RH.

Day 5: Rock Harbor to Copper Harbor.


A second option would be to reverse the above. Get dropped off by the Voyageur II at Malone, paddle with the wind at your backs and camp at some combination of Richie Canoe, Intermediate or Wood, coming out at Chippewa for a water taxi pick-up on Day 4, then back to Rock Harbor. Less wind concerns on Siskiwit. Boat to Copper Harbor Day 5.


Hope this helps (and that you consider adding another day or two to your trip).