I don't have much new info, but I feel the need to respond, since we (a) usually backpack/hike in California as well, and (b) also did IR as a "gee, what backpacking can we find near Ohio" (in our case, as a "little side trip" off a wedding in Cleveland).hirkeukvic wrote:Okay, intros: I've been backpacking before, but only in the Sierras in the summer (I did 70 miles a few years back.) I recently moved to the Midwest (Cincinnati area, to be specific) and found out about Isle Royale through the NPS website--I was hunting for adventure opportunities near Ohio and turned up with one nowhere near Ohio. The thing I found most attractive about IR is that nobody goes there. I wanted to go somewhere unique--Yosemite ranks as my current favorite place in the world, but it's overrun by tourists.
The hike from Siskiwit Bay to Feldtmann Lake was one of my favorite single days anywhere. Not spectacular scenery in the big-granite, redwood, coastal cliff, lava-flow mold, but a lot of variety and all of it superb. I actually really liked going in the direction we did; we spent the morning through the very narrow path of wildflowers (in late June), covering ourselves with pollen, so when we got to the ridge, butterflies hitched rides. We still haven't gotten the trip report together, but as a teaser, we have photos of a butterfly that was on a camera case, and stayed there feeding as we removed the camera from said case and took several very close photos of it. We saw our first moose on that hike, and the walk along the cliff east of Feldtmann Lake has great views, as does the tower. (I'm not sure if doing it in the opposite direction might get boring towards the end, with the long trek through the meadow in the afternoon, but people seem to love this segment no matter which way they go.)
I highly recommend something that includes that segment... and going to ISRO in the first place.
We went in late June, so not as cold, but our gear was very simple. Rain gear was about the only thing we needed that we don't use out here in CA. Other than that... light packs, light tent, tyvek for under it, inflatable insulated pads, something like a sleeping bag, water filter, coke-can stove with a few bottles of heet, some soup-in-hand bowls and plastic spoons, a little cookpot, camp shoes, headlamps, first aid, a camera, and an aeropress for espresso every morning, and that was about it. Not needing a bear can is a nice weight saving. My wife used trail runners and I talked her into getting some Dirty Girl gaiters (warning, the website may hurt your eyes); after a few days she decided they weren't doing anything and put them in her pack, and seriously regretted it -- they were back on at lunch. They weigh nothing, they're cheap, and they do actually work. Oh, and don't skimp on the bug repellent, either on strength or quantity, that was our only mistake.
