Planning 1st Trip - Question on Ferry Pickup??

[greener]

Planning a trip to Isle Royale in early Sept.

My girlfriend and myself are novice backpackers, both in good shape and should be able to do 8-10 miles a day. Planning on starting at Windigo and hiking to Daisy Farm, Rock Harbor may be a bit much?? Voyageur II from Grand Portage seems to have the most options. Do you have to book your return pickup time and point?? If it takes and extra day to get somewhere are you just stuck waiting till the next day?? If we make it Daisy Farm and decide to continue on to Rock Harbor, can we just get on the Voyageur II and pay when it shows up??

Thanks

[Tom]

Hiking the Greenstone to Rock Harbor is certainly not unheard of by novices. When you buy your ticket, purchase your return route. TECHNICALLY, I suppose you could just show up at Windigo or Rock Harbor and pay to get on, but that's not recommended. The Voyageur II is only guaranteed at those two points, and only stops at the other docks if they have reservations... So, YES, book the return trip.
Hikers should do everything they can to be at the location they said, WHEN they said. The boat will only wait a little bit before needing to move on. I think they probably notify the rangers of a missed pick up, but I'm not sure if they automatically will stop there on the next go around - Which is a minimum of TWO days, based on the schedule. Otherwise you're at the mercy of private boaters or someone to help you get around... Or you need to hoof it.
Like indicated earlier, book your return trip when you buy the ticket. There are two prices - Windigo, and "everywhere else." Book for a Daisy Farm pick up, so they know to get you there. If your legs are feeling good and you push on to Rock Harbor, either catch the crew when the Voyageur II pulls in for the day, or be there early the next morning. (The Captain might pull away once all the scheduled folks are there, so don't be late!) Just let them know you're a Daisy Farm pickup, and they'll adjust accordingly. I think that's not too uncommon..

[jerry]

And the boat normally arrives on time at pickup sites. In '08 I scheduled myself for a 10 a.m. (CDT) pickup at Malone Bay and they got to the dock a few minutes early. The Capt. asked where another group was. I told him they went back to get their gear. At 10 sharp he started honking his horn to depart and they just made it back in time. Tom's right, schedule in advance. I had to leave a day early last year, and luckily that was possible at Windigo on the V2.

[DonNewcomb]

OTHO, while you need to be on time, the boat may not be. It's not unheard of for any of the ferries to be delayed by weather or mechanical problems. Carry some extra food and fuel.

[Keweenaw]

Yes, you can just show up at Rock Harbor or Windigo without a reservation and pay IF the boat is not full. If it is full you are out of luck since Coast Guard regulations set a strict maximum on the number of passengers allowed.

Bob

[zims]

Hi Greener
I have been on the island with a tenitive pick up for sat morning, and it is true that you should have one extra meal with you. The boat was late due to it could not leave copper harbor due to bad weather. It roleld in around 7 pm that night and everyone needed double dramamine, mind you it did not help most of the passengers that night. The boats do a great job of getting you back and forth, but weather is not in their control. Just a fyi.

[jerry]

Sounds like you were with us last August when the boat from Copper Harbor didn't make it out for two days. Had to start buying food at the store and the grill. Lucky I wasn't out at Malone Bay or Chippewa Harbor.

[Capt Don]

Greener, you need to make a reservation with the drop off and pickup, a couple reasons for this, one is the park user fee is calculated at that time so we need to know the number of days on the island, sencondly, as Tom stated we only go to Windigo and Rock Harbor unless we have reservations for the other stops. No problem on the DF to RH change, get there early and let the crew know and don't try that change the other way around, winters get long on the island.

[PatrickBDunlap]

OTHO, while you need to be on time, the boat may not be. It's not unheard of for any of the ferries to be delayed by weather or mechanical problems. Carry some extra food and fuel.

I second the advice of extra food and fuel, especially fuel. Fuel is good for heating up water for water bottles in case it gets cold or if you need to dry out clothing or gear (a hot water bottle will steam it right out). And if your filter dies on you then you have the ability to boil your water before drinking.