Change in plans - is this reasonable?

[tfoster]

So as we started finalizing different aspects of our trip, we realized it didn't make a lot of sense to go Grand Portage to get to Isle Royale - too much extra time spent in the van getting there, too much extra money on gas for that extra driving given how much gas is costing right now, and the boat transportation costs much more (several hundred dollars more than from either Copper Harbor or Houghton). Unfortunately, that scraps our McCargoe Cove -> Chippewa Harbor plans, and I've been starting from close to scratch.

We really want to spend a night at Moskey Basin, so now I'm looking at Rock Harbor to Moskey Basin and back, thinking of the Rock Harbor Trail all the way one way and then the other way using the Tobin Harbor Trail. Is that reasonable in either 4 or 5 nights with the four kids (who will be newly 6, 8, 11, and 15)? Would prefer to do it in 4 as that works well for traveling from Houghton, whereby 5 works well for traveling in from Copper Harbor. I get pretty (okay, very!) seasick and am already gearing up for that, but it seems like even though the trip is longer, the one from Houghton on the Ranger might be easier (as far as seasickness is concerned)???

If we did 4 nights out of Houghton, I was thinking maybe getting to Rock Harbor and hiking to 3 Mile for night 1. Then hiking to Moskey Basin for night 2. Then to Daisy Farm for night 3. And finally to Rock Harbor for night 4. Is that doable given the rough stretch between Moskey Basin and Daisy Farm?

If we did the 5 nights out of Copper Harbor, we'd have more flexibility on IR as we'd get in earlier the first day and then leave at 2:45 the last day (versus the 9 AM departure for Houghton), but that doesn't work quite as well for the rest of our trip planning (you know, the not very exciting parts like cost, fitting the dates in around both my son's Regents schedule and being in Bayfield for July 4th, the number of vacation days needed to fit in around the boat schedule, etc).

What do you think?

[Capt Don]

and the boat transportation costs SO much more (several hundred dollars more than from either Copper Harbor or Houghton). Unfortunately, that scraps our McCargoe Cove -> Chippewa Harbor plans, and I've been starting from close to scratch.

I felt compelled to respond this.

I actively participate on this forum for a couple of reasons, one, for my love of the island, second, to provide accurate information to posters just like this in order to assist with the sometimes daunting task of planning a trip to a remote island. Never have I used this or any forum to promote the boat business nor do I plan to in the future, it is not the purpose of this forum. However, I find these comments to be completely inaccurate and want to shed some light on it. First lets compare apples to apples, the original destination was McCargoe Cove, a destination served by the Voyageur II included at the regular fare or by a water taxi at an additional cost. Chippewa Harbor, again, a destination served by the VII included at the regular fare or by water taxi at an additional cost. Now the destination is Rock Harbor, a destination served by three boats, but only by one as part of a circumnavigation, something completely different and unique to the service the Voyageur II provides. If a price comparison is to be made, then a point to point one stop option is the only comparison. One will find the Voyageur II or Sea Hunter to Windigo and back is comparible in price to the other point to point transport services, in addition, the park user fees are also included in our total when making reservations which can make the cost seem higher when comparing fare prices. But still not several hundred dollars. If one were to plan a trip to the west end of the island only, the prices would be very similar and more time would be afforded on the island and less on the boat.

When someone considers the limitations associated with getting to Isle Royale and the travel options available, I feel the transportation provided from any point to the island are some of the best values in National Park vacations and travel anywhere in North America. I wish there was a way to do it cheaper but the fact is that our 2011 fares increased $1 over 2010, an increase of less than 2%. How many products or services that any of us use in today's world can make the same claim? I can't think of any.

Whichever route you choose, have a wonderful time on the island.

[tfoster]

Oh my goodness - I am so sorry! I did not at all intend to offend anyone. One common issue with our family is scale; everything is times 6. So relatively small differences for other smaller parties can end up being big differences for us, and that can end up affecting our plans. No doubt we would have had a wonderful time utilizing the extended services of Voyager II, but it really would cost us (again, as a family of 6) significantly more (yes, several hundred dollars for our family of 6) to have that experience rather than the simpler one of being dropped off at Rock Harbor, so we started to re-consider our "apple" and started to think about having an "orange" instead. (And yes, I did remember to factor in the user fees and even factored in parking fees as well. I also carefully calculated multiple times, but perhaps the others don't have all of their fees (like a fuel surcharge) posted, which would have thrown the numbers off.) Note that I didn't think anything particularly negative about this; it was just another consideration to take into account with all of the others.

Of course, in this instance, as I indicated, there were other factors too - like my son's recently-released Regents schedule determining when we can leave home (which is a little later than we had originally hoped, making it tougher to get to Minnesota in our overall time frame) and our deciding we're not crazy after all about driving an extra 5 hours (time-wise and gas-wise) to get to Minnesota - that have nothing at all to do with the costs of the boats.

My apologies again for upsetting anyone. I posted in the Trails area because I really was just looking for thoughts about that. I suppose I shouldn't have mentioned the specifics about why we were changing plans.

[Keweenaw]

Hi tfoster,

No need to be too alarmed! You stated the bare facts in your case and Capt. Don stepped in to give perspective to those who might read your post and wrongly conclude that his boats are overpriced. The Ranger and Queen are indeed the most direct and economical way to get to Rock Harbor, although I have taken the Voyager in the past due to their early season schedule and the opportunity to cruise the Island on my way to RH (and I live just north of Houghton!). The Voyager, on the other hand, is the most flexible transportation to the Island, both in terms of schedule and itinerary, and is FAR cheaper than the water taxi run by concessions. It's also a great option for folks from Minnesota and points West.

Now, to your dilemma. I'm too lazy to do the math, but the water taxi from Rock Harbor to Chippewa Harbor is $210 for 6 people, so if that fits your budget you could:

Day 1 - boat to Chippewa Harbor - explore Lake Mason and the ridge trail behind the group campsite.
Day 2 - Hike to Moskey Basin (this is a pretty easy "walk in the woods" hike). Great swimming!
Day 3 - Hike to Daisy Farm. This portion of trail is kind of rocky/rooty as I recall, so 3.9 miles might be enough. When you get to DF, grab a shelter and hike up to the Greenstone with daypacks for fun.
Day 4 - Hike to Rock Harbor. Cut over to the Tobin Harbor Trail at Threemile - MUCH easier/quieter walk.


If you can swing the $210 I really think this would be more fun than a loop out of RH.

Best of luck planning!

Bob

[Capt Don]

No worries and no offense taken, Bob's explanation is exactly correct. I completely understand your situation coming from a family of 6 myself. I am happy you guys are able to get to the island period, it will be a wonderful experience. Single payer groups have always been a concern of mine with regards to isle royale. It just plain costs a lot and probably prevents some from being able to visit, at least all together. Again,have a wonderful trip.

[tfoster]

Thanks both Bob and Capt Don! I think we might have a new plan that works and makes my semi-reluctant husband particularly happy. I e-mailed this afternoon about the water taxi and assuming they tell me what we want to do is indeed doable, we're now tentatively planning to take the Queen over to Rock Harbor, eat a hot lunch at the restaurant, and then take the water taxi to Chippewa Harbor. We'll stay for 5 nights total, hitting Lake Richie, Moskey Basin, Daisy Farm, Three Mile, and back to Rock Harbor. Don't know where we'll stay each night and will play that by ear depending on how we feel, weather, etc. Only definite overnight location is Moskey Basin. DS(15) really wants to stay at Lake Richie too because he thinks the trip would be incomplete if we didn't spend a night inland. (I think he has a good point there.) Hopefully we'd be back at Rock Harbor for the last evening to make my DH very happy with a restaurant dinner that night and yet another restaurant meal the next day too before heading out at 2:45 in the afternoon. But it would also be okay if we ended up at Three Mile the last night because we'd have plenty of time the next day to get back to Rock Harbor and have a meal before the 2:45 departure. Does all that make good sense?

The water taxi does bring the cost back up some more, but it does seem to make it a much better trip than walking out from and back to RH, we'll still be saving the extra driving time and gas money getting to Minnesota, and if my husband has restaurant meals at the start and end days of our stay on the island, we'll all be a lot happier (even with paying the $200 more for the water taxi service!).

Bob, thanks for the water taxi suggestion. I don't think I would have seriously looked into it if you hadn't specifically mentioned it.

Capt Don, thanks so much for not taking offense. I edited my initial post to de-emphasize the cost difference; I shouldn't have had the emphasis there anyway. Family of 6 is awesome except when it comes to buying tickets (for anything!) for the whole family.

[Keweenaw]

Hi again,

Glad you're getting it all sorted out. You may want to inquire about lunch/dinner prices at the Lodge as they are quite expensive with the NPS surcharge - just so you don't get sticker shock upon arrival!

In case you don't know, you will have to fill out an itinerary when you arrive, but since there are less than 7 in your party you will not be held to that itinerary - you can modify it as you go.

Bob

[Tom]

I think your amended route would be quite enjoyable. A little different than your original Indian Portage Trail version, but still hitting some nice sites. The hike from Ritchie to Moskey is not bad at all (especially in that direction) and so if you get to Ritchie and it's just not looking like a place for you, it's not too much to head on down to Moskey. I'd especially recommend it if the weather looks rough.
Another nice thing is that your path gets slightly easier each day you progress, to some degree. A little shorter, a little less on the legs...

Although it's probably not in the cards for this trip, I'll still encourage you to someday consider taking the drive over to Minnesota and follow Hwy 61 up the north shore. You'll find that route itself littered with state parks, waterfalls, and every other reason the SHT (Superior Hiking Trail) is considered one of the best in the nation. Having ferry service to Isle Royale at the end of the route is just icing on the cake.

[tfoster]

Although it's probably not in the cards for this trip, I'll still encourage you to someday consider taking the drive over to Minnesota and follow Hwy 61 up the north shore. You'll find that route itself littered with state parks, waterfalls, and every other reason the SHT (Superior Hiking Trail) is considered one of the best in the nation. Having ferry service to Isle Royale at the end of the route is just icing on the cake.

Yep, that's going to end up needing to be a different trip but one I'll look forward to taking at some point, likely when it doesn't involve spending nearly a week in northern Wisconsin as well (like this current trip does). The drive along the shore looks like it would be an absolute beautiful one and I was really looking forward to that. Missing it now leaves motivation to go back another time.

[tfoster]

Hi again,

Glad you're getting it all sorted out. You may want to inquire about lunch/dinner prices at the Lodge as they are quite expensive with the NPS surcharge - just so you don't get sticker shock upon arrival!

Bob

Good idea. I printed off the menu from their website, but I think it's from 2009. I will ask if they have an updated one. Usually it's not a good thing that eating out where we live is quite expensive. In this case, though, adding 20% puts the prices at about what we would expect to see here. Kind-of sad but I suppose it'll help avoid too much sticker shock.

[k2one]

I have used the Voyageur II a couple of times,once to get to the Island and another to circumnavigate it. In fact during this coming Memorial week I will be taking the Queen IV to Rock Harbor and will be using the Voyageur to drop me off at Chippewa Harbor and hike back.They have always been friendly,reliable and the price is very reasonable for that kind of service!