2012 Trip Log- Add your intinerary and trip info here!

[photosean]

When planning the route, the North Desor day is the one I had the most trouble with. I kept flip-flopping between North Desor and Little Todd. That day was somewhat pivotal for completing an "around-the-island" hike in eight days, without any days of 20+ miles. (Although, I'm not against 20+ miles a day.) Plus I wanted to sneak in the Huginnin Cove loop on my way to Windigo. From North Desor, that keeps the mileage right around 19.
Is Little Todd a better campsite/area? My itinerary is definitely not set in stone. Thanks for the help!

[Rafiki]

Personally, Sean, I like Little Todd a heck of a lot more than North Desor. I believe, although I cannot be certain, that others will agree with me on liking Little Todd more than North Desor. While I am pretty sure of this fact, I will admitt that others will probably like Little Todd more than North Desor for different reasons than my own. I am not a campfire kind of guy because I do not like smelling like campfire, but I think that Little Todd's campfire rings will be what makes many people like this particular campsite more than North Desor. For me, I really like being on Lake Superior. I think the water crashing on the rocks at night sounds so peaceful. In June this probably won't matter due to the water being cold, but I like bathing in Lake Superior too. I would never bathe in North Desor. Ever seen Stand By Me? If so, remember when Rudy gets a leech on his family jewels? Ya, well last fall, I saw a leech as long and as wide as my family jewels at North Desor. Yikes! I would be screaming if that thing latched on to me. Some other reasons why I like Little Todd more; the campsites are closer to the water and it makes filtering easier than having to travel down the slope at North Desor (South Desor's slope is worse lol). I also don't care for the way the sites are laid out. There are three sites at North Desor and each is split into two sections. So you have a total of 3 shared sites. I love meeting people on Isle Royale and I don't mind sharing my site if all of the other ones are occupied, but I'd rather there be 6 seperate sites, and only have to share my site if a 7th group comes to the site instead of when the 4th group comes in. I like to go to bed early and don't want to hear a bunch of kids that decide they want to stay up until midnight. Finally, I just like the sites more at Little Todd. North Desor sites seem so small and clustered while Little Todds are a little bit more spread out and larger. On a side note, so far from my experience, I believe the tuffest patch of trail I tackled was between Little Todd and North Desor, so that is something to keep in mind. The question may be, do you want to finsh on a hard note or start on one, because if you stay at Little Todd, your morning hike will be the stuffest part of the day. If you stay at North Desor, your final part of the hike before reaching Desor will be your tuffest. Honestly, its really not tuff at all, but from the perspective of comparing it to other parts of the island, yes, this part is more difficult than the others. Again though, if terrain like this bothered you, you wouldn't have such high mileage days in the first place. So I seriouly would not think twice about it, because I am sure you can easily handle whatever the island thorws at you.

[srparr]

Name: Steve P., Steve G., Sean K., Vince L.
Email: srparr (at) gmail (dot) com
Hometown: Plymouth, MI
Arrival Date: Sat 8/25
Departure Date: Sat 9/1
Coming From/Via: Copper Harbor via Queen IV

Itinerary:
Fri 8/24: Drive to Copper Harbor (overnight in motel)
Sat 8/25: Queen to RH, water taxi for 4 people & 2 rental canoes to Chippewa Harbor
Sun 8/26: Paddle/portage to Lake Whittlesey
Mon 8/27: Paddle/portage to Malone Bay
Tue 8/28: Paddle to Wood Lake
Wed 8/29: Paddle/portage to Lake Richie Canoe
Thu 8/30: Paddle/portage to West Chickenbone
Fri 8/31: morning hike up the Greenstone for lunch on the ridge, afternoon paddle/portage to Birch Island
Sat 9/1: Water taxi to Rock Harbor, Queen to Copper Harbor
Sun 9/2: Drive home
Mon 9/3: Holiday!

Notes/Other:
First time paddling the southern & inner lakes.
Open to any advice on portaging and canoe fishing!

[BackCountry11]

Name:Jake Vogel
Email: (at) javogel@nmu.edu
Hometown:Marquette,MI
Arrival Date: Saturday May 12th
Departure Date:Friday May 18th
Coming From/Via:Grand Portage via the Voyager II and Departing from Rock Harbor Via Queen IV
Itinerary:
May 12th: Windigo to Feldtmann Lake
May 13th: Feldmann Lake to Siskiwit Bay
May 14th: Siskiwit Bay to S. Lake Desor
May 15th: S. Lake Desor to Todd Harbor
May 16th: Todd Harbor to Sargent Lake
May 17th: Sargent Lake to Three Mile
May 18th: Three Mile to Rock Harbor
Notes/Other:Still debating my itinerary but this is a rough idea.

[Tom]

Name: Tom
Email: tom(at)thevoigts.com
Hometown: Twin Cities, MN
Arrival Date: 19 May 2012; Saturday
Departure Date: 24 May 2012; Thursday
Coming From/Via: Grand Portage via the Voyaguer II
Itinerary:
Day 1 (Sat): Drop at Rock Harbor, hike to Threemile
Day 2 (Sun): Dayhike to Lookout Louise and back. If feeling good and weather is right, move on to Daisy Farm.
Day 3 (Mon): Meander up to the tower, maybe head over to Moskey.
Day 4 (Tues): Depending on weather, stick around Moskey or move yonder to Lake Ritchie.
Day 5 (Wed): Mosey over to Chippewa
Day 6 (Thu): V-II pickup from Chippewa.

Notes/Other: My brother-in-law hiking partner and I thought it would be fun to hit the East side of the island when she's quieter. Originally we planned this for the first boat, but schedules got in the way, so we bumped it two weeks. (Plus, vivid memories of the snow from the first boat a couple years ago.)
Very much a casual stroll around that side, and most everything we've seen, but just a spring perspective. I never have actually stayed a night at Threemile, and it only holds memories as only place I've ran into a wolf on the Isle. We hope to enjoy it while it's quiet. Day 2 is our only higher mileage day, as these distance are somewhat shorter than our typical 8-12 we put on, so I think we'll have plenty of time to relax.

[hooky]

Name: rob
Email: fishhardrob(at)yahoo
Location: Central Indiana
Arrival Date: 29 May 2012; Tuesday
Departure Date: 2 June 2012; Saturday
Coming From/Via: Houghton via the Ranger III
Itinerary:
May 29 Arrive via Ranger at Rock Harbor and hike to Lane Cove
May 30 Hike from Lane to Moskey Basin
May 31 Moskey base camp and day hike to fish
June 1 Moskey to Rock Harbor
June 2 Ranger to Houghton

Notes: This trip to IR will be the first for my son and me. We decided to do a couple of long days with a rest day in the middle to take advantage of an extra sunrise at Moskey Basin as well as being able to goof off together and fish at a leisurely pace. Our first day on the island will be his 17th birthday, so I've got to figure out how to dehydrate a birthday cake and ice cream for dinner at Lane Cove.

[The Canuck]

Name: Jason
Email: jdhoppe1989 (at) gmail (dot) com
Location: Louisville, KY & Oak Park, IL
Arrival Date: Friday July 13, 2012
Departure Date: Tuesday July 17, 2012
Coming From/Via: Copper Harbor via Queen IV
Itinerary:
July 13 - Arrive via Queen IV at Rock Harbor and hike to Lane Cove (via Tobin Trail)
July 14 - Hike from Lane Cove to Daisy Farm
July 15 - Hike from Daisy Farm to Moskey Basin
July 16 - Hike from Moskey Basin to Threemile
July 17 - Hike from Threemile to Rock Harbor (via Rock Harbor trail) to catch the Queen IV back to mainland

Notes: This will be the first and hopefully begining of many more trip to IR. Having read a lot of what people have said, I think this will give us a good trip and taste of the island. The first couple days will be good hiking days, with a short hike from Daisy to Moskey. That should allow us to recover or relax a little if we are sore, tired, etc. Moskey to Threemile will be a solid hike, but hopefully we will be well rested. Then it is a short hike back to Rock Harbor in the morning to catch the boat.

[zentater]

Name: Zentater
Email: (at)
Hometown: Currently Golden, Co
Arrival Date: August 22
Departure Date: September 5th
Coming From/Via: Grand Portage
Itinerary:
8/22 - Windigo to Feldtmann Lake
8/23 - Feldtmann to Siskiwit Bay
8/24 - Siskiwit Bay to South Lake Desor
8/25 - South Lake Desor to Hatchet Lake
8/26 - Hatchet Lake - Lake Ritchie
8/27 - Lake Ritchie to Daisy Farm
8/28 - Daisy Farm to Rock Harbor
8/29- Rest Day Rock Harbor and Resupply via Voyageur II
8/30 - Rock Harbor to Lane Cove
8/31 - Lane Cove to McCargoe Cove
9/1 - McCargoe to Todd Harbor
9/2 - Todd Harbor to Little Todd
9/3 - Little Todd Rest Day
9/4 - Little Todd to North Lake Desor
9/5 - North Lake Desor to Huginnin Cove
9/6 - Huginnin Cove to Windigo and to Grand Portage
Notes/Other:
So last year we tried this in May when it was a hurdling (over, under and around) event prior to trail crew clearing the downed trees everywhere!!!! I will never forget looking down the trail to Lake Ritchie and wondering if there was a trail! Sometimes it took us longer to figure out how to get around the downed trees then to hike the trail (what was left!!!).

[Rafiki]

Anyone know who the person is that posted the "Three Amigos" trip for Sept. 15 this year?

[kirkl]

Name: Kirk, Gary, Chuck, Mark
Email: rugbypike11 (at) yahoo
Hometown: Charlotte, NC
Arrival Date: September 4
Departure Date: September 8
Coming From/Via: Houghton/Ranger III
Itinerary:

I'm flying into Marquette Saturday, September 2nd. My Dad and his friends are driving up from Grand Rapids and will be picking me up on their way to Houghton.

Tuesday
Arrive at Rock Harbor at 3:00 PM

Hike to Threemile via Tobin Harbor Trail 3.5 miles

Tuesday Total 3.5 miles
Camp overnight at Threemile Campground


Wednesday

Mount Franklin Trail to Greenstone Ridge Trail 2.1
Hike to Mount Ojibway Lookout 2.8
Hike to East Chickenbone Lake 5.7

Wednesday Total 10.6
Camp overnight at East Chickenbone Lake
Alternatively, we can continue on another 2.1 miles to McCargoe Cove where (I think?) campfires are allowed


Thursday
Hike to McCargoe Cove 2.1
Hike to West Chickenbone Lake 2.4
Hike to Lake Richie 3.4
Hike to Moskey Basin 1.9

Thursday Total 9.8
Camp overnight at Moskey Basin


Friday

Hike to Daisy Farm 3.9
Hike to Threemile 4.4
Hike to Rock Harbor 2.7

Friday Total 11
Camp overnight at Rock Harbor

Grand Total Mileage 34.9

Saturday
Depart Rock Harbor at 9:00 AM

Notes: First trip to Isle Royale for our entire party. I'm an experienced backpacker in the southern Appalachians, and looking forward to this relatively flat adventure!

[Midwest Ed]

Camp overnight at East Chickenbone Lake
Alternatively, we can continue on another 2.1 miles to McCargoe Cove where (I think?) campfires are allowed

I think almost everyone here would suggest you bypass East Chickenbone and camp at West CB or McCargoe Cove (McCargoe would be my personal preference over West CB, but West CB is nice).

East CB is generally considered to be very low on everyone's list of favorite campgrounds (like at the bottom). The worst aspects are the long vertical haul to/from the lake for water and the lack of decent tree cover.

Moskey Basin (and MaCargoe) are quite highly rated.

You did not specify exactly how many friends are joining you and your father. A party larger than 6 is classified as a GROUP and special rules apply as to where you cannot camp. (i.e. there are designated group campsites and some campgrounds do not have any.) If you are 7 or more you can split up into smaller groups but you then must have different itineraries logged when you register upon arriving.

[Rafiki]

East Chickenbone is the best campground that Isle Royale has to offer, where to get off telling him otherwise Midwest Ed?

[Rafiki]

On a different note, I am still trying to figure out who the "Three Amigos" are that have a trip planned in the middle of September on the digital calendar. Does anyone know who they are or how to find out who there are?

[Richard1961]

Names: Richard, Rich
E-mail : rherschleb@aol.com
Hometown: Green Bay WI
Arrival date: Sept 1st
Departure date: Sept 21
Coming from/Via: Grand Portage/26ft sailboat Ruth Ann

Itinerary

Aug 31 Day 1 Grand Portage MN
Sep 01 Day 2 Windigo Check-in/ Grace Island
Sep 02 Day 3 Birch Island
Sep 03 Day 4 McCargo Cove
Sep 04 Day 5 Belle Island
Sep 05 Day 6 Duncan Bay
Sep 06 Day 7 Passage Island / Blakes Point
Sep 07 Day 8 Rock Harbor / Tookers Island
Sep 08 Day 9 3 Mile
Sep 09 Day 10 Daisy Farm
Sep 10 Day 11 Moskey Basin
Sep 11 Day 12 Caribou Island
Sep 12 Day 13 Chippewa Harbor
Sep 13 Day 14 Malone Bay
Sep 14 Day 15 Hay Bay
Sep 15 Day 16 Siskiwit Bay/ Iron Mine
Sep 16 Day 17 Siskiwit Bay
Sep 17 Day 18 Siskiwit Bay
Sep 18 Day 19 Windigo
Sep 19 Day 20 Beaver Island
Sep 20 Day 21 Windigo/ Grace Island
Sep 21 Day 22 Grand Portage MN


Notes: Sailing around the Island in my 26ft Paceship PY26 sailboat
If anyone see us please say hi

[kirkl]

You did not specify exactly how many friends are joining you and your father. A party larger than 6 is classified as a GROUP and special rules apply as to where you cannot camp.

Thanks for the advice. If I can coax my party another couple miles, I think we're going to try to press on to McCargoe. I'm planning to tell them that a relatively short next day would leave more time for fishing on day 3.

It's me, my Dad, my Dad's buddy Chuck, and my uncle Mark. Four people total. Last year, my Dad, Chuck, and I backpacked in Great Smoky Mountains NP where we had consecutive 2500' elevation gain days. We basically hiked over a ridge and descended down into a valley on day 1, and then up another mountain on day 2, with day 3 alternating between downhill or flat. Anyway, point is, I'm thinking they should be able to handle the 12 miles on our first full day of hiking on IR to get all the way to McCargoe from Threemile. Thanks again!

Cheers,
Kirk