Isle Royale Forums

jturne12

James, If you get yourself in pretty good shape before arriving, I think day 1 (Windigo to Desor South) won't be as bad as you might think. I've been up and down that first part of the Greenstone after the age of 62 and it wasn't as bad as some folks talk about it being. I kept waiting for it to get bad. It is a long walk, mostly in the woods. Enjoy the hike and its a nice place to camp when you get to Desor. jerry

Jerry -

Thanks for the advice. This will be my first time to the island (one of many to come, I'm assuming). And I've heard mixed things about that first leg of the Greenstone....glad to hear its do-able coming off the boat that first day.

rubbershield wrote:
Day-----Starting From------Arriving At---------Mileage (mi)
1.........Rock Harbor...........Lane Cove.............6.9
2.........Lane Cove.............Chippewa Harbor....17.6
3.........Chippewa Harbor.....McCargo Cove.......10.9
4.........McCargo Cove........Todd Harbor..........6.7
5.........Todd Harbor...........North Desor..........11.2
6.........North Desor...........Huginnin Cove........14.4
7.........Huginnin Cove........Rainbow Cove........13.6
8.........Rainbow Cove........Siskiwit Bay...........11.1
9.........Siskiwit Bay...........Island Mine............4.3
10.........Island Mine...........South Desor...........5.5
11.........South Desor.........Malone Bay............10.8
12.........Malone Bay..........Todd Harbor...........15.9
13.........Todd Harbor.........Lake Richie............13.4
14.........Lake Richie..........Rock Harbor............14.2
15.........Rock Harbor.........Stoll Loop...............4.4

Here are a few comments on your plans: 1. I could be wrong, but I think that the store at Windigo won't be open when you pass through. That means that you'll be carrying your food for the whole trip. 2. Given the heavy load you will be toting I'd recommend doing Lane Cove at the end of the trip. I remember the long climb back up to the Greenstone on my visit 12 years ago. Better done on a lighter pack. 4. If you put Lane Cove near the end of your trip you can get off the ferry and head to Daisy Farm or possibly Moskey (much nicer) on day 1 and that will give you a better hike to Chippewa Harbor. 3. Island Mine is really isn't anything special. Given the distance I'd recommend you have lunch there and then continue on to S. Desor for your overnight stay. 5. Don't skimp on your food supplies due to the number of meals and extra warm clothes you will have to carry. It can still be very cold at night (or the day) and you have a lot of miles to walk. Make sure that you're taking in at least 3,000 calories a day. 6. I should be arriving at Windigo via float plane the day you pass through.

jturne12

You're welcome.

Since you're arriving on the V2 by 10 a.m., you should be able to get your camping permit by about 10:30. Say you average 2 m.p.h. on the trail you should take hopefully no more then 6 hours to get to Desor. If you hit the trail by 11, you should arrive at Desor by 5 pm. Needless to say a slower pace gets you in later. Take your time and enjoy the place. Remember there are no bears at ISRO NP and no lyme disease either.

I am not looking forward to the weight of the pack for this trip, just the trip itself
float plane to the island 17 May. Hike all over creation and stay at the cabins until the ranger III returns to houghton early june


Day 1. Windigo to Feldtman lake camp
Day 2. Feldtman lake to Siskiwit bay
Day 3. Siskiwit bay to Desor south
Day 4. Desor south to Malone bay
Day 5. Malone bay to Hatchet lake
Day 6. Hatchet lake to McCargo cove
Day 7. McCargo cove to Lake Ritchie
Day 8. Lake Ritchie to Chippewa Harbor
Day 9. Chippewa Harbor to Daisy farm
Day 10. Daisy farm to Lane cove
Day 11. Lane cove to Rock harbor.

Name: Blake
Email: blake_131 (at) hotmail.com
Hometown: Grand Blanc, MI
Arrival Date: July 30
Departure Date: August 5
Coming From/Via: Houghton via seaplane
Itinerary: unsure. I’ve got 3 possible itineraries I’m debating on. Maybe you guys can help me decide.

Itinerary 1
Day 1 – arrive via seaplane (9am) Rock Harbor to Daisy Farm (7.1 mi)
Day 2 – Daisy Farm to W. Chickenbone (7.9 mi)
Day 3 – W. Chickenbone to Hatchet Lk. (7.9 mi)
Day 4 – Hatchet Lk. To Lk. Desor South (8.1 mi)
Day 5 – Lk. Desor South to Siskiwit Bay (9.9 mi)
Day 6 – Siskiwit Bay to Feldtmann Lk. (10.2 mi)
Day 7 – Feldtmann Lk. To Windigo (8.8 mi) - depart via seaplane 5pm

Itinerary 2
Day 1 – arrive via seaplane (9am) Rock Harbor to Moskey Basin (11.0 mi)
Day 2 – Moskey Basin to Hatchet Lk. (13.2 mi)
Day 3 – Hatchet Lk. To Lk. Desor South (8.1 mi)
Day 4 – Lk. Desor South to Siskiwit Bay (9.9 mi)
Day 5 – stay at Siskiwit Bay
Day 6 – Siskiwit Bay to feldtmann Lk. (10.2 mi)
Day 7 – Feldtmann Lk. To Windigo (8.8 mi) - depart via seaplane 5pm

Itinerary 3
Day 1 - arrive via seaplane (9am) Rock Harbor to Moskey Basin (11.0 mi)
Day 2 – Moskey Basin to McCargoe Cove (8.6 mi)
Day 3 – McCargoe Cove to Hatchet Lk. (10.5 mi)
Day 4 – Hatchet Lk to Lk. Desor south (8.1 mi)
Day 5 – Lk. Desor South to Siskiwit Bay (9.9 mi)
Day 6 – Siskiwit Bay to Feldtmann Lk. (10.2 mi)
Day 7 – Feldtmann Lk. To Windigo (8.8 mi) - depart via seaplane 5pm

This will be just my wife and I, and it’s our first trip to the island. Kinda leaning toward Itinerary 2 where we hike a few extra miles the first couple of days but get a payoff on day 5 of lounging around Siskiwit Bay. But I also hear McCargoe cove is really nice, so we might want to work that in like in Itinerary 3. We are fairly new to backpacking, having only done a few short trips, like Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes and the Pinckney-Waterloo trail, and some day hikes like into the Grand Canyon. I want to do a 3 or 4 day trip to maybe Pictured Rocks before we hit Isle Royale, just to get some more experience in and get more comfortable on a longer trip. Any input is appreciated. We are getting excited about this trip!

Tim
t.nicholson55@gmail.com
Indianapolis Area
Arrival Date: 6/1
Departure Date: 6/5
Coming From/Via: Ranger III
Itinerary:
6/1 Rock Harbor to 3 Mile
6/2 3 Mile to East Chickenbone
6/3 East Chickenbone to Lake Ritchie
6/4 Lake Ritchie to 3 Mile
6/5 3 Mile to Rock Harbor

Greetings, hoosier88! to someone from "home"
Although I have lived in Pennsylvania for about 20 years now, I was raised in Indiana and it will always be home to me. I come from near Evansville in the southwestern part of the state. As for the "88" part of your screen name... if that's the year you graduated college, we might have a lot in common. If that's the year you were born... perhaps not quite so much.
But then again... everyone who goes to IR and loves it has a lot in common, regardless of age/location/whatever. Is this your first trip?

Yes, first trip to the island. Any thoughts on the itinerary? '88 is my birth year, so the trip constitutes something of a graduation present.

please forgive me if this is a repeat- tried to post earlier and it didn't come up...

SO EXCITED! 1st IR trip after years of exploring the U.P.- Porcupine Mtns., Pictured Rocks, Copper Harbor, et al...great love for Lake Superior!
Going up with my honey in 3 days!
name- Heather Simmons
h.t.- Oxford, OH - have lived in Madison, WI for a long time
arrive- May 31
depart- June 4
via- The Queen from Copper Harbor
itin- Rock Harbor straight to Lane Cove (2 nights)
staying in a cabin @ the end of our trip + will do several day hikes

Can't wait! Heard (so far) the weather is supposed to be great! Heard the bugs are hatching but we'll come prepared.
This forum is great! It's fun and it's been very helpful. Already wish we were a) staying longer and b) that we were backpacking the whole time- next time!

CHEERS! I know this will not be my last trip there....

I'm leaving Monday 31st. and returning on Mon. June 7th. I have no specific planned itinerary yet as I am going to let the weather determine this. I have hiked the island 7 times canoed it 3 times and have been to every campsite except Grace, Beaver, Huginnin, and Hay Bay. I have hiked 90% of the trails. Every year we try to add in some new things to do or places to go. The thing that is new this year is that there is no "we" in the trip. All my usual trailmates cannot go this year, it is just me. I have had a feeling that one year this would happen.

I am going to do this in a solo canoe. I am really looking forward to this. I intend to move each day if the weather permits it. Activities will be primarily photography, fishing, reading, relaxing and lots of physical activity (not necessarily mutually exclusive) and soaking in as much I.R as possible. If the weather report looks good I would like to start by going to the five fingers area and working my way to the interior via McCargo. Doing this at the end of the trip without a reliable weather report makes me nervous as my brother and I were stuck on Belle Isle a couple years back due to really strong westerly winds. We had to paddle out of there at 4 AM after waiting an extra day. (Not a bad place to be "stuck") If the weather is not favorable for doing this I will head to Moskey and into the interior lakes. If the weather is really nasty I may just ditch the canoe in the woods and go hiking. If time, and again weather permit I would like to get to Malone Bay and get a weather report from the ranger there. If it looks good I am considering going to Hay Bay for a night.

What I would like to hear from you guys is any special advice or things to think about that maybe I have forgotten in relation to a trip that is solo in the canoe. Is there some advice from paddlers in regard to a solo trip as opposed to tandem trips which I have done multiple times. I am not the type to spend any significant time on the big water if conditions aren't safe or if I can't quickly get to safety.

Also from those of you who have been to Hay Bay, is this worth the paddle from Malone or am I killing 2 days just to say I've been there. Is most of that shoreline between Malone and Hay Bay beachable? It looks from the topo map to be real flat along there. Again, I'm not even going to try it if the weather report doesn't look great.

Does anyone have any special experience trying to catch lakers out of Siskowit in a solo canoe/kayak? Any tips are welcomed.

What about paddling around Blake Point? Who's done it? In a canoe? Thoughts? Obviously this is dicey with all but still weather. However, if it is still, then tell me why I shouldn't do it. My current thinking on this is to only do it if the ranger's report says everything looks really good out there. I seek not adrenaline, I will be happy to turn around and go do the Tobin portage if necessary.

I should have posted this sooner to allow more time for response but I'll take what I get. Any input is welcome.

Ranger III on Tues Aug 17th.
Water Taxi to Chippewa Harbor (Tues Aug 17th)
Chippewa Harbor to Moskey Basin (Wed Aug 18th)
Moskey Basin to Lane Cove (Thurs Aug 19th)
Lane Cove to Rock Harbor (Friday Aug 20th)
Ranger III to Michigan Saturday morning

leaving tomorrow morn to drive to copper harbor to get the ferry- can't wait!

Chorizo wrote: What I would like to hear from you guys is any special advice or things to think about that maybe I have forgotten in relation to a trip that is solo in the canoe. Is there some advice from paddlers in regard to a solo trip as opposed to tandem trips which I have done multiple times. I am not the type to spend any significant time on the big water if conditions aren't safe or if I can't quickly get to safety.

Also from those of you who have been to Hay Bay, is this worth the paddle from Malone or am I killing 2 days just to say I've been there. Is most of that shoreline between Malone and Hay Bay beachable? It looks from the topo map to be real flat along there. Again, I'm not even going to try it if the weather report doesn't look great.

Does anyone have any special experience trying to catch lakers out of Siskowit in a solo canoe/kayak? Any tips are welcomed.

What about paddling around Blake Point? Who's done it? In a canoe? Thoughts? Obviously this is dicey with all but still weather. However, if it is still, then tell me why I shouldn't do it. My current thinking on this is to only do it if the ranger's report says everything looks really good out there. I seek not adrenaline, I will be happy to turn around and go do the Tobin portage if necessary.

I should have posted this sooner to allow more time for response but I'll take what I get. Any input is welcome.

I have been to Malone Bay a few times. I love it for a number of different reasons, the fishing, the paddling, the hiking, the solitude. I have wanted to go to Hay Bay and somehow miss going there every trip there. The fishing there is supposed to be good in the spring. Fishing Siskiwit for lakers, Spring is a good time to go. There is a hydro map in the Cabin on the wall. Take some time to study it. Fish the dropoffsalong the shore and islnds using spoons, meps and rapalas. KO Wobblers and Little Cleos are good. The West end of Siskiwit is good for Northerns, big ones.
Wright Island may be closed due to eagle nests, check with the ranger, otherwise nice paddle there, nice fish camp.
The shore between Malone and Hay has some areas where the shore is gravel and area with small ledges, pretty easy to pull out. I assume you are taking a weather radio?
Blake point, I am sure youare famililar with it, it is a crap shoot going around. Early in the AM is good (or better).

Have fun!!

Name: Steve Parr and Sean K.
Email: srparr (at) gmail.com
Hometown: Plymouth, MI
Arrival Date: Saturday July 10
Departure Date: Friday July 16
Coming From/Via: Houghton via Seaplane
Itinerary:
7/10: Arrive Wendigo, dayhike to Grace Overlook
7/11: Rent canoe, paddle to Grace Island
7/12: Paddle to Rainbow Cove, stay at Feldtmann
7/13: Dayhike Feldtmann tower
7/14: Paddle to Wendigo, hike to Huginnin
7/15: Return to Wendigo, lunch at Minong Lookout
7/16: Hangout at Wendigo, fly back to Houghton in the afternoon

Notes/Other:
We hope to paddle first, but if the weather is bad we'll do the Huginnin Cove overnight first and hope for brighter days later in the week.