Isle Royale Forums

Hello, I am a new back packer and am planning a 9 day trip to the island with my family of five and another family of five. All are new back packers except one who has hiked the island some 30 years ago twice. Our trip begins Houghton on July 13th and ends the 21st with stops at Daisy Farm, Lake Richie, W. Chickenbone, McCargo Cove, E. Chickenbone, Daisy Farm and Rock Harbor. We’re all very much looking forward to this and planning it is half the fun.

Any and all suggestions to help us make this trip fun and wanting more will be a great help as our ages will range from 16 – 47. Many questions are still unanswered and were hoping someone could enlighten us.

What are food portions for each day per person?
What will the bugs be like at this time?
Weather conditions to be expected?
Fishing from shore – what are the good spots and bait to use?
What are the chances of seeing the wolves?
Bathroom facilities at campsites – do they exists and is paper provided?
Likelihood of seeing other hikers at the group campsites?
How plentiful is poison ivy on the island?
How much fuel should be taken for a group of ten and almost all teenage boys?

Thank you for the help and looking forward to the info and the trip.

Welcome

What are food portions for each day per person?

I usually take 1 ¾ to 2 pounds of food per day or 3500 calories. I also look at the protein in the food and take meals with the highest protein. 120 to 150 g of protein per day.

What will the bugs be like at this time?

Some say the bugs are bad at this time. I once saw the backs of a group of girls leaving the island (probably girl scouts) that were just covered in red bumps. They said they were from black flies. We have never been in an area with a lot of black flies. I use eucalyptus based bug spray and find the bugs tolerable. I also carry a head net just in case. It will all depend on the weather and local conditions on how bad they will be. I always plan for the worst.

Weather conditions to be expected?

Sunny and 70!
Be prepared for cold nights. I have been on the Island in July and woke to low 40 degree temperatures. I am not sure if this is always the case, but it seem like the North side of the Island is warmer then the South. I believe this is from the wind. Seems the wind always come off cold Lake Superior when on the South side. As it blows over the Island the air warms.

Fishing from shore – what are the good spots and bait to use?

Not much of a fisherman. Make sure you checkout the regulations.

What are the chances of seeing the wolves?

Probably will not happen. But you never know!

Bathroom facilities at campsites – do they exists and is paper provided?

Yes the campsites have pit toilets, some call them outhouses. Yes they do have paper. But be prepared no guaranty on the paper. Never know wildlife or nature could have taken over the toilets also.

Likelihood of seeing other hikers at the group campsites?

Never know. I would say it is a good possibility you will see others.

How plentiful is poison ivy on the island?

There is poison ivy on the island, but I've never actually seen it

How much fuel should be taken for a group of ten and almost all teenage boys?

Not sure what type of fuel or cooking you will be doing. Simmer meals or just boil water. Are you boiling all drinking water? My National Outdoor Leadership School book says 1/6 Liter per day per person (white fuel). I know how much fuel my stove uses to do various tasks. I bring the appropriate amount. I always carry extra. If water filter is broke or lost the fuel may be needed to treat the water. A couple years ago a group was camping in our area. The group apparently did not have enough fuel to warm water for coffee so they were going without. One of the members seen we were drinking coffee and asked if we had any extra. Yes we did and shared.

I hope you have a great time on the Island. You will find this forum very useful, keep using it.

Vitz has covered a lot of it. I'll add that by mid July, IR should be out of the primary black fly hatch that occurs in June. This year it might even be on the early side. Mosquitos will be around all season, but that can be dependent on the moisture the Isle is getting.
As for fishing, some of the lakes can be hard to fish from shore because of the vegetation growing. Plenty of things to find your backcast. Inland lakes do not require a fishing license; Michigan possession limits apply; and artificial lures and barbless hooks only.
When you are at a group site, it's my understanding that the only assign the appropriate number of groups for that camp, so a group would never be sharing. The distance from group sites to individual sites varies by camp, but many times the group sites are also fairly spaced from each other, as well.
Poison Ivy - I specifically talked with perhaps the person most familiar about the Island, Rolf Peterson, about poison ivy just last year. I had heard that the only know place that it existed is the Stanley Ridge, which is the ridge beyond McCargoe Cove. According to Rolf, he indicated that it was a confusion on which ridge, and that it WAS further east, but that after a fire there in the 80s, they really didn't even think that poison ivy was really even around anymore. I've never seen it on trails or around camps. I wouldn't hold it in concern. Seeing poison ivy is less likely than seeing a wolf.

Last, in planning your itinerary, I'll offer that you may wish to reconsider East Chickenbone. Every park has one bad campsite, and that's the armpit of Isle Royale. It's a rocky site up a good hike from the water, and given the other great sites in the area, one you might want to pass on..

Good luck in the planning. Like you said, planning is half the fun!

I've had good luck shore fishing Chickenbone and Richie (but better luck kayak fishing them), and you generally need to wade out past the weedline, and if you do that, expect leeches, mainly catching pike and a few walleye too. I bring a telescoping rod and Mepps spinners, maybe a spoon or two as well. Cut or bend the barbs and use steel leaders. I always expect to lose a couple lures to logs.

My memory (not always trustworthy) is that toilets on Lake Superior usually have paper, but not those on the inland campsites.

I've brought teenage boys, and found that despite how much I thought I knew about teenage boys' appetites, they still ate more than that. In fact, we burned through more food than I had planned for (thankful we found the Windigo store open).

Everyone's sentiments I echo from above (we tend to all agree around here), and I'll add a few of my two cents, for the questions I am qualified to answer:

goatrodeo2010 wrote:What will the bugs be like at this time?

You should always expect massive amounts of bugs on Isle Royale. Bring plenty of bug dope and/or head nets. Especially inland, the bugs are bad. However, if there is a breeze from Lake Superior, it reduces the bugs down to nothing. Most of your stays will be sheltered from the lake, so the breeze won't help you much.

goatrodeo2010 wrote:Weather conditions to be expected?

A great question. The nice part is a lot of your hiking will be shaded fairly well, so you won't be at the mercy of the hot July sun. I'd bring a light hat and a fleece though, because it can get cold at night (especially near the Lake Superior shore).

And, as always, you should always plan for rain, so bring rain gear.

goatrodeo2010 wrote:Fishing from shore – what are the good spots and bait to use? / Fishing from shore – what are the good spots and bait to use?

Someone already mentioned it, but you CANNOT use live bait on Isle Royale. You'll need a Michigan license to fish any part of Lake Superior, but no license is required for the inland lakes.

Quality-wise, at McCargoe I've seen people catch so many Northerns that they had to start tossing them back after they got their fill for dinner. Not sure what they used. At Chickenbone, we've had luck with the simplest of spoons, although at least two people I know swear by the red & white daredevils. At Lake Richie, all I've ever caught was a clam (seriously, see picture below), but we've had some hits. If you can find enough open shoreline at Chickenbone and Richie, you will catch fish.

goatrodeo2010 wrote:What are the chances of seeing the wolves?

Again, like someone said, slim to none (they are sneaky), but you could be surprised.

goatrodeo2010 wrote:Bathroom facilities at campsites – do they exists and is paper provided?

Primitive outhouses exist at all camp sites, and Rock Harbor has showers. Most of the time, they have TP at the primitive outhouses, but I always bring a roll--with the paper tube removed for space saving--just in case, I would highly encourage you to do the same. I always buy TP that's sold for use in RV toilets...it's lighter and breaks down faster.

goatrodeo2010 wrote:Likelihood of seeing other hikers at the group campsites?

I've never seen a group campsite in use at any of your stops except for Rock Harbor, which is always busy the nights a boat from Michigan comes in. Get to Rock Harbor before the boat does to ensure you get a Group Site, otherwise you'll be hiking to Three Mile for a group site.

goatrodeo2010 wrote:How plentiful is poison ivy on the island?

ZERO, my friend, how sweet is that?

goatrodeo2010 wrote:How much fuel should be taken for a group of ten and almost all teenage boys?

For four guys, for coffee and two meals a day, we use one canister of 8oz fuel with plenty left over. If that's the type of fuel you're using, hopefully that can be a unit of measurement for you.

In closing, you are going to have an AWESOME trip. McCargoe and WEST Chickenbone are awesome places. If you can, GO TO WEST CHICKENBONE INSTEAD OF EAST CHICKENBONE. East Chickenbone--as Tom calls it--is the armpit of Isle Royale. Make the extra little bit of a trek to West Chickenbone.

Ditto to everything that has been said. I would suggest swapping East Chickenbone for Moskey Basin.

Bob

Thank you to all for your input, this helps and we are looking into change our plan from E. Chickenbone. More questions will be coming I am sure, Thanks.