First time visit question

[tommypkoch]

How many days/nights does the Feldtmann loop take for average hikers?

Thanks!

[IncaRoads]

I've done it in 3 days with nights at Feldtmann Lake, Siskiwit Bay, and Washington Creek (Windigo). An extra day layover at Siskiwit Bay would have been nice.

[Backpacker534]

I totally agree. It is not unrealistic to do it in three days. As a matter of fact, my buddy and I just did it again, for the second time. The first time we had planned to go from Siskiwit Bay to Island Mine, which would have been a very short day. However, it became very cold, windy and there was a steady rain so we decided to just spend the day in the shelter to stay out of the soaking rain and the elements. The following day we made the hike all the way back to Washington Creek. It is a fairly long day at around 11 miles but after you make the mostly uphill trek from Siskiwit to Island Mine, the rest of the day is all down hill.

We were just on the island again last week (May 15 - May20) and did the Feldtmann loop again as well as throwing in the Huginnin Cove loop which we have never done before. Since we did it the first time, we decided to do the Feldtmann section in three days this time and it was pretty much how we remembered it -- not too hard at all. You could easily do it!

If you decide to stay an extra day at Siskiwit Bay you have the option of doing a day-hike, cross-country to Halloran Lake. We actually planned to do that, but it looked pretty swampy from the edge of the trail. After we got back we saw Ranger Valerie (who is actually no longer a Ranger, but I'll still refer to her that way). We told her what we planned to do and she said it was doable as she had actually done it herself in the past. She said we could have just headed back west on the Feldtmann Trail and then in about 1/2 mile we could have just cut south, cross-country until we reached the lake. She said it depends on how wet the weather has been in terms of how easy the travel will be, but she figured that we could have done it, at least at the time we were there.

[philranger]

My daughter and I did it in 3 days (Island Mine, Siskiwit, Feldtmann and then into Windigo to catch the VII. I would not recommend this type of trip. We were on the island only 4 days, but the whole trip felt rushed and was over way too quickly. It's nicer to spend time and relax.