Isle Royale Forums

Here is my trip report for last year (yeah, just got it done). This was not the perfect trip by any measure but it certainly is a good lesson in what not to do. My biggest lesson of the trip was being the experienced outdoors man, I should have ignored my wife and brought her running shoes

http://patricksthoughtson.blogspot.com/

The funny thing is that my wife wants to go back and she wants to do the Minong this year!

Nice report Patrick!

Those darn feet can make or break a trip, can't they?!? Your wife must enjoy pain, after enduring the hike, and now wanting the Minong!

I always find it interesting that you can be there one day and find campsites full, and the very next day they might be empty. I DO have to finish a trip report from this past fall, maybe a week or so after you. It was my niece's first IR trip. We got socked with gale winds, multiple days of rain (over 2 inches), and woke the final, clear day to frozen water and a frost covered dock at Windigo. She is already wondering when she gets to come back. Love it.

I also have an ENO doublenest, but haven't yet been adventurous enough to try overnighting in it without a tent. Did you find it offered enough protection? It's not quite a Hennesey or anything, so I just wondered..

Thanks for the TR. Good luck on planning the next adventure!

Tom: I have not done the investment on tarps yet because I want to get good ones and they can be pricey. Looking at some OES 4 season ones because my wife would like more privacy and protection then the typical hammock tarp. For the IR trip we simply used Wal-Mart $10 12 X 8 and that size worked well but loud and heavy.

http://www.outdoorequipmentsupplier.com ... _tarps.php

Other then being a bit cold towards the end and having a time finding good hanging trees, the hammocks worked great. In fact my wife said that the only bad night of sleep she had was in the shelter sleeping on the floor. We are now planning our next trip about the same time as your last one and so we are looking into hammock underquilts. I like down but my wife is worried about it getting wet and so she wants a synthetic so we may just go with the ENO Ember since it is also a wind blocker which would be needed on IR.

As far as your gales and wind, the first time we used our 12 x 8 tarps we had a big gusty storm and they did fine. I am going to add a bungle cord to my tree tie just to add some give to it. I am also going to get some reflective cord so I don't trip all over them next time.

Best place to get all of your hammock questions answered is at http://www.hammockforums.net/forum/index.php.

Thanks Patrick for your report. I really enjoyed it. Your wife sounds like a keeper. My wife thinks roughing it, is visiting our daughter in NYC, and staying at the Holiday Inn (without room service). You two will really enjoy the Minong. I did it for the first time last summer (at 66). One of the best experiences of my life. Look forward to future reports.

Thanks Patrick. You've got a real trooper for a wife. My wife and Jerry's would get along well as her idea of "camping" is when she only gets to take ONE suitcase up to the hotel room.

Ever since I discovered Moleskin I never had blister troubles ever again. The trick is to stop early and frequently to apply it. I've heard some people use duct tape. By the end of a trip my feet are sometimes almost solid Moleskin.

I'm glad you were able to experience the Milky Way and the wonders of a starry night.

Too bad there are no hooks inside the shelters to hang a hammock. I've seen tents erected inside shelters on really cold nights.

~Ed

Ha, I got to laugh at some of the comments because my wife is a woman of contrasts. She goes backpacking with me in the cold, rain, heat, bugs, dirt, etc but when we are not camping and on vacation she is very picky. We are planning a trip to NYC and she is planning on stay at the Waldorf.

Got a few overnights planned in the lower pen in Michigan before the next trip to IR in the fall so I will try and do a write up of those next.

I've been able to keep my wife away from the Waldorf. That way I can take more trips to ISRO NP.