Isle Royale Forums

So we're setting off next week and things are shifting from "in theory" to "reality". We changed our trail plans again and I'm happy with where we ended up, so that makes me feel good. Our new plan gives us more wiggle room in case of sore feet, bad weather, etc. and cuts down the time we'll be carrying our full packs. Unfortunately, I'm starting to do my typical fretting - am I packing warm enough clothes? am I packing cool enough clothes? do we have enough bug repellent? do we try to fit in two hats each - one for warmth and one baseball to help keep the bug nets away from our faces or do we just stick to one? do we bring our light fleece jackets or heavy (bulkier) ones? and one of my biggest dilemmas - do we just bring one tent or do we figure out a way to bring two? I've talked to a few experienced backpackers and have gotten different advice. One line of thinking is that since our goal is to get a shelter each night, the tent would be essentially a back-up and if we needed to all squeeze into one for a night or two, we could. The other line of thinking is that even in a back-up situation, we'd want to be as comfortable as possible so bring two tents to ensure we would be. I guess I ended up at "we'll pack our backpacks up including one tent and then see where we are as far as load is concerned and add the second tent if we can". I don't want us to end up being miserable with all six of us crammed in one tent together, but I also don't want to add an extra 7.5 pounds to our load if we won't really need it. <sigh>

Anyway, we're still staying for 5 nights, taking the Queen over, and on our arrival day taking a water taxi out of RH. Instead of taxiing to Chippewa Harbor, though, we're only taxiing to Moskey Basin. We figured we'd be under less daily pressure that way and could spend more time on day hikes with light day packs and less time with our full packs on our backs. Everything is tentative, but we're thinking of spending two nights at Moskey Basin, one or two nights at Daisy Farm, one night at 3-Mile. If we like the Daisy Farm area, we might spend two nights there. Otherwise, if we just spend one night, we'll spend the last night at Rock Harbor - eating leisurely meals for dinner and breakfast, maybe showering, and day hiking to Scoville Point. On one of the Moskey Basin days, we might try making a day hike to Lake Richie (we'll see how bad the bugs are!). And given the reported conditions of the Lake Richie campground, I'm very happy we aren't planning to camp there now.

I spoke with a ranger who said that our route from Moskey Basin to RH should be pretty well cleared of the fallen trees. He also said they've been told to warn people about the terrible black flies but that our route shouldn't be as bad as the inner island trails. I hope he's right! Looking forward to providing a trip report when we get back!

Teresa

1. Counting on making a tight schedule is like drawing to an inside straight: Bad idea.
2. Always carry some rain protection, even if no rain is predicted.
3. Take a spare water filter or spare parts for your filter.

Enjoy your trip.

1. The safest assumption about the shelters is that they will all be full when you get there. Especially at Moskey and Rock Harbor. The weight of the tents may not be the greatest thing but your trail distances aren't going to be that long with a pack on. This is especially true if you're taking a boat to Moskey. This is when your pack will be the heaviest and you aren't carrying it far. A couple of days later you will have eaten your pack weight down. When you make the fairly short trek to Daisy Farm it shouldn't be a big deal. Take the tent.

2. You didn't mention rain gear. You've got to have it, even if it's just a heavy duty trash bag that you can cut holes in as an emergency poncho. In an August 2009 gale I saw a lot of very miserable, hypothermic looking people coming into RH without any sort of rain protection. If you have a rain jacket it probably has a hood. If it gets cooler you use the hood along with the billed hat on your head to keep the warmth in so you won't need the warm hat. Also, with the rain jacket you can take the lighter fleece (quality is important as some are cheap and have little insulation value). The rain jacket over the fleece in cooler weather gives you insulation and wind and rain protection.

Have fun!

Okay, we'll make every attempt to fit in that second tent. I guess we will be spoiled in that our first trek will be by boat rather than foot and then we'll be in that first location for two nights, eating down some of our food without having to carry it anywhere.

Yeah, I feel a lot better with the looser schedule, even though the original distances weren't that far and the hikes not particularly difficult. With a couple little fellas and a cranky husband, though, I think the revised plan is a much safer bet for everyone to be happy for the duration.

Rain gear is all set. Rain gear and bug nets for our heads are actually the only things that each and every pack already has; they were the very first things I packed - to make sure I didn't forget any of them. I packed them in each person's easily-accessible outer compartments. Each one of us has a hooded rain jacket, rain pants, and waterproof boots/shoes. Glad the light fleece jacket and rain coat combination was mentioned because that's what I've been thinking about the last few days. We're bringing a couple extra bug head nets too just in case one or two end up getting ripped somehow.

We don't have an extra water filter, but I did get a brand new one for this trip. It's an MSR StreetWater and, upon some brief practice sessions, seems pretty easy to use. You think I should get a spare ceramic element to bring with us?

tfoster wrote:We don't have an extra water filter, but I did get a brand new one for this trip. It's an MSR StreetWater and, upon some brief practice sessions, seems pretty easy to use. You think I should get a spare ceramic element to bring with us?

Although the water all looked clear, I.R. is the only place I've ever had a water filter clog up and stop working. It would have saved us a hassle had we packed a spare filter element. Our filter used a replaceable, non-cleanable element. If your ceramic filter is cleanable and you have the cleaning kit, you should be OK. OTOH, what does a kit of spare parts and a filter element weigh?

Have fun. Isle Royale has been one of the greatest places I have ever experienced. Enjoy and be open to anything!

tfoster, If you see an old man (solo) hiking say hi. I'm going your direction from Rock Harbor toward Chippewa Harbor this week. jerry (is the name)
P.S. sandystAR is right, you'll enjoy the trip. I'll be there on Wednesday (22nd)

jerry, I'll keep my eyes open for you but we may end up seeing you on your way back (if you're going back to RH) - you'll probably be cruising right past us! We're leaving on Wednesday evening for the UP and assuming all goes well, will be on the Sat, June 25 boat over, so you'll be a few days ahead of us. If you're near us, you'll know it. We're hard to miss.

Thanks sandystAR. Now that our packs are pretty much all set, I'm feeling pretty good. Trying to find a way to sneak my SLR over with us, so that's my biggest concern right now.

tfoster wrote: Trying to find a way to sneak my SLR over with us, so that's my biggest concern right now.

I used to drag a SLR and even a tripod around in my younger days. Now 'days, a photo
trip is a photo trip and a hiking trip is a hiking trip. On hiking trips I carry a little pocket camera and a tiny UltraPod I.