Isle Royale Forums

My wife and I are planning our first trip to the island. Sept.28th to oct. 2nd. we want to hike from windigo to diasy farm. would like any input. 1st day to south desor. next day to hatchet then to chickenbone. that would put me at chickenbone with a day to kill. day hike or fish or both. then diasy farm out on sunday.Please give me some help would it be better to skip the extera day at chickenbone and hike to daisy farm then to rock harbor?? keep in mind my wifes 1st real backpacking trip. although we are both in good shape. Any advise would help.

Sounds pretty good. Windigo to South Desor at 11.6 miles will be your longest hike, but the trail is quite smooth and the uphill portions are not bad. I would opt for a pickup at Chippewa Harbor rather than Daisy Farm as Chippewa is a lot nicer. However, if you want more Greenstone Ridge hiking, then Daisy Farm would be an OK destination. If it were me I would probably spend that extra day at Chippewa Harbor as well, although from West Chickenbone you can day hike to McCargo Cove or Lake Richie. IMO a rest day is better than a tight itinerary, especially since the Voyager only makes intermediate stops if scheduled in advance, so if you plan on Rock Harbor, you will HAVE to make it there regardless of blisters, rain, etc.

re: wife's first real backpacking trip:

1) bad experience = LAST real backpacking trip (potentially)
2) boots need to be well broken in or else the feet will be broken in
3) make sure the pack is properly adjusted
4) take your time; this late in the season you don't have to worry about the campgrounds filling up so if it takes from 9 to 5 to go 8 miles, so what - travel at a comfortable pace, take breaks, enjoy the Island.

Any more questions, please post!

Bob

[edit] Forgot one thing: we went in October for a few years in a row and discovered 2 truths:

1) it can get cold, as in ice in the water bottles in the morning cold
2) it gets dark very early and sitting around in the cold with no campfire (at the inland campgrounds) is not fun, so take headlamps, batteries, and cards/books.

I just want to say Thanks Bob. this forum takes the cake. Oh yeah I already have had the wife breaking in her boots. I think an extra day at Chickenbone will be good. Then a day hike from there. Very excited about trip. I dont mind the cold, every year I go into Boundry Waters in late Febuary. Just a little worried about wife, but she loves to read and we have the right gear. Thanks again Chris

Keep in mind that I am NOT in good shape, but when I read Jim Dufresne's book and it said to allow 20-30 minutes per mile on moderate trails, and up to 45 minutes on difficult ones, I didn't really "get it". I do now! Two miles an hour on these trails is making good time, and you do not want it to be your wife's first and last backpacking trip. Just sayin'.......

Also, if you aren't certain if you can make it to Rock Harbor, you can arrange for pick up at Daisy Farm, and then, if you make it to Rock Harbor, you can leave from there. If does cost extra ($12 each) to pay that up front, but it gives you the option if you can't make it to Rock Harbor. That was our exact plan - we were going to be picked up at Daisy Farm, and then if we could make it to Rock Harbor, we would check in with them early in the morning when they loaded the boat. As it turned out, we were there in the middle of a heat wave, and there was no way I could have made it to Rock Harbor. Even by the Lake, our butter was melting by 8:00 in the morning. On the days that we could have pushed on, I couldn't have done it with the heat. We met groups of kids that were drenched with sweat, and overheard their leaders telling them they just had to keep going .... for hours more. I'm certain you won't have that problem to contend with in October, however....