Just a follow-up on my trip if anyone out there is interested, or have considered going alone and would like some info on how it went. Started out the trip on the right foot and missed the Queen IV out of Copper Harbor on day one
. Thankfully, people from both ferry services (Queen IV and Voyeagur II) were awesome and just switched around my reservations without any hassle, awesome people. I carried 46 pounds, and I found it to be manageable (I'm 6'4" and 210lbs), though I would probably go without a few things next time. I just couldn't leave my DSLR camera and lens at home although they were a pain to carry along, in the end I'm glad I took them.
The two days I spent hiking from Rock Harbor to McCargoe Cove went well, trail's super easy to follow, and I passed 3-4 groups on each hike. While I was looking for a bit more solitude than this, it was comforting to see other people around on my first solo. Didn't love Daisy Farm campground, and McCargoe was a lot better, but I got leeched like crazy when I decided to go swimming in the cove.
Day three I started my first day on the Minong hiking over to Todd Harbor, the trail was much less crowded, only passed one group of two along the way, and it was absolutely beautiful. There were a handful of spots where you can walk up the ridge a bit and get a gorgeous view of N lake superior and Canada. Passing by some inland lakes was also an awesome sight from that elevation. Arriving at Todd Harbor was great, there were three other small groups and after hiking in the rain for a good part of the day it was great to huddle around the campfire and warm up our stuff and chat about where everyone was from and where they were going. (Note: Don't put your boots to close to the fire! I burnt the tongue a little bit on my boot and had to use some duct tape to close it down, bummer but no big deal).
Day four from Todd Harbor to Little Todd was an absolutely stunning hike, and I was blown-away by Little Todd when I got there. I didn't leave the next day until about 5pm because I just couldn't leave. The view from your tent will knock you off your feet, and I even got Verizon service standing by the water to check in at home to let everyone know I was doing fine. The ability to have an individual campfire was one of the highlights of the trip, there was even a huge stack of wood right next to the fire ring left by the trail crew so I just enjoyed the evening by sitting out by the fire until 10 or 11 reading and there was only one other person in the campsite that night. I think I only crossed paths with one group of two on this day.
Day five over to N Lake Desor was by far the most difficult hike, only 6 miles or so, but you better pack some water and eat your wheaties that morning. Probably more difficult than the physical aspect of repeatedly climbing all the way up, then all the way back down the ridges all day was staying mentally focused. It seems to never end, and I went into the hike unprepared (brought only 1L of water) because it was so short on the map. It was possibly the most stunning hike of the trip though, views of lake superior throughout the majority of the hike was a highlight of the trip. I didn't see any other hikers on this hike.
Day six hike from Desor to Windigo, 13 miles, but not very difficult. You travel over a few ridges at the beginning, and have to deal with some very overgrown sections of trail that were a bit annoying. I found some moose antlers near the trail around the mid-point and that was awesome, they were huge, and surprisingly heavy! One of my favorite parts of this trip was being off the ridges for a bit, it was one of the few sections of trail that were wide enough and flat enough to really get into a good strong hiking rhythm, everywhere else the trails very narrow and covered with rocks and stumps etc that make this difficult. I crossed paths with one other hiker near the end of the hike.
I spent the next couple days waiting for ferry's and hanging out with other campers around Windigo and Rock Harbor, and went to the ranger programs each night (which were awesome! Seriously, do not miss these if your on the island. I work as an interpreter and always make a point to go to programs wherever I am, and the Isle Royale group was one of the best I've seen, very nice people and it wasn't overly simple or complicated stuff they talked about. Got a ton of good stuff out of it, especially Geology 101!) It was nice to be able to use the satellite phone in Windigo, and the shower and dinner (White Cap pizza, yummmmy) at Rock Harbor around sunset was a great way to end the trip. The ferry back to Copper Harbor wasn't so nice though, waves were crazy, and the captain said if we could handle that we could handle just about anything Lake Superior had to throw at us and that it was one of his more challenging trips. Unfortunately, I couldn't quite handle it, threw up at least 3-4 times
but in the end, I'm kind of glad I got to see Superior thrashing like that, it was a cool experience minus the sickness.Overall, I would say my experience at Isle Royale was unbelievable, from the solitude, the views, and the people who were around the island working and hiking who were all awesome. If you're considering going solo, I would say do it, obviously take a few more precautions and be very careful where you put your feet down, but even if you screw something up, even on the Minong Ridge (along the trail) someone should run into you that day or the next at this time of year. MAKE SURE YOU PACK PLENTY OF WATER!
Thanks to everyone who gives advice on these forums, it was a great help with planning my trip, hopefully I offered something worthwhile to those who haven't yet made the trip to Isle Royale. I will definitely be back soon, probably next summer!