September 9-13, 2013: Daisy Farm - Lane Cove - Rock Harbor
Posted: Fri Sep 20, 2013 12:34 pm
My buddy (Hikerken in this forum) and I made another trip to Isle Royale this year. We were on the island from September 9-13, 2013. Two of our co-workers had always wanted to visit the island, but had never been able to make the trip a reality, so they came with us. The following is a synopsis of our trip.
Sunday – We left my buddy’s house around 5:00 am and drove non-stop--except to stop for gas, snacks and lunch--to Copper Harbor. Arrived around 5:00 pm, checked into the Bella Vista and went into town to eat at the Mariner restaurant. After dinner we made a trip to the top of Brockway Mountain, took some photos and admired the views.
Monday - Up around 6:30 am, got ready and were at the dock of the Isle Royale Queen IV at the required 7:30 am time. Ship left around 8:05 am and arrived at the island around 11:30 am. Lake Superior was in a good mood that day and the waves were calm to two feet. The morning started gray and extremely overcast and remained that way right up to about 30-45 minutes into the hike, then it began to rain and it continued right up until the point we entered our shelter at Daisy Farm. The last hour or two of hiking presented us with a steady, hard rain. Water leaked down my poncho, soaked my shirt and wicked into my pants. My pant legs soaked up the water and allowed my socks to wick the water into my boots. It was miserable. Rained most of the night. The humidity was so high that even though we hung our wet clothes in the shelter, they didn't even dry out a little bit.
Tuesday - The rain was gone, but the sky was still very gray and cloudy. I'm not a meteorologist (although I did recently stay in a Holiday Inn Express), but I’m sure the humidity was 100% because a mist just hung in the air and we could feel it all around us. Hiked up to the Ojibway ranger tower on the Greenstone Ridge. Usuall, you can see it a ways off, but the fog and mist were so thick that we didn't see it until we were about 100 yards away. Made it to our camp site at Lane Cove and set up our tents. Still gloomy but there was a slight breeze. Set out our wet gear in hopes it would dry, but we probably only got them about 10% drier. Even though it didn't rain, the vegetation was so wet that when we brushed against it (which was inevitable because it was so close to the trail) it transferred the water to our clothes so we ended up soaked for the second straight day. Despite the thick clouds, we got up around 11:00 pm and discovered completely clear skies allowing us to see roughly a gazillion stars and the Milky Way. Very cool!
Wednesday - Woke up to a bit of sunshine. Between the time we woke up and the time we hit the trail the sun had burned away the fog and clouds, brightened the sky, and then began to revert to cloudy conditions and dark skies. We even heard peals of thunder that seemed to get closer and closer as time went by. We made it back up to the Greenstone Ridge and got rained on for about an hour en-route back to Rock Harbor. It was disheartening, but we were fairly sure we’d be able to secure a shelter for the remaining two nights on the island so we didn't allow it to bother us...to the point that we didn't even put on our raincoats. It actually stopped raining before we reached the shelter and the sun began to shine. Changed into some dry clothes and began to unpack. About that time, a ranger pulled up to our shelter on a golf cart and asked us to vacate our shelter (it actually had a "handicap" ramp) because of a visitor who had sustained a broken leg on the trail near the Three Mile campsite. So, we hurriedly packed up our gear and carried it over to the shelter two spaces down from where we were and began unpacking and setting up for the second time in about two hours. I ended up seeing the lady hobbling over to the outhouse with her husband -- her leg was pointing forward and her foot was turned outward at about a 35-degree angle -- definitely an ugly break. Ouch!
Thursday - Temps not bad overnight. We slept in a bit, ate breakfast and explored the area around Rock Harbor—the lodge, Greenstone Grill (which was closed), etc. We hiked out to Scoville Point and spent about an hour and a half exploring the point and a rocky area about 1/2 mile from the point. No rain today and mostly sunny. Nice leisurely day.
Friday - Overnight Thursday had frost warnings and it became really cold. Slept in all my remaining layers of dry clothes and my fleece hat inside my Slumberjack zero-degree bag. Sat in the sun on the rocks at the shoreline about 100 feet in front of our shelter waiting for the Queen to arrive for our return trip. Took some photos, talked and enjoyed our remaining time on the island.
The highlight of this trip was the moose family that frequented the area around the Rock Harbor shelters where we stayed. Over the course of the three days and two nights that we were in Rock Harbor we encountered the bull, cow and calf numerous times. At times I was standing only 15-25 feet away from these huge beasts. The first time they awakened me at 4:30 am as they were grunting, groaning and snapping branches in the forest all around our shelter. I woke up, pointed my headlamp out the front of the shelter and the beam landed on the calf about 25 feet away. Another time, one of them was standing so close to our shelter that I could literally hear it chewing the leaves it had just stripped off a tree branch. We also spotted them a couple times during the day and in the evening as dusk was encroaching on the landscape. These episodes always drew crowds of fellow hikers from around the campsites as word of their presence spread. My closest encounter was on Friday morning. The calf woke me up at 8:30 am. I could see it from where I was laying inside the shelter. I grabbed the camera and slowly stepped outside. It looked at me, and then returned to stripping leaves off of various tree branches. The calf eventually moved in my direction and before it walked off to join its mother, it was probably only about 8-10 feet away from me. The best moose encounters I have ever had on the island since we first hiked there in 1999!! Although, I must say that I’m rather jealous of Nina’s wolf encounter (http://isleroyaleforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=2320 ). This was my 8th time on the island and I have never even come close to a wolf. I’ve stayed in shelter #5 at Siskiwit Bay two times and immediately recognized the view from her photos.
Now for a few of my favorite photos from the trip...
On the way to Scoville Point
Artist in Residence studio at Scoville Point
Rock climbing on the way out to Scoville Point
Rugged shoreline
Rock Harbor
Near the Rock Harbor Lodge
Moose family that frequented Rock Harbor
Momma and calf
Bull near our shelter
Cow and calf by our buddies' shelter
Close encounter with the calf
Sunday – We left my buddy’s house around 5:00 am and drove non-stop--except to stop for gas, snacks and lunch--to Copper Harbor. Arrived around 5:00 pm, checked into the Bella Vista and went into town to eat at the Mariner restaurant. After dinner we made a trip to the top of Brockway Mountain, took some photos and admired the views.
Monday - Up around 6:30 am, got ready and were at the dock of the Isle Royale Queen IV at the required 7:30 am time. Ship left around 8:05 am and arrived at the island around 11:30 am. Lake Superior was in a good mood that day and the waves were calm to two feet. The morning started gray and extremely overcast and remained that way right up to about 30-45 minutes into the hike, then it began to rain and it continued right up until the point we entered our shelter at Daisy Farm. The last hour or two of hiking presented us with a steady, hard rain. Water leaked down my poncho, soaked my shirt and wicked into my pants. My pant legs soaked up the water and allowed my socks to wick the water into my boots. It was miserable. Rained most of the night. The humidity was so high that even though we hung our wet clothes in the shelter, they didn't even dry out a little bit.
Tuesday - The rain was gone, but the sky was still very gray and cloudy. I'm not a meteorologist (although I did recently stay in a Holiday Inn Express), but I’m sure the humidity was 100% because a mist just hung in the air and we could feel it all around us. Hiked up to the Ojibway ranger tower on the Greenstone Ridge. Usuall, you can see it a ways off, but the fog and mist were so thick that we didn't see it until we were about 100 yards away. Made it to our camp site at Lane Cove and set up our tents. Still gloomy but there was a slight breeze. Set out our wet gear in hopes it would dry, but we probably only got them about 10% drier. Even though it didn't rain, the vegetation was so wet that when we brushed against it (which was inevitable because it was so close to the trail) it transferred the water to our clothes so we ended up soaked for the second straight day. Despite the thick clouds, we got up around 11:00 pm and discovered completely clear skies allowing us to see roughly a gazillion stars and the Milky Way. Very cool!
Wednesday - Woke up to a bit of sunshine. Between the time we woke up and the time we hit the trail the sun had burned away the fog and clouds, brightened the sky, and then began to revert to cloudy conditions and dark skies. We even heard peals of thunder that seemed to get closer and closer as time went by. We made it back up to the Greenstone Ridge and got rained on for about an hour en-route back to Rock Harbor. It was disheartening, but we were fairly sure we’d be able to secure a shelter for the remaining two nights on the island so we didn't allow it to bother us...to the point that we didn't even put on our raincoats. It actually stopped raining before we reached the shelter and the sun began to shine. Changed into some dry clothes and began to unpack. About that time, a ranger pulled up to our shelter on a golf cart and asked us to vacate our shelter (it actually had a "handicap" ramp) because of a visitor who had sustained a broken leg on the trail near the Three Mile campsite. So, we hurriedly packed up our gear and carried it over to the shelter two spaces down from where we were and began unpacking and setting up for the second time in about two hours. I ended up seeing the lady hobbling over to the outhouse with her husband -- her leg was pointing forward and her foot was turned outward at about a 35-degree angle -- definitely an ugly break. Ouch!
Thursday - Temps not bad overnight. We slept in a bit, ate breakfast and explored the area around Rock Harbor—the lodge, Greenstone Grill (which was closed), etc. We hiked out to Scoville Point and spent about an hour and a half exploring the point and a rocky area about 1/2 mile from the point. No rain today and mostly sunny. Nice leisurely day.
Friday - Overnight Thursday had frost warnings and it became really cold. Slept in all my remaining layers of dry clothes and my fleece hat inside my Slumberjack zero-degree bag. Sat in the sun on the rocks at the shoreline about 100 feet in front of our shelter waiting for the Queen to arrive for our return trip. Took some photos, talked and enjoyed our remaining time on the island.
The highlight of this trip was the moose family that frequented the area around the Rock Harbor shelters where we stayed. Over the course of the three days and two nights that we were in Rock Harbor we encountered the bull, cow and calf numerous times. At times I was standing only 15-25 feet away from these huge beasts. The first time they awakened me at 4:30 am as they were grunting, groaning and snapping branches in the forest all around our shelter. I woke up, pointed my headlamp out the front of the shelter and the beam landed on the calf about 25 feet away. Another time, one of them was standing so close to our shelter that I could literally hear it chewing the leaves it had just stripped off a tree branch. We also spotted them a couple times during the day and in the evening as dusk was encroaching on the landscape. These episodes always drew crowds of fellow hikers from around the campsites as word of their presence spread. My closest encounter was on Friday morning. The calf woke me up at 8:30 am. I could see it from where I was laying inside the shelter. I grabbed the camera and slowly stepped outside. It looked at me, and then returned to stripping leaves off of various tree branches. The calf eventually moved in my direction and before it walked off to join its mother, it was probably only about 8-10 feet away from me. The best moose encounters I have ever had on the island since we first hiked there in 1999!! Although, I must say that I’m rather jealous of Nina’s wolf encounter (http://isleroyaleforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=2320 ). This was my 8th time on the island and I have never even come close to a wolf. I’ve stayed in shelter #5 at Siskiwit Bay two times and immediately recognized the view from her photos.
Now for a few of my favorite photos from the trip...
On the way to Scoville Point
Artist in Residence studio at Scoville Point
Rock climbing on the way out to Scoville Point
Rugged shoreline
Rock Harbor
Near the Rock Harbor Lodge
Moose family that frequented Rock Harbor
Momma and calf
Bull near our shelter
Cow and calf by our buddies' shelter
Close encounter with the calf
, but at least we stayed dry! 
