Isle Royale Forums

What is the Minong Ridge Trail like between Windigo and North Lake Desor? If I arrive at Windigo on the ferry at 1PM, can I make it to the North Lake Desor campground before dark that night without being all too exhausted? Map says its about 12.4 miles, but is it a rough hike or an easy hike? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

You didn't mention which month you'll be hiking. For early or late season hikes, remember it gets dark early.

While I haven't done that stretch myself, it's generally regarded as the hardest stretch of trail on the island. Lots of ups and down, wet rocks, beaver dam crossings, and easy to lose the trail in spots. So unless you're very experienced, in great shape, and travel fast and light, my take from others' reports is No, you probably don't want to do it starting in the afternoon. And as Jerry points out, the time of year has a lot to do with how much daylight you have. I once shared a campsite at Huginnin Cove with some experienced 20 somethings who had come from North Desor. They had left early, got in late and were pretty miserable. Hopefully others with direct experience with check in.

4 years ago I took the float plane in to Windigo (2nd plane of the day).

We got in right as the boat from MN was arriving. We didn't dilly dally but got right to business and down the trail and all the way to N. Desor. It's quite a haul, but doable. We didn't take many breaks, just a few short ones and hit it fairly hard. The part of the trail wasn't that hard or taxing in that area (like other parts of the Minong), but it has spots that are trying (beaver dams and stream crossings can slow you down). We did it in early August and had plenty of light. We got in with a bit to spare and rested for a bit setting up camp and taking a swim and filtering water. In early spring or late fall you'd really have to hump it to make it before dark IMO. The first day or two of the hike is always the hardest for me as I don't have my "trail" legs yet.

If I had it to do over I'd likely stay in Huginnin cove and get an earlier start, but it's doable.

Did the Minong last year, this isnt something that I would do myself. This particular stretch would classify as a death march for me and my group.Deffinately doable ......but I wouldnt say enjoyable. With a little rain IMHO down right a bit dangerous. Poles deffinately recomended,or at least a stick . Take on water when you can. The ridges can be very hot, even in early season. We did an off trail camp to break up the distance .My 5 yr old daughter came through it better than we did.It is a rough stretch for sure.

I did this trip (going east to west) last year. My trip report ("Minong Trip June 2014") is posted. This is what I wrote about that leg:

Night Five: Washington Creek. We decided to skip the back country site and head straight to Windigo/Washington Creek. We figured the bugs in the middle of the forest would make the backcountry site unbearable. This is a loooong hike, about thirteen miles. Like every trail, it has tons of ups and downs. The first part of the trail (once off the access trail) is on exposed rock ridges. They were dry! It makes a big difference and we both enjoyed the views and made good time.

Based on my read of the Mike Tremblay e-book, I had the distinct impression that the rest of this leg of the trail would largely be on exposed ridges. That is not true. Plenty of ridges, but they are almost all buried in forests.

Three features of this leg stand out—the cedar swamps, the beaver dams, and the burn area. The first cedar swamp is almost—almost!—impassible without getting muddy. It involves jumping between logs, rocks and spits of dry ground. Very, very slow going. At one point, I decided I had no choice but to touch down on the muddy ground in order to push off to more solid ground. Big mistake. It is a swamp. I sunk in over my ankles and never did hit solid ground. Don and Paul made it through unscathed. The second swamp is not as large but it was certainly not dry as stated in the Tremblay book.

The beaver dams are highlighted in the Tremblay book. Despite reading about crossing beaver dams, I really did not know what to expect. It may be easier to think of crossing along the edge of a beaver pond. On one side is the pond and the water level may be level with a hiker’s chest. Along this pond is a very (very!) wet and muddy track crossed by outfalls from the pond. The track is often passable only by stepping on logs tossed haphazardly along the way. Floaters, logs too small for the space, rotten wood, wide gaps and reliance on single logs (requiring a lot of sidestepping) are common features. The hazard is water and deep mud. The third dam is by far the biggest and most hazardous. Don, Paul and I made it across without getting wet, but the smart money would have been on a different outcome.

It is worth mentioning here an important point raised in the Tremblay book. After crossing the second beaver dam, GO UPHILL. Do not go left, even though that trail looks more established. Go uphill!
The burn area is the remnants of a fire from two years ago. It is a jumbled mess and the original trail is long gone. The Park Service has done an outstanding job of flagging the best route through the burn area with colored ribbons. Oddly, they used at least three colors of ribbons. We were caught off guard by this, but all ribbons mark a single trail.

This is a very long trail. There is water at the six mile mark. Later, the trail briefly follows the flow of Washington Creek and water is accessible there as well. In the view of Don, Paul and me, this leg is harder than the Little Todd-Desor leg.


Hope it helps

Glad to see you made it over here from your Facebook post. Welcome.

My daughter and I did this stretch of the Minong in 2013. I'm 55 years old and this really tested my limits of endurance. We started early enough, but it was an all day hike. I thought about setting up camp in the backwoods, but Windigo was so close and we pushed on. We only got lost once, but GPS got us back on the trail. You can read about our experience in the Trail report: TR - Kari and Wally tackle the Minong. 8/10/13 - 8/15/13.

Please remember it took a lot of time and energy to get to Isle Royale. Enjoy the scenery. the people you meet on the trail, the beauty, the quiet.

Bartle, it's a tough hike. The hike is up-and-down many times, and has some beaver damn crossing that can be slow-going. Also, once you get to the trail head for North Desor, you still have a mile or so down to the actual campsite. The bugs were bad when I was there in May, about five years ago.

One important thing to keep in mind is that the stretch of trail from Windigo to North Lake Desor is all up hill (except for the stretch from the junction to the North Lake Desor camp ground which is all down hill). You will be crossing 2 beaver dams (if you cross 3 beaver dams you are not on the trail). There is heavy moose activity which tends to destroy the corduroy that the NPS puts down to assist with the areas that are exceptionally muddy. Everything that other folks have posted is accurate.

Plan on a long day of hiking and also plan on taking extra water or making water where possible. The reward is that you go through several blueberry patches and there is nothing like an ISRO blueberry.

hooky wrote:Glad to see you made it over here from your Facebook post. Welcome.

Connection made

drobarge wrote:

hooky wrote:Glad to see you made it over here from your Facebook post. Welcome.

Connection made

Excellent!

I saw your post and said, "Hey. I know who that guy is over there."