Input/Feedback Needed!

[Western Midwesterner]

I am planning a solo backpacking trip to IR for July 2019. This will be my second trip to the island, but the last one was 20 years ago. I'm an experienced outdoors woman - frequently hiking, caving and mountaineering all over the West Coast. I've tentatively mapped out the following itinerary for my trip (as attached image). What suggestions, improvements, or feedback does the group have? This is likely to be my longest trip to date in terms of overall mileage, but most of the days have smaller mileage amounts than are typical for me on a long trip. I really want to see the best IR has to offer, but I love my solitude and am hoping to explore more "hidden" gems.

All helpful feedback is welcome!

Thanks!

[Tom]

Welcome to the forum!

My first gut reaction would be to reverse the route - That allows you to hike to Lane Cove on Day 1 (in July you will have plenty of daylight) and take your trip from there; leaving the N. Desor leg near the end. (It's a long stretch, so nicer to have your trail legs and a little less food weight for that day.)
It's not a deal breaker, though.

I think everyone else will chime in and tell you to skip East Chickenbone and go directly to McCargoe Cove. The difference between those two camps is stark, and the trail easy enough between the two. An evening at McCargoe will be far more pleasant, where there is easy access to water and comfortable camp sites (both shelters and pad areas) as opposed to the rocky, water-distance East Chickenbone.

[Western Midwesterner]

Thank you for the feedback.

Call me silly, but I like the idea of doing the trip "backwards". Gives me lots of time to play tourist while I still have energy and interest to do so. The last day on trail I all I ever want is a giant hamburger and a beer. Then a nap.

I appreciate the tip to stay at McCargoe. Looking at the topo, I can see its got a good location relative to the lake. If folks on this forum aren't familiar with the resource SARTopo.com, they should check it out. There are lots of free tools and layers to see land features, plan routes...etc.

This may be off topic for this particular thread, but how possible is it to get a shuttle from Copper Harbor to Houghton? I don't see much identified in terms of public transportation or otherwise listed in the area.

Thanks again!

[Ingo]

This may be off topic for this particular thread, but how possible is it to get a shuttle from Copper Harbor to Houghton? I don't see much identified in terms of public transportation or otherwise listed in the area.

A quick search of the forum found some references to Copper Country Limo and cab or taxi--probably not called a "shuttle"--and may be accustomed to longer rides than the name might suggest in other places. I have also observed rides being arranged ad hoc on the boat (IR folks tend to be friendly that way), but it takes a certain personality to rely on that.

I'm guessing you're flying in/out of Houghton? If so, and you can't extend the trip to use the Ranger III both ways, I'd look into the seaplane if you haven't.

[dcclark]

This may be off topic for this particular thread, but how possible is it to get a shuttle from Copper Harbor to Houghton? I don't see much identified in terms of public transportation or otherwise listed in the area.

Generally, it's hard to get a ride from CH to Houghton. One good place to look for help is the airport web page, which keeps a list of the (pretty limited) options: Houghton County Airport ground transport list.

I would call ahead well in advance to verify that those services still exist. There's been a lot of turn-over in the Keweenaw taxi business in the last few years.

[Grandpa]

I don't believe that your plan to take the Voyageur II will work.

For reasons that I've never understood, the Ranger III does not connect easily to the Voyageur II for transportation down the island. If you arrive in RH on the Ranger III on Tuesday afternoon, the Voyageur II doesn't leave RH until Thursday morning. Likewise, if you arrive on the RIII on Friday, the VII doesn't leave RH until Sunday morning.

The park won't allow a two-night stay at RH campground even to make connections (I've asked).

The only work-arounds I've found are:
1) Take the Isle Royale Queen IV or seaplane instead of the Ranger III.
2) Walk to Daisy Farm & board the Voyageur II there.
3) Stay one night at RH campground and a second night at the lodge.

If anyone has found another way, I'd like to hear about it.

[Western Midwesterner]

Awesome feedback, folks! Thank you!

Drat regarding the connection to Ranger III. I thought I read the schedule on The Greenstone clearly, but I'll make sure to call for the 2019 season to get clarity and confirmation. I'm driving up from the Grand Rapids, Michigan area and thought I'd try to take advantage of the free parking in Houghton, but from what I'm hearing that turns out to be a wash with finding a ride/shuttle/taxi from Copper Harbor.

I'll re-evaluate the schedules and post again to see if I've got something that will work. I'm so glad I posted before I made a timeline/financial commitment.

One more question for the group. I carry a SPOT Gen 3 beacon. I hike often on the Cascades of Southern Oregon, so I'm often at moderate elevation, and the SPOT works fabulous. I was "home" last summer and backpacked the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. Apparently it is locally well known that the SPOT beacon (and many other such devices) don't work well in the Beaver Basin Wilderness Area. This caused my mother much distress. Are there known areas in IR where beacons, or other locator devices are not known to work?

Again, thank you so much. If y'all every find yourself in need of a Trail Angel or a shuttle on the southern half of the PCT in Oregon I'm just a hop, skip and a jump away.

[Tom]

Are there known areas in IR where beacons, or other locator devices are not known to work?

At the bottom of Siskiwit Lake?

Honestly, like all communication threads, "it depends" comes into play. I can't say I've heard of any 'well known' issues on IR, but I think much of that is because between small visitor numbers and the newer prevalence of such devices, there just are not a great deal of reports on it.
For the hike you've planned, a good portion will be along ridge tops, with times (and camps) dropping into the trees. Not a lot of areas that a canyon effect could come into play, but when you're on the north side of ridges there will be a large slope to block a signal than compared to when you're on the south.
There is a fair amount of copper embedded within the rock flows of IR, as well as iron, but that tends to have a larger affect on magnetic compasses more than electronics.
I'd tell your mother to relax. There are no bears on the island, nobody has been maimed by a moose (yet), and the hikers are the friendliest folk I've perhaps ever encountered.

[Midwest Ed]

One more question for the group. I carry a SPOT Gen 3 beacon. I hike often on the Cascades of Southern Oregon, so I'm often at moderate elevation, and the SPOT works fabulous. I was "home" last summer and backpacked the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. Apparently it is locally well known that the SPOT beacon (and many other such devices) don't work well in the Beaver Basin Wilderness Area. This caused my mother much distress. Are there known areas in IR where beacons, or other locator devices are not known to work?

All of these satellite messaging devices like SPOT and the Garmin/DeLorme InReach rely on 2 different satellite systems, the GPS system for location and Iridium system for bidirectional communication (same as SAT phones except not voice capable). Their reliability can very occasionally be affected by local terrain, forest canopy cover, man made structures and heavy/severe weather events, but there is nothing the about the local geographic location of the UP or Isle Royale that will generally adversely affect them. If you are in very dense canopy cover or in a canyon you could experience intermittent results but moving to a different location will alleviate this. I've used mine all around the Keweenaw peninsula and the Huron Mountain area in the summer with no issues. I know others have used them on Isle Royale with no reported issues. These reliability issues affected the first generation devices much more that newer designs as the sensitivity of the electronics has improved. From what I've read about the 3rd generation SPOT 3, you (or your Mother) should not be concerned at all.

Other than the Ranger talks and civilization food, one of the favorite things to do in and around Rock Harbor campground area is to do the Stoll Trail loop to Scoville Point and back. It is about a 4 mile loop along the Rock Harbor Channel shoreline and Tobin Harbor shoreline. It makes a bit of a figure 8. It is actually one of the highest rated trails for scenery. Also, when hiking southwest of the Rock Harbor campground to/from Three Mile campground there are 2 choices of parallel trails (again, Rock Harbor tail and Tobin Harbor trail. If you are tired or in more of a hurry, the Tobin Harbor trail will be easier on your knees, ankles and thigh burn.

[Ingo]

I'm driving up from the Grand Rapids, Michigan area and thought I'd try to take advantage of the free parking in Houghton, but from what I'm hearing that turns out to be a wash with finding a ride/shuttle/taxi from Copper Harbor.

In that case I'd take the Queen IV to/from Copper Harbor. It goes out and back 6 days a week in July, and every day starting the 25th. So you can go out on the Queen IV on either Sat, Mon, or Weds, and catch the Voyageur II the next day. Parking is $30 max, so you'd presumably be saving money over a ride from C.H. to Houghton anyways. See http://www.isleroyale.com/index.html, and https://www.isleroyaleboats.com/home.html for the Voyaguer II. Both have 2019 schedules posted.

One more question for the group. I carry a SPOT Gen 3 beacon...

I've heard of at least a couple rescues on IR that involved personal beacons, so yes, they work. FWIW, I took an inReach Mini last year and didn't have any signal issues, but probably not a good comparison since it's a different system and I was mostly canoeing on the lake.

[torpified]

whether you stay at McCargo or not, be sure to take some time to explore the Minong Mine (on your right a few miles before McC).

And an advantage to the IR way of life is that you can adapt your itinerary on the fly. It's less than 7 miles (not counting mine detours) from Todd Harbor to McCargo. Coming from the Cascades, you might not find it too daunting to cross the Greenstone Ridge repeatedly. So a variation like Todd Harbor to Moskey Basin (15 ish miles) on Day 4, then Moskey Basin to Lane Cove (11 ish via the mt ojibway tower) on Day 5 might be worth considering. (I like both McCargo and Moskey a lot, but I like Moskey better---it bustles less and features tremendous sunrises.) Or, if you wanted to have an interior campground on your route, go to West Chickenbone on Day 4 instead of East.

It looks like it's going to be a tremendous trip! Please report back!

[Western Midwesterner]

Coming from the Cascades, you might not find it too daunting to cross the Greenstone Ridge repeatedly. So a variation like Todd Harbor to Moskey Basin (15 ish miles) on Day 4, then Moskey Basin to Lane Cove (11 ish via the mt ojibway tower) on Day 5 might be worth considering.

I have very vague memories of Moskey Basin from my trip to IR in 1998. (20 years ago!) I remember it being gorgeous. Hmm. Food for thought.

I can make those types of trail/camp deviation decisions as needed on IR? I am so spoiled here in Oregon that I don't have to submit an itinerary or camp registration for my trips out and about. I was completely put out during my Pictured Rocks trip last summer when I had to register where I was going to spend each night on trail. Yes, yes...I understand why and fully support the rules.

Thank you again, all, for the tips & considerations. For the Pictured Rocks trip I was still carrying my Gen 1 SPOT and that was likely the source of my communication problems. I have since upgraded. (If any of you are Alger County SO/Dispatch, or Park Service employees....I am so sorry about my mom. It won't happen again.)

I've attached my updated grand plan/itinerary for review. Please continue to let me know your thoughts. After all, planning the trip is half of the fun.

[johnhens]

Nice thing about your itinerary and IR is options. You don't have to stick to your planned trip. When you get to McCargoe, you can decide what you want to do. Take a break/nap at McCargoe and head over to Moskey. Nice, scenic hike across. When you leave Moskey, and you get to the Daisy/Ojibway junction you can either go to the Greenstone or head to Daisy and hike the Rock Harbor Trail.

[torpified]

You do submit an itinerary when you collect your permit, and the itinerary you submit adorns your permit. But it's not binding. You can wander as your spirit moves you, provided you stay in designated campgrounds (or take extra steps to be permitted to sleep in the wild).

The issuing ranger always instructs me to return my permit when I've finished my walk (I suppose so that they can confirm I survived), and the ranger I return it to always asks if I deviated from the original itinerary. So maybe they're keeping track of usage patterns. But, yeah, a great thing is that they're not micromanaging individual itineraries!

[ARRC]

If you took the sea plane to Rock Harbor. You could catch the Voyager the next day to Windigo. Then catch the Ranger back to Houghton. You could also use the sea plane as a shuttle to Windigo. The sea plane folks are great to work with. The only draw back is that the plane is more effected by weather than the boats.