Isle Royale Forums

Heres my itinerary. I only had time for 4 nights but got time since im taking the plane I got 5 days to hike. So I have to hustle on the trails a couple of days. I'm a pretty strong guy and but in real good shape right now. Im pretty sure I can handle 30 lb pack. I estimate I can hike 1.5 to 2.0 MPH.

August 10- Drive to Hancock, MI from West Lafayette, IN (10+ hour drive)

August 11- take seaplane from Hancock to Rock Harbor I got the noon plane. Take afternoon hike from Rock Harbor to Moskey Basin.
(I know pushing a little bit, I need to get ahead of schedule with fresh legs). Also Moskey Basin has a cool camp ground.

August 12- Moskey Basin CG to West Chickenbone Lake CG - This is a reasonable hike and gives time to fish Richie Lake and Chickenbone Lake.

August 13- West Chickenbone to South Desor Lake CG on the Greenstone. This would be the long day on the trail. 15 miles is pushing my limits but I think I could do it.

August 14- South Desor Lake to Washington Creek Campground. My pack will be a little lighter on this one.

Augst 15- rent canoe for 1/2 day in the morning. Maybe fish some enjoy Windigo. I have 3PM sea plane flight Windigo to Hancock.

August 16 Drive back to Indiana (maybe do something cool in the Upper Pennisnsula- Any ideas for a little excursion?



Just other option would be to camp at Hatchet Lake CG instead of West Chickenbone on the 12th. That's also a longer hike but would make an easier hike to South Desor lake.

Probably smart to stay away from the Minong trail.

Is this reasonable?

Hm, good question. You have some long days there, and there's not much room for error if you find that you're in over your head. That alone is worth worrying about.

You say that you're "pretty sure" you can handle a 30 lb pack. Have you hiked with 30 lbs before? How far, and in what sort of terrain? (Indiana is, generally, much less rough than Isle Royale's trails will be.) Have you been backpacking before, and if so, what kind of weight and mileage did you make?

I don't mean to offend, but your post makes it sound like you haven't done these things before. If you're an experienced backpacker and know the terrain, then you could definitely do this trip. But I would not make my first real backpacking trip on Isle Royale, certainly not trying to push it this hard. We midwesterners tend to find that Isle Royale is a lot harder on us than we expect. It's rocky, with constant ups-and-downs, and the ridges can be pretty unrelenting.

Or, Day 1 Moskey, or Daisy Farm if your legs start feeling it. Bear in mind that Daisy Farm to Moskey is one of the rougher stretches of trail on the island in terms of up and down over rock outcroppings. And this will be at the end of a long day for you. Another possibility is take the water taxi to Daisy Farm to shorten the distance and conserve your energy.

Day 2 W. Chickenbone, good choice from Daisy Farm. From Moskey, if you are feeling energetic and get an early start, that might be the day to think about cranking up the mileage to 13 and going all the way to Hatchet Lake. One of the more scenic stretches of the Greenstone.

Day 3 - here it depends on what you did the previous days. Likely South Desor.

Day 4 - continue progress. Worst case, you should get to Island Mine for an easy hike down to Windigo the next morning.

Bobcat1, how hard is to catch the water taxi. Is it available all the time. That might good idea for the 1st day.

You make reservations ahead of time, with the Rock Harbor Lodge folks. I've never actually used the water taxi but I know a lot of people do, to get a jumpstart on their trip. There are several threads on the "Transportation and Lodging" sub-forum that might help you.