Isle Royale Forums

This is a summary of our first trip to Isle Royale with our children aged, 19,16,12, and 8. Sorry for the super long trip report. I retyped my journal entries from trip. I cannot thank you all enough for your feedback regarding my various itineraries, and suggestions. I spent months and months planning our first whole family backpacking trip. This planning allowed us to have a safe, and successful trip. We truly had a trip of a lifetime, and look forward to going back someday.

6/28 Clear/Sunny Mid 80’s
2nd day of park opening. Took 8am seaplane out of Houghton. What a peaceful ride! It relaxed us and was a peaceful entry to the beauty of the island. Masked Ranger Katie greeted us at dock, and pilot Tomas left us to regather our things while they went to get out fuel. We had SO MUCH STUFF. Before embarking on the seaplane we had to remove all the items/dangles on the external portion of bags. So here we were at Tobin Harbor with piles of stuff to attach back on 6 backpacks. Katie returned and we went outside the ranger station for a brief safety meeting. We realized at that point we forgot out yearly National Park pass in car. Grrr. Fortunate for us, Katie didn’t even have a way to accept money so she trusted us. We were told about moose and Covid precautions. She informed that the trails were a bit of a mess since the trail crews haven’t arrived and to be careful. After that, we were free to turn the corner, remove our masks and start our journey. Hooray! We filled up our water one last time and found our way to the trail.
RH-DF 7.2 miles
We took the Tobin Harbor trail to get our legs warmed up. My older girls sped ahead and we met up with them at a beautiful overlook near 3 mile. There we ate our first lunch, gouda and salami. Yum! We proceeded to soak our feet in the chilly waters and get ready for the next leg of the journey. Rock Harbor to Daisy Farm was a test of our energy. Mom and Dad’s packs were super heavy, and the trail was one obstacle after another. The kids, however, LOVED it. They were blazing ahead, climbing trees, jumping over downed trunks on boardwalks etc.. We were exhausted and thankful to arrive at Daisy Farm. Kids chose shelter 12, which was right on the water. Everyone jumped in the icy waters! The Ranger found us and told us we were the only ones there. Awesome! Had a great dinner and fell asleep to the sounds of the loons, and a bell ringing in the distance.
6/29 80’s humid/rainy
DF-MC 8.1 miles
Late start. We didn’t realize what a chore packing up camp for 6 would be. It took forever, just as we finished, the heavens opened. We went back into the shelter, put on our rain gear and started hiking. Daisy Farm trail up to the Greenstone Ridge. This was a FUN trail. Not as many obstacles, but some vertical climbing, areas underwater, and a bit more technical than the previous days. So much variation in terrain. We all loved it. Again, the teenagers forged ahead of us, and we met at top of ridge for a nice lunch. Rain had stopped, and heat settled in. Greenstone Trail to Chickenbone E. Ahhh the fern forest that I heard so much about. My son was lost in the ferns! This trail was hidden and we had to really pay attention to stay on course. We spotted our first luna moth on the edge of trail. The kids also found 3 moose antlers. The Greenstone reminded me a lot of Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National park. I think the rock is called Schist. I will read more about the geology when I return. This trail was long, and I was still struggling a bit with my heavy pack. We gradually entered an incredible young birch forest and ended at Chickenbone E. The mosquitos here were terrible. A quick break and a snack was about all we could muster. Chickenbone E to McCargoe Cove. This was an interesting hike. Wildflowers, covered boardwalks all around the lake. Very peaceful. Saw some wolf prints. Exciting. Managed to get a second wind and I led the group to McCargoe. Absolutely breathtaking. This campground wasn’t on our pre-Covid itinerary. It was the highlight for the kids. Again, we were the only people there despite arriving at 8:30pm. Having our pick of shelters, we chose #4 up on the bluff, looking directly at the water and dock. Spent the evening on the dock. The kids found two more moose antlers.
6/30 Mid 80’s HOT
McCargoe Cove Zero Day
Spent the day relaxing, sunning, napping, and fishing at dock. My son caught some perch, and my daughter caught a pike. My son also caught a leech. Ouch. I went for a walk and saw a bull moose swimming, and grazing. Also, spotted a cow moose and baby swimming, and some interesting birds like cranes. It was a good day to enjoy our surroundings, and rest our bones. Later in the evening we built a fire and had our first human encounter. A nice trio of young people showed up. They were hiking Windigo to RH. We chatted a bit and watched the stars. We could see a storm was coming.
7/1 Mid 80’s HOT
A big storm did come through the night. I loved the feeling of sleeping in the shelter while it was storming. The kids slept right through it. We woke up to even more excitement. We encountered a large bull moose on our way to the outhouse. After a bit he went his way and we went ours. However, he must have been tempted by something tasty near our shelter. He came back and ate his breakfast directly in front of the shelter, only separated by a picnic table, which of course was holding my phone! After the moose finished I went down to the dock. Only to be greeted by a “friendly’? fox. He sniffed our water bottles and followed up back up to camp. Thankfully we had all our goodies in the shelter and not left out. Time to pack up and head out.
McCargoe-MB 8? miles
Plan was to go MC-CH but kids were not liking the out and back extra miles to CH. Next time I will make it there! The beginning of this day was extremely hot. Although the Indian Portage trail is an easy hike, the heat made it difficult. It was a pretty hike around the lake despite the temps. We met up at a shady site at Chickenbone W to refill water and have a snack. Kids starting talking about “next time we come here”. We were all enjoying this adventure. This is what I wanted from this vacation.
W. Chickenbone- Lake Ritchie
This was a long, but pretty hike. Nothing technical, just sometimes monotonous in the heat. We were rewarded with a lunchbreak at a gorgeous overlook at Lake Ritchie. By the time we arrived, both our older girls were in water, actually one of them swam across Lake Ritchie and was standing on an Island. Everyone thought this was a great idea, except me. It was my husband’s birthday so I gave into family pressure. We swam across, walked around a little island that was covered with a lot of pike carcasses, and clam shells. My son got another leech between his toes, so I decided it was time to swim back and pull my spice cabinet out to get salt. We dried off and left for the remaining 2.5 miles to Moskey Basin. This was the worst trail ever in terms of mosquitoes. I think we all ran it. My youngest daughter found a cool treasure, an entire backbone with ribs attached, and skull of a large moose. Arrived at Moskey and again, nobody in sight. Chose Shelter #2, right on the water. It was perfect. I love the shelters right on the water. However, we paid dearly for this. The bugs were relentless, incessant and big. The heat and humidity was the perfect recipe for swarms of mosquitos, flies, and dragonflies. I woke the next morning to the sounds of many birds. Drank my coffee in solitude, watching all the various bird families, and their brood swimming around the basin. It was so serene.
7/2 MB-DF Another sunny, hot day high 80’s 3.9 miles
Kids wanted to take another zero day but the bugs and heat forced us to pack up and leave. We decided to break up our MB-RH into two days, and visit DF again. We packed up again, still not getting any quicker at it, but packs were lighter and we hiked to DF. We took RH trail back to DF. It was a tough hike in the sun. Very exposed, and the heat made it unpleasant at times. We lost the trail a couple times on the ridge. Arrived at camp earlier than any other day. But… people!! Where did they all come from? The kids had to choose a new shelter since our old one had occupants. We all went right to the dock after dropping packs and swam. It was freezing but absolutely refreshing. After we left, the kids think they spotted Rolf and Candy by the dock. By the time they ran there the little boat was motoring away. Oh well, maybe next time. The kids found cool rocks to admire while we spent the evening on the beach. The bell we heard on the first night is no longer audible.
7/3 80’s sunny
DF-3M 4.4 miles
Beautiful morning, coffee on the beach. Easy hike via RH trail to 3 mile. This was our first double crossing of any trail. Trail still full of obstacles, but the impact of the recent visitors was seen. Trees were easier to climb over due to more snapped branches, and such. We were first to arrive at campground, so again had pick of shelters. Kids chose the one right across from dock. We relaxed at the dock until late afternoon when new visitors started showing up who were just starting their journeys. Kids tried to fish, not much here but carp. Lots of them! The dock here is wonderful, perfect for swimming, and not too deep. We really enjoyed our time at 3 mile. Only surprise during our stay was a large recently deceased otter on way to outhouse.
7/4 low 80’s sunny
3M-RH 3 miles + 4.2 Stoll trail
Via Rock Harbor trail. Cold morning! Left early with the littles since they have so much morning energy. Easy walk, with a couple challenging spots, but nothing to difficult. Stopped at Suzy’s cave on the way. Coolest temperatures on the entire island! It was easy to imagine kids playing here back in the day. We ended up in RH early. I promised the kids we would hit the newly opened store and get our fix of chips, candy, pop, and beer for Mom and Dad. The store was dark and locked. We feared it was closed due to it being a holiday. Ran into Ranger Katie, told her about our awesome adventure, and lamented about our wish for chips. She informed us that the store wasn’t closed, it was “on call”. She called the appropriate person, and everyone got their fill of junk food. Mom and Dad weren’t ready to call it quits. We left the kids playing cards, eating chips, and headed out to walk around. Wow, what a delight to hike without packs! We decided to check out the closed hotel, and head out to do the Stoll trail as our last hike. What an interesting overlook with the channel of water running inside. I am so glad we finished with this hike. Last hike, and never saw another hiker, just fellow campers this back end of trip. We arrived back to camp and chatted with a couple day trippers. The evening was quiet until we all awoke to the sound of a moose snacking for a lonngggggg time outside our shelter.
7/5 Rainy and cooler
9 am Seaplane departure
Boo hoo. Time to leave this special place. Looking forward to a shower and a cheeseburger. The memories we made will bring smiles to our faces for a long time. I am so happy we ditched our Yellowstone trip for Isle Royale this year.

WOOHOO! A Trip Report! Thank you for filling our need this year, no worries on the length. We could read these all day. I'm so glad your 'first' trip went so well, and the kids are already discussing the next one. That's the hallmark of a successful trip, but also perhaps why Isle Royale is the most revisited NP.
The bell you heard at DF comes from a buoy that marks the channel between Rock Harbor lighthouse and West Caribou island, and it all depends on the wave action if it's ringing or not.
Sandhill Cranes are common to hear (and occasionally see) on the island, I'm guessing that's the large bird you encountered. And moose! Isn't it amazing how docile these large creatures can be? They honestly really just want to eat this time of year, and unlike the fox which may be more habituated to humans, for moose it's just that they don't see humans as a threat and so go about their business sometimes within feet of you.
Amazing how hot it was; that's pretty uncommon on IR (esp at lakeside camps) and it will impact the moose, since they will slow/stop eating if they get too warm.
Thanks for sharing, and can't wait to hear about the plans for the next trip.

Awesome trip report! I loved reading it. I have to admit, I was skeptical of your plan to hike with 4 kids (even if some are older), and I'm glad to hear they enjoyed the island. I think that on every trip to the island that I've taken, I've started planning the next trip about halfway through this one.

The channel buoy's bell is so deeply tied to Daisy Farm in my mind that when you mentioned it, I felt like I was right back there in a shelter, hearing it overnight.

What were your thoughts about the trail conditions overall? You mention some downed trees and flooded boardwalks -- were those common or occasional? Any trail crews out and about?

Sandhill cranes-maybe, but Great Blue Herons would be more likely. If they were white, then egrets.

It's very nice to hear you had a great and enjoyable trip. Regarding the areas with massive mosquitoes, did you all have head nets?

Beware the campground foxes. It seems each campground has its own fox. Even though the "goodies" are locked up, that won't stop them from stealing whatever they can carry off. I've seen one carry off an aluminum cook pot never used for anything except boiling water. Boots are particularly susceptible probably due to the salty residue from sweat. One stole my dehydrated dinner pouch (ready to eat) from right in front of me while I sat at a picnic table. A ranger told me he or someone else had tracked down a fox's "stash" full of all sorts of small equipment (mostly footwear and shiny stuff).

That rock you mentioned was most likely one of several variations of basalt. Almost all of Isle Royale is made up of igneous rocks from a multitude of huge lava flows. Schist is a metamorphic mineral derived from a sedimentary mineral.

This simple diagram highlights the basic geologic makeup of the Lake Superior geosyncline: Here are a couple of starting points for further Isle Royale geologic study:

Isle Royle Geology and Soils

NPS Geodiversity Atlas—Isle Royale National Park, Michigan

Hooray for the successful trip and the wonderful trip report! A few years ago I arrived on an early season boat, and had about one day of navigating trails that hadn't yet been brushed. (After that, trail crews had beaten me everywhere else I went.) It was brutal! Your family gets high marks for a whole trip under those conditions!

You mentioned (in connection with leeches, I'm afraid) a "spice cabinet". Does this mean you were genuinely *preparing* meals, rather than pouring boiling water into mylar sacks? If so, are there any triumphs (or lessons) to report?

Thanks for reporting back! We're headed there soon, after the mosquitoes have retired (fingers crossed).

Zero days are lovely, and I'm glad you found space for one. Chippewa Harbor will be there in the future.

Thanks everyone! My kids are troopers. Due to Covid, and working at home, we had family hikes w/packs a couple times a week. I was worried about my 8 year old son. He is usually bringing up the rear. Not on the island, he kept telling me how "great" this place was. He got a real kick out of seeing an eagle fish right out of the cove. I also think once we arrived the beauty and excitement of it all made the kids forget how hard they were working. We also let each kid pick their favorite candy to carry and treat themselves during the trip. It's the little things I planned ahead that helped it all go smooth. My children read their journals to me, and there was so much I forgot to mention in mine. So happy we all have our little memory books. Everyone has different highlights. My one daughter was particularly entranced by all the wildflowers.

Thanks for the info on the buoy. I thought the bell was somehow connected to the fishery. Trail conditions were not great and we kind of felt like the Swiss Family Robinson at times. This ruggedness of the trail highlighted the adventure. I was told trail crews were expected this week. This was the first time I ever used hiking poles. I am a convert. They saved me more than a couple times on those uncleared trails. As for the mosquitoes, yes we had head nets, I treated everything with Permetherin, and I use Picardin on anything exposed. They just love me. My husband got one bite the whole week!

Funny foxes! They are cute, though. You can definitely tell they are used to people. I appreciate the geology explanation. I plan to delve more into reading about it after the laundry is done. We did pretty good with our meals. It was a mix of dehydrated foods/noodle/beans/rice, and a couple instant things. I am a Chef so my husband jokes that I bring my spice cabinet everywhere. It's just a bag of my essentials. Next time I would like to get a dehydrator and do everything myself. This year there was just too much to plan, plus we didn't even know until last minute that park would open, and we were actually going.

I use a dehydrator and do most of it myself, partly because of food allergies I have. However, I am not a chef, not even close! I usually make about four different dinners and just do them over and over in a 4-day rotation. All the work at home turns into easy meals on the trail, and relatively light.

Sandhill Cranes nest in a few places on IR, could very well have been them. From the IR NPS page: Sandhill Cranes have become a somewhat common species in drained wetlands, and in recent years many breeding pairs have been found across the island.