TR 7/31-8/5 2021 [backpacking] DF, WCB, HL, DS, WC
Posted: Thu Aug 05, 2021 10:53 pm
Irnp trip
7/31
Took 2pm seaplane out of Houghton, MI. Plane ride was smooth but unfortunately the view was obscured from all the wildfire smoke from Canada and out west, couldn’t see the island until we were practically on top of her. The smoke stayed with us throughout the trip, which was a huge bummer.
Able to get on trail after getting our permits and the short ranger talk by about 4pm. We were planning on hiking the Greenstone end to end-talked about going out to lookout Louise but we both decided we didn’t need the extra 10 just to say we did the whole thing. Started raining on the Tobin Trail and got our feet soaked. Stopped for a quick snack at the junction to Lane Cove where a cow moose joined us as well and we all ate our snacks peacefully together. Saw 3 more moose along the way including one cow/calf pair. Made it into Daisy Farm by 8 and somehow by the grace of God we got an empty shelter. I did a little thank you dance, we quick had dinner and went to bed.
8/1
Had a lazy morning and got on the trail a little after 9. Smoke was a little better and we were able to see the sleeping giant across the pond by our neighbors to the north. Lots of blueberries on the ridge, but they were all very small due to the drought. Thimbleberries were as delicious as always though. Fairly hot on the open sections of the ridge with everything very dry. We noticed that almost all the boardwalk crossings were dry underneath and we noted many dry creeks without any flowing water. For some reason my husband and I really struggled hiking on this day-lots of elevation change with rocks and roots making it very hard on the feet. Got stung by 2 wasps on each ankle just passed the junction for McCargo Cove. Made it to Chickenbone West a little before 2 and looked to be the first ones there. We were very tempted to go for a swim with how hot we were, but noticed many leeches in the water and decided against it. Campground quickly filled up, with a few sites having to double up. Saw a bull moose at the entrance of the creek on the far west end of the lake. Lots of loons as well-I enjoyed listening to them in the night
8/2
Up and on the trail a little after 8am. Ankles are very swollen and itchy this morning from the stings with some bad pitting edema. Put a bandage around the worst ankle to try and keep the swelling down as we hiked. Very steep climb about 3/4 of a mile back on the Greenstone but fairly flat and easy hiking after that. Miles seemed to go quickly and we both felt good. Smoke was thick again so any open areas didn’t have much of a view. Saw one bull moose on the trail. Steep climb down to Hatchet, and once again we were the first to the campground at around 1pm. Some hikers the day before said they swam in the lake without a problem so my husband went for a quick dip. Nice rock that’s shaped a bit like a chair to hang out on and relax. While enjoying the view a woman came to filter some water and stood in the water chatting with us. When she got out, she had probably 4 big leeches, and God knows how many little leeches on her-mostly on or between her toes. I think she was fairly traumatized. There was a nice raspberry patch around our site so I went berry picking and we had a fair amount of fresh juicy raspberries. Campground filled up again, with people overflowing to the group sites. Fell asleep again listening to the loons.
8/3
On the trail a little after 8. Ankles still very swollen and itchy but not painful. Today was humid, and again very smoky. Had a very easy hike to South Desor. The Greenstone was not what I expected-past WCB, there were very few exposed rocky areas and the hike was mostly through forested areas. Saw one moose trying to hide behind some trees on our way to the campsite. Got there around 1 and found a large group already on the sandy beach by the group sites. We picked out site 4 and went down to the group sites to check out this sandy beach we had heard so much about. The group there was definitely down to party and had brought wine, whisky-you name it. Before long the campground was FULL. With every single site doubled up, the individual site next to us probably had 6 tents set up on it and was full of some young, loud girls. We decided that it must have been spring break time at this campground. We ended up sharing our site with a very nice father /daughter duo from MN who had been coming together to the island every year for the passed 15 or so years. Sometime during the day a termite hatch erupted from a dead tree stump in our site, and suddenly hundreds of dragon flies came by to feast. I’d never seen so many dragon flies in my life, and all huge! Just as soon as it started however, the termites stopped belching out of the tree, and the dragon flies disappeared, so it was safe to open and enter our tents to head to sleep....unfortunately the rest of the campsite wasn’t as keen on sleeping as we heard shouting and privy doors slamming till the wee hrs. Luckily we had our earplugs from the plane ride....
8/4
Got on the trail by 8am to head for Washington Creek. Wanted to give ourselves a sporting chance at getting a shelter, so tried to leave at a reasonable time. It was very humid today with very little breeze. We had a hard time staying hydrated though as our water from Desor had a terrible mucky taste that we had to try and choke down. Found the hike to be very easy today with few people passed until about 3-4 miles from Windigo when we figured we passed all the people that had just got off the boat. We both remarked how “fresh” some of them smelled, lol. Saw one bull moose on the trail that quickly hid on the other side of a ridge. Made it to WAshington Creek around 2 and were able to snag a shelter. After scoring a shelter my next priorities were a shower, pizza, and beer-in that order- and all were heavenly. We ran into our friends from MN again who said they weren’t able to find a site, so we offered them to double up with us again in our shelter. Toward the evening we decided to explore more of the campground and happened to hear some splashing in the creek, and were able to watch 2 bull moose enjoying an evening meal.
8/5
Last day on the island-always so sad! We slept in pretty late since we had no place to go, but always keeping an ear out for the sound of a splashing moose. By 10am we figured no moose today and started to make breakfast when we heard a familiar splash. Not long after 4 moose came running up the creek, making a ruckus! It was amazing to watch them run so effortlessly through the water. We were able to watch 3 impressive bulls and 1 cow for about an hour, which was probably the highlight of our trip. So amazing to watch them while sipping coffee from your shelter site, what an experience! We had originally planned to rent some canoes to explore the harbor, but they weren’t renting any because we were expecting some weather to roll in. Our flight wasn’t till 5 so we spent the day sitting on the dock watching the boats go by, and checking out the short nature trail behind the store. A smooth plane ride later, and we’re back to civilization again.
In all we had a great trip. We finally got to see the east end of the island this 3rd time around and cross off doing the Greenstone trail. Bugs were tolerable, but man was it BUSY! I’m used to the island being quiet and relaxing, but this time around it had a bit of a different vibe for us. Still incredibly enjoyable, especially with being able to see 14 moose, a record for us!
7/31
Took 2pm seaplane out of Houghton, MI. Plane ride was smooth but unfortunately the view was obscured from all the wildfire smoke from Canada and out west, couldn’t see the island until we were practically on top of her. The smoke stayed with us throughout the trip, which was a huge bummer.
Able to get on trail after getting our permits and the short ranger talk by about 4pm. We were planning on hiking the Greenstone end to end-talked about going out to lookout Louise but we both decided we didn’t need the extra 10 just to say we did the whole thing. Started raining on the Tobin Trail and got our feet soaked. Stopped for a quick snack at the junction to Lane Cove where a cow moose joined us as well and we all ate our snacks peacefully together. Saw 3 more moose along the way including one cow/calf pair. Made it into Daisy Farm by 8 and somehow by the grace of God we got an empty shelter. I did a little thank you dance, we quick had dinner and went to bed.
8/1
Had a lazy morning and got on the trail a little after 9. Smoke was a little better and we were able to see the sleeping giant across the pond by our neighbors to the north. Lots of blueberries on the ridge, but they were all very small due to the drought. Thimbleberries were as delicious as always though. Fairly hot on the open sections of the ridge with everything very dry. We noticed that almost all the boardwalk crossings were dry underneath and we noted many dry creeks without any flowing water. For some reason my husband and I really struggled hiking on this day-lots of elevation change with rocks and roots making it very hard on the feet. Got stung by 2 wasps on each ankle just passed the junction for McCargo Cove. Made it to Chickenbone West a little before 2 and looked to be the first ones there. We were very tempted to go for a swim with how hot we were, but noticed many leeches in the water and decided against it. Campground quickly filled up, with a few sites having to double up. Saw a bull moose at the entrance of the creek on the far west end of the lake. Lots of loons as well-I enjoyed listening to them in the night
8/2
Up and on the trail a little after 8am. Ankles are very swollen and itchy this morning from the stings with some bad pitting edema. Put a bandage around the worst ankle to try and keep the swelling down as we hiked. Very steep climb about 3/4 of a mile back on the Greenstone but fairly flat and easy hiking after that. Miles seemed to go quickly and we both felt good. Smoke was thick again so any open areas didn’t have much of a view. Saw one bull moose on the trail. Steep climb down to Hatchet, and once again we were the first to the campground at around 1pm. Some hikers the day before said they swam in the lake without a problem so my husband went for a quick dip. Nice rock that’s shaped a bit like a chair to hang out on and relax. While enjoying the view a woman came to filter some water and stood in the water chatting with us. When she got out, she had probably 4 big leeches, and God knows how many little leeches on her-mostly on or between her toes. I think she was fairly traumatized. There was a nice raspberry patch around our site so I went berry picking and we had a fair amount of fresh juicy raspberries. Campground filled up again, with people overflowing to the group sites. Fell asleep again listening to the loons.
8/3
On the trail a little after 8. Ankles still very swollen and itchy but not painful. Today was humid, and again very smoky. Had a very easy hike to South Desor. The Greenstone was not what I expected-past WCB, there were very few exposed rocky areas and the hike was mostly through forested areas. Saw one moose trying to hide behind some trees on our way to the campsite. Got there around 1 and found a large group already on the sandy beach by the group sites. We picked out site 4 and went down to the group sites to check out this sandy beach we had heard so much about. The group there was definitely down to party and had brought wine, whisky-you name it. Before long the campground was FULL. With every single site doubled up, the individual site next to us probably had 6 tents set up on it and was full of some young, loud girls. We decided that it must have been spring break time at this campground. We ended up sharing our site with a very nice father /daughter duo from MN who had been coming together to the island every year for the passed 15 or so years. Sometime during the day a termite hatch erupted from a dead tree stump in our site, and suddenly hundreds of dragon flies came by to feast. I’d never seen so many dragon flies in my life, and all huge! Just as soon as it started however, the termites stopped belching out of the tree, and the dragon flies disappeared, so it was safe to open and enter our tents to head to sleep....unfortunately the rest of the campsite wasn’t as keen on sleeping as we heard shouting and privy doors slamming till the wee hrs. Luckily we had our earplugs from the plane ride....
8/4
Got on the trail by 8am to head for Washington Creek. Wanted to give ourselves a sporting chance at getting a shelter, so tried to leave at a reasonable time. It was very humid today with very little breeze. We had a hard time staying hydrated though as our water from Desor had a terrible mucky taste that we had to try and choke down. Found the hike to be very easy today with few people passed until about 3-4 miles from Windigo when we figured we passed all the people that had just got off the boat. We both remarked how “fresh” some of them smelled, lol. Saw one bull moose on the trail that quickly hid on the other side of a ridge. Made it to WAshington Creek around 2 and were able to snag a shelter. After scoring a shelter my next priorities were a shower, pizza, and beer-in that order- and all were heavenly. We ran into our friends from MN again who said they weren’t able to find a site, so we offered them to double up with us again in our shelter. Toward the evening we decided to explore more of the campground and happened to hear some splashing in the creek, and were able to watch 2 bull moose enjoying an evening meal.
8/5
Last day on the island-always so sad! We slept in pretty late since we had no place to go, but always keeping an ear out for the sound of a splashing moose. By 10am we figured no moose today and started to make breakfast when we heard a familiar splash. Not long after 4 moose came running up the creek, making a ruckus! It was amazing to watch them run so effortlessly through the water. We were able to watch 3 impressive bulls and 1 cow for about an hour, which was probably the highlight of our trip. So amazing to watch them while sipping coffee from your shelter site, what an experience! We had originally planned to rent some canoes to explore the harbor, but they weren’t renting any because we were expecting some weather to roll in. Our flight wasn’t till 5 so we spent the day sitting on the dock watching the boats go by, and checking out the short nature trail behind the store. A smooth plane ride later, and we’re back to civilization again.
In all we had a great trip. We finally got to see the east end of the island this 3rd time around and cross off doing the Greenstone trail. Bugs were tolerable, but man was it BUSY! I’m used to the island being quiet and relaxing, but this time around it had a bit of a different vibe for us. Still incredibly enjoyable, especially with being able to see 14 moose, a record for us!
