Isle Royale Forums

Is anyone familiar with a person who has hiked all of the trails in the park in a single visit?

Gimpy Malone, summer of '74. He had to be evacuated for emergency podiatric treatment given the severity of his blisters. Several days later, he learned that his efforts were in vain, since he had overlooked hiking the portage trails.

If I could only afford a way to give that a try next summer!

Huh. Was he in a hurry (or is that a whiff of a tale)? Did he bother to include Passage Island?

I'm exploring this intriguing idea. It seems doable at my usual pace if I have at least four weeks.

RedLeg wrote: ↑Sun Jul 02, 2023 4:56 pm If I could only afford a way to give that a try next summer!

For me, the time part is usually manageable. For that length of time, it would be nice to have different companions along the way, as it's unlikely that I'll find someone who can/wants to do the whole thing with me.

Currently the standard I'm considering is all of the hiking trails noted on the NatGeo map.

I have a ridiculously hard time getting someone to to arrange even a two week trip to the island (hiking or packraft).

Portages too, Kelly? That complicates the logistics considerably---but maybe if you recruit companions who are paddlers, you can hitch (and help with portaging!) for part of their trips.

I didn't even know there were passage island trails---I guess I've never fully unfolded the NatGeo map.

A very interesting aspect of this project is routing. Is it know what itinerary covers all the trails while minimizing the distance walked? (Not that minimizing the distance walked is necessarily something to shoot for!)

Do you have a packraft? Thinking Raspberry Island, Mott Island, and there is a well-used but maybe unofficial trail on Amygdaloid Island. In setting your own goals, do you have to carry that packraft (+pfd and paddle) the whole trip? Passage Island is a regular excursion of the MV-Sandy.

Fun project. I have been scheming my next kayak trip to the island, thinking of camping at every campground I haven't yet camped at. Duncan Narrows, Belle Isle, Hay Bay, Pickerel Cove, Birch Island, etc. Watercraft definitely needed!

Packrafts are the way for the interior portages

torpified wrote: ↑Mon Jul 03, 2023 10:15 am Portages too, Kelly? That complicates the logistics considerably---but maybe if you recruit companions who are paddlers, you can hitch (and help with portaging!) for part of their trips.

I didn't even know there were passage island trails---I guess I've never fully unfolded the NatGeo map.

A very interesting aspect of this project is routing. Is it know what itinerary covers all the trails while minimizing the distance walked? (Not that minimizing the distance walked is necessarily something to shoot for!)

It does, doesn't it?

My initial thinking is to do all of the paddling either at the beginning or at the end—part of the logistics is figuring out where to stage a kayak and also have it available to me when I am ready to leave.

I do want to minimize repetition where possible, and not in a crazymaking way. That may not be possible but it's a goal.

Bobcat1 wrote: ↑Mon Jul 03, 2023 10:30 am Do you have a packraft? Thinking Raspberry Island, Mott Island, and there is a well-used but maybe unofficial trail on Amygdaloid Island. In setting your own goals, do you have to carry that packraft (+pfd and paddle) the whole trip? Passage Island is a regular excursion of the MV-Sandy.

Fun project. I have been scheming my next kayak trip to the island, thinking of camping at every campground I haven't yet camped at. Duncan Narrows, Belle Isle, Hay Bay, Pickerel Cove, Birch Island, etc. Watercraft definitely needed!

I have an inflatable kayak that I plan to take in September for a limited trip (either McCargoe to Birch or Belle Isle to Pickerel Cove). It's not suitable for open-water use.

I don't plan to carry it the entire trip, just during the paddling part.

Hitting my remaining campgrounds is a project for another year. Good luck on yours!

In addition to hiking all of the park trails on the NatGeo map, I am considering two additional parameters:

• Except for the ferry to and from the island, no ferries around the island to simplify logistics. That would preclude taking the MV Sandy to Passage Island. However, my preference would be not to paddle out there alone.

• Adhere to the campground stay limits, e.g. no asking for extra nights at Rock Harbor.

I made a spreadsheet and some maps*. Feedback is welcomed.

*Maps link removed.

More thinking led to an updated spreadsheet and updated maps*.

*Maps link removed.

Of similar interest, George Desort made a documentary of paddling all the inland lakes, “Fifty Lakes One Island”. It’s been awhile since I watched, but I think he did it in a couple trips and not sure he made all the lakes.

Ingo wrote: ↑Fri Jul 07, 2023 9:01 am Of similar interest, George Desort made a documentary of paddling all the inland lakes, “Fifty Lakes One Island”. It’s been awhile since I watched, but I think he did it in a couple trips and not sure he made all the lakes.

I bought that DVD several years ago and didn't watch it until just before hatching this idea, so it's safe to say it helped spark it. He did it in two trips of forty days each.

No documentary making for me! I might use something like the Relive app—although my past experience is that GPS track recording isn't 100% reliable (and neither am I), so I'd have to make peace with gaps, and forgetting to either start or end a track, or something.

So let me ask a different but related question: What would you personally consider a through-hike of Isle Royale?