Isle Royale Forums

Hi friends of Isle Royale -
I am planning to thru-run the Greenstone Ridge trail this Saturday (8/31/2024), from Windigo to Rock Harbor. The crux of this endeavor is obviously water availability. The amount of water I start with, as well as the water treatment system I'll use, will depend on how much water is currently accessible, directly on the trail.

I've seen reports of 1) a creek that occasionally flows ~2 miles east of the GRt-Hatchet Lake access intersection, 2) a creek at the eastern base of the ridge topped by Mt. Siskiwit, and 3) a creek paralleling the portage between Chickenbone Lake and Lake Livermore. Worst-case scenario I'd hop off the GRt to refill from Chickenbone Lake. I can comfortably make it to the finish if I top up on water at location 3, so I'm not looking closely at potential sources between East Chickenbone Lake and Rock Harbor.

Any observations, especially within the last week, y'all can share is much appreciated! Hope to see some of you out there!

Happy trails,
Alan

I can't speak first hand about those sources, but I'm pretty sure you can't count on any source directly on the Greenstone trail. As of yesterday I was told the creek at Island Mine is a trickle, although you can get water. And that's probably the most reliable source other than the lakes, which are all detours, of course (as well as IM). Overall it's been a dry summer with only one short rain in the last couple weeks.

Although there are no current blue-green algae alerts on any inland lake (such as Chickenbone), one shouldn't eliminate that possibility this time of year.

Do not count on any water directly on the Greenstone. As i recall, other than close to Windigo, it is dry.

I know you’re running now, but I’m curious whether 3) came through for you. (It’s the one I would have expected to.) It’s a very brief detour from there, one I invariably take by accident, to Chickenbone Lake.

How did the run go??

First off, thanks to all who weighed in. Just returned from the island yesterday. That is a fun trail! I was under record pace until ~25 miles in, when the I imploded in spectacular fashion. Still trying to diagnose what went wrong, but most likely a constellation of factors, mainly starting a bit too fast and it being a bit hotter than I am used to. A thunderstorm hit me hard as I was about to descend Mt. Franklin, which was refreshing.

The water situation - there was a little bit at location 1 (description in original message), location 2 was excellent (a boardwalk over a ~8" deep pool of clear water in a feebly flowing stream - I gathered ~1 L here), and location 3 was dry. Didn't need to visit Chickenbone Lake but no hikers reported any harmful algal blooms in that or any other lake.

Thanks for the report, hope you've recovered from the implosion! Was thinking about you when that storm blew thru, glad to hear it was refreshing, as ironic as it seems to say that. What time did you make RH, and what was your overall time?

You're most welcome, Ingo! The storm was indeed refreshing - I think it cleared 80 degrees that day. The heat plus the sun, especially in exposed areas, sapped me of my chi. Made it to Rock Harbor at 7:20 pm (overall time 8 hr, 23 min), just before the Greenstone Grill closed (so grateful that they made me a burger). I posted a few more details here: https://www.strava.com/activities/12297981918/overview. Hoping to add some photos if/when my phone returns from the phone hospital (it got a little wet during the storm).

FKTs come and go, but making it to the grill in time for a burger is forever!