This post concludes my 4-part series recapping my trip to Isle Royale National Park in September 2023.
9/8, 2:30 p.m., a picnic table at Rock Harbor.
We’re 1 ½ beers into our day. We ate lunch at the Greenstone Grill, rather than snack on what little nibbles we’ve got left. We are now well stocked on candy and books and a sixer of Keweenaw beer.
We got up this morning and skipped coffee. We got on the trail around 8:30 and were in Rock Harbor by noon. We are at Site 17, and it’s been a few hours so I do not know if we have neighbors in our campsite. Hopefully not, but I won’t be surprised if we do. Today the skies are sunny and bright. There are just a few clouds in the sky. The temperature is cool, but sunny spots make it all feel different. It feels very good to wash my hands. I mailed off postcards. The original four that I picked up in Houghton, and four more. To Aubs, Joe & Randi, Michael, Ryan and Dave’s parents. We have mashed potato dinner plans, and now all the candy you could want.
4:30 p.m. Site 17
The Ranger is here, but the hikers haven’t decamped yet. We’re expecting a melee when they do. Site 17 appears to be too small to share, so here’s hoping for our seclusion.
I hate to leave the island but I know that this is not a place that needs me even if I need it. We’ll be back, always.
5 p.m. Site 17, Rock Harbor
Candy, chips, and mashed potatoes for dinner. Also beer. The finest. I have started reading a new book from the shop. “National Parks and the Woman’s Voice: A History” by Polly Welts Kaufman. It’s the kind of book I like, with lots of citations and tiny print.
6:15 p.m. Camp
I suspect we may have a site all to ourselves tonight. Lucky us. The folks in the overflow site look cramped. We are well-provisioned with candy and chips. Mashed potato and chicken dinner tonight. The veg are gone. We put the last of the cheese in dinner.
Hike report: Real miles 21, mental miles, 23
9/9 9 a.m. Ranger III Passenger Lounge
Leaving the island this time is a little like leaving summer camp. Everyone is friendly and chatty and swapping stories. No one really knows anyone’s name and it doesn’t matter at all. I’ll miss the island. I always do. Dave got a breakfast burrito from the grill, but he thinks they forgot the potato and added more egg instead. There has to be 5-6 eggs in there. He’s not upset.
I took two chewable Dramamines so we will find out if it still zonks me out. I hope not because I want to stare at the island for as long as I can.
9:30 a.m. Ranger – Outside, facing the island
I think I have talked to about half the people on this boat in the last week. The Dramamine has not zonked me out yet and I just ate a muffin. I hope it will sit down and stay there. (It did.)
In the shelters – watch your head. Dave’s bonks |||, Lindsay’s ||
On the trail when your body runs out of fuel. Quick sugar.
In the shelter or a tent between two people who like each other very much.
Glad I had that
Packable jacket
Pashmina
Buff
Knitting project
Waterproof boots
Wish I had that
Gloves below 60 degrees F
Knit hat
More coffee, Esbits
More TP and hand sanitizer
Hot bullion drink
Potential next time hikes:
Washington Creek -> Hugginin -> Washington Creek -> N. Lake Desor ->Lil Todd -> Todd Harbor -> (Hatchet Lake? Or) McCargo Cove. If McCargoe, ferry out 36 miles, if Hatchet -> Greenstone to West Chickenbone, continue onto Rock Harbor.
Windigo -> McCargoe -> Ferry
Ferry -> Water Taxi -> Middle of the island -> Start hike
We’re moving on today. It did not rain, and there are no clouds in the sky. We’ve decided to head back to Daisy Farm and make our choices from there – skipping Lake Richie completely. The trail to here and Daisy Farm is all along the side of a rocky ridge, and frankly the idea of hiking those rocks while it’s slick makes me nervous. We may head to Lane Cove after that, or Three Mile so we can access the tourist boat to Edisen Fishery. We found an apple tree at Daisy Farm, which should really class up our dirtbag charcuterie. I saw the sunrise this morning.
12:20 p.m. Shelter 9, Daisy Farm
How did DF -> MB take three hours but MB -> DF only takes two? Isle Royale governs its own time and place.
This site is surrounded by thimbleberries. Some of which are still good to eat. There is an apple tree with tart, little green apples. I ate one sliced right off my knife, which feels correct. Dirtbag charcuterie today: Lemon blackberry Propel, pepper salami, cheddar, green apples and fruit leather.
A lady we met on the trail says the weather now only predicts rain on Wednesday, which if true, puts us in a good spot to ride it out.
Hike update: Real miles, 14. Mental miles, 17. My active outfit is getting dank.
Ovenbirds love Daisy Farm.
2:15 p.m., the beach at Daisy Farm
I have just learned that I have survived a forest fire. I watched a crew dressed in wildfire fighting gear leave in a ranger boat. The word around camp is at about 10 a.m. this morning, someone came to Daisy Farm and told everyone to stay put and off the Greenstone. Then two firefighting crews arrived about half an hour apart, docked, and marched right up. I guess the fire was at the Mt. Ojibway Fire Tower. Another person heard at Rock Harbor around 12:30 p.m. that the fire was already out. There’s still one ranger boat here, so I assume the crew is still cleaning up.
4:50 p.m.
I found a Greenstone! Dave has found several nice agates. This is a good rock-hounding beach.
5:25 p.m.
We are now skilled Greenstone hunters. After the first, we put on our greenstone-hunting eyes and have found 8 so far. Many little cannardlies. (As in you can-ardly see them.) We’ll probably stay here again tomorrow night. We plan to throw them all back one at a time and make wishes.
We’re hearing a loud rumbling coming in from the southeast and the sky is becoming overcast. We can see the cabin for the Wolf and Moose Study from our picnic table.
I can’t believe finding greenstones is so easy and so fun.
6:15 p.m.
A cool wind is blowing in from the south.
Dinner: Garlic mash, chicken, cheese, ghee and vegetables.
7 p.m.
Camp fox came sniffing around our dinner. The clicking of the camera scared him off. A second camp fox that came for dinner does not fear the camera.
8:20 p.m.
It gets darker here earlier than it does at Moskey Basin. No rain yet. I finished my socks on the dock so now I have to read my book. Knitting is handy for when you want to keep your hands busy, but still look at scenery. The thunder has moved west of us.
9/6 Shelter 9, 8:30 a.m.
The rain came in just after dark. A booming and thunderous storm that brought the wind to knock down branches, and lightning to backlight the trees while it did so. The thunder was low, loud and its deep rumbling sounded like it sat on top of us and bounced between the archipelago for hours. From the inside of the shelter, it was pretty romantic.
It rained all night. The morning’s sky is very overcast. I finally broke out my rain jacket for the first time this trip. We’re finally back on track according to our itinerary if we just stay here tonight. But between hunting greenstones, and possibly hiking up to Mt. Ojibway to see the aftermath of the fire, I think that is what we’re inclined to do today. There’s still wind, and the air is cooler. I’m glad we left Moskey yesterday, because I was not keen on hiking those rocks after a rain. If this concern is going to affect my hiking, I should probably get one of those GPS locaters for my person.
Our camp fox joined us for breakfast, one of them anyway. He’s a young guy with skinny little legs. He looks sad and damp. He doesn’t make the faces Dixie makes.
Noonish
We’re up to 19 Greenstones. I’m showing them to everyone. The air is misty today. The wind is high and the lake is turbulent. We’re spending the afternoon reading with our backs resting on the shelter and the wind in my hair.
Loons and songbirds each have a lot to say. Winter wrens, goldfinches, sparrows (very friendly), ovenbirds and orioles. According to the book I’m reading “The Crooked Tree, Indian Legends of Northern Michigan” by John C. Wright, the reason today’s weather changed so drastically is because Nanaboju and his brother are running a footrace nearby.
2:30 p.m.
Lazy day at camp. The weather is cooler, so we’ve budgeted dirtbag charcuterie to include a hot drink. Today was jasmine tea and honey, apples, fruit leather, 3-year Irish cheddar, pepper sausage and jerky. Fucking luxury. Why would you want a Mountain Hardware bag when that’s an option?
One a misty , cool afternoon, with the resonant lake lapping just 150 feet away. Our shelter faces the other side of a large thimbleberry, grass and pine. One skinny old pine cracked in the storm last night, and fell in a way that should not create any work for the park service, so it’s a nice redecorating moment. The lake is a little too turbulent for rock hunting right now.
3 p.m.
A rainy afternoon with just enough wind to make it pleasant. Today the sky is a flat grey, the trees on the islands in the water are misty, dark silhouettes. The lake is an uninviting blue grey. Today it is fall on Isle Royale.
Meals left:
3 dinner
2 lunch
2 snack
3 breakfasts
What we’re rationing:
3 chicken portions
1 fried Rice-a-Roni
1 baby red mash
1 chili seasoning packet
1 mac and cheese meal
1 bag of shells, just shells (noodles)
Meager amount of veg mix
1 meal of tomato sauce
7 granola bars
0 wine
½ sausage
2 slabs of fruit leather
8 pieces of jerky
½ brick of cheddar (3-4 oz)
4-6 oz of ghee
Electrolyte tabs: 24 regular, 15 caffeine
1 green tea
1 spice tea
2 cocoa packets
2 honey
4 starbursts
11 Esbit tabs
The rain drove us inside around 4:15 so we took stock of our supplies. We won’t starve before Rock Harbor but we are dangerously low on candy. The Sweet Tart Ropes are long gone. At 7 p.m. we’re going to hear the Wolf and Moose presentation. I’ll be a fangirl if Carolyn Peterson shows up.
While I have always preferred trail runners, I like boots for both grippiness and waterproofing. My feet haven’t been damp at all except when I wanted it.* The new socks I knit are my new sleep socks and they are indulgent. We are consuming the last of the wine. Soon it will be gone, to the realm of the cookies and the Sweet Tart Ropes.
*Excepting at Moskey Basin when I went in up to my socks.
Dinner: Fried rice, chicken, veg and ghee.
Dave saw a tiny grey mouse on the path while cooking dinner. It grabbed and nibbled at a head of grain before disappearing into the underbrush.
7 p.m. Presentation, Pavilion
Moose watch (100 skulls/week)
967 moose, 31 wolves
At least 3 litters this summer
19 new wolves came from four sources
5800 moose bones collected
Heat deadly for moose, can be more easily predated.
Balsam fir, alder to stain antler
Beaver population down, wolf pop. up
Stranger on a train – Describe how I feel here that encourages them to feel the way I feel here.
Ecstasy with adrenaline
8:45 p.m.
I just had a lovely conversation with Candy Peterson after her presentation. She pegged us as good candidates for Moose Watch.
9/7 8 a.m. Inside Shelter 9, Daisy Farm
The air is cold this morning. The kind of night where it’s easy to mummy down to sleep, and hard to mummy up in the morning. We’re spending one more night here and heading to Rock Harbor in the morning. Another long lazy, cool day. We’re rationing fuel picks, so I have to wait for Dave to wake up before coffee.
9:30 a.m.
We’re onto coffee. We may run out of coffee before we get to Rock Harbor but that’s okay. You can solve problems there with money. I heard a low, intermittent thumping sound at Moskey Basin a few nights ago. Dave didn’t hear it. But I learned at the presentation last night that it may have been a bull moose calling out for a cow. So, cool.
11:30 a.m.
We have found two more Greenstones. People keep walking past and I am subjecting them all to a small lecture about Greenstones. No regrets.
Today’s chores:
Top off water before bed ✔
Throw back greenstones ✔
Apples for tomorrow ✔
Pack lunch easy access for the hike ✔
The air is less windy today, but colder. I wish I had gloves and a hat. A ranger on the dock said things should improve by tomorrow. We’ll finish Dirtbag Charcuterie on the trail tomorrow.
Did I just see a yellow oriole?
Dave just noticed that the beavers have girdled all the aspen in camp. They’re working on a project.
3:30 p.m.
I have found nine more greenstones, bringing our current total to 33. They’re easiest to find in matrix and there are far more unpolished than polished. Dave is rubbing one against a sandstone rock to see if it will polish at all. Results: Inconclusive. We will toss them all back into the lake before bed tonight. They’re abundant in the little creek from the beaver dam.
The sky today is muted shades of grey. The trees aren’t hiding in mist anymore. The lake is cold, and the waves are unpredictable. I was hesitant about going near the shore this morning. I think Minong was pleased to see Greenstone hunter. They aren’t as common as they used to be. Minong went to all the trouble of making these beautiful little agates. We honor it by picking up the prettiest parts of it and tossing them back into the lake.
We treated all the water we need to treat for the rest of this trip.
Update: Dave polished a rock. He’s exposing a beautiful turtleback pattern. Someone on the dock told me that the Ranger III left an hour early yesterday to avoid weather, so that may happen again Saturday. We hope to be in Rock Harbor by noon tomorrow. It will be heavenly if I get a hot cup of coffee in my hands.
I think the landscape over the last two days has changed to include more reds and golds than it had just a few days ago.
6:15 p.m. Site 9
We just saw beavers! Up close and munching on bark.
Dinner success: Chili mac: Chicken veg mix, tomato leather, chili seasoning packet (about half), Kraft dinner.
8:30 p.m.
Time for bed. The sky cleared up a little towards evening so the wind and lake are calmer. We’re hiking out early tomorrow morning. By 8:30 or so. We’re headed to Rock Harbor and since we’re so low on provisions, we’re both jazzed to visit a civilized town, such as it is. We’re hoping to be there by noon. We may go to the Greenstone for lunch because DBC looks sparse for tomorrow. What’s left of the food bag is practically adorable.
The moon was so bright last night, the stars didn’t show much. Coffee and granola. I am going to hike strong today.
11:30 a.m., a shady spot at Daisy Farm
It’s good we didn’t try to press on last night. I’m hiking strong today, but I’d have been flirting with disaster otherwise. Dirtbag charcuterie by the dock. Perfect weather.
3 p.m., Overflow Camp at Moskey Basin
We saw TWO WOLVES at 2:30 p.m. on the trail! Slinking through the woods away from the water. A dark grey one and a lighter color one. The campers here watched them chase a moose into the water.
Sorry for yelling, but not really. I’d show you photos of the wolves, but I was too concerned about not being predated.
4 p.m. on a rock by the dock
The leaves are not yet turning on the island. Isle Royale is already in Kodachrome. The water is cold, but I can keep my feet in for a few minutes at a time. Maybe I’ll be able to swim. Bright clear skies and warm air. Plus we saw TWO WOLVES. Dave is wading carefully.
5 p.m., camp again
Seeing two wolves was cool as fucking fuck. Now we get to make a wolf report. Also at the camp at Three Mile this morning, an all-black fox – save for the white tip of his tail – slunk through our campsite hunting grasshoppers.
Hike report!
Three Mile to Daisy Farm is a delight. Daisy Farm to Moskey is technically four miles. Mentally, it is six miles. The total distance so far is 2.7 to Three Mile, plus 8.3, so 11 miles. Mentally those miles were 13 miles. So 11 real miles, and 13 mental ones. We have campmates again. Four twenty-somethings from Minneapolis. They’re very funny. They’re all trying to see who can spin on someone’s little folding stool more than twice. No one has done it yet. Hilarious.
5:45 p.m.
We have two new campmates. A couple from Hyde Park.
8:30 p.m. Camp
The trails and forest floor are still vibrantly green. The lichens and moss on the basalt is every verdant shade. Asters are in bloom and line the trail to camp. I ate two thimbleberries today, tart enough to feel in my cheeks. We watched the water after sunset. No clouds to speak of. Good breeze. Horseflies by the lake.
9/3 8 a.m. Shelter 4, Moskey B.
The first thing we did this morning was to loosely pack all of our stuff and move it to an open shelter. Now we’re making coffee. The water access is easy and beautiful. We got up and went to the dock rocky overlook around 10 p.m. because we heard the northern lights were out. We nearly missed them because a heavy orange moon had risen low over the eastern horizon. It was stunning, but I hope we see the auroras tonight. (Dear Reader, we did not.) We had a gentle rain pass over us last night it was not predicted. The clouds are pretty much gone again by this morning. Finally heard a loon!
Today’s chores:
Eat Sausage ✔
Drink wine ✔
Fix backpack – Later, thanks
Swim? Wade ✔
Move to shelter ✔
11:30 a.m. Shelter 4
We waded in the water, and then had lunch. Dirtbag charcuterie this time consists of salami, cheddar, fruit leather, candy and cookies. Dave is cooling the wine in the lake for later. I finished knitting one sock, and started knitting a second. If it gets colder later in the week, I’ll be cozy af. Today is going to be a long lazy day at camp.
2:30 p.m. Near the Dock, in the only shady place we could find
No one is certain if they want to hike to Lake Richie and back tomorrow. We’ve been intermittently soaking in the lake and doing very little. In the heat of the day this place is very sunny everywhere. I stepped wrong coming out of the shelter (boots on) and kind of wanged my right ankle. I think it’s nothing, or something mild, but I’ll monitor it.
6 p.m. Shelter four
We’re both vibing on the site, and there is no rush to leave. We may stay another night. And the one after that. We spent a good chunk of the afternoon with our feet in the lake. Cool. High wispy, puffy clouds over camp this evening. Hot day, sunny.
Tonight’s dinner: Rehydrated chicken, rehydrated tomato-cheese sauce, yellow rice, corn and beans. Recipe: Soak chicken for 1 hour with tomato leather. Cook chicken and tomato for one Esbit pick. Add veggies, boil until Esbit is done. Put broth into one bowl, and chicken into another bowl. Cook the ‘ronis, up to two Esbits in broth for flavor. Divide chicken into two bowls, add cooked ‘ronis and veg. Mix with ghee for flavor. Fucking delicious.
Buggier by the water. I’m going to swab down and put on pants.
Boot got wet getting water :(.
Wolf Report
On 9/2/2023 around 2:30 p.m. we were rounding the trail to Moskey Basin from Daisy Farm. On the last low crossing before the boardwalk to camp, heading up, we spied two wolves slinking through the forest, away from the direction of camp. They traveled perpendicular to the trail. They were about 100 feet in front of us. The one in front was lighter in color, the one at the back had darker fur. I never expected to see a wolf on the island, so initially I thought it might be someone on all fours for some reason. I stopped in my tracks, pointed and whispered to my husband “Wolf. Wolf. Wolf.” To be sure he knew. The wolves hesitated briefly – I assume they heard us. But they continued on and were quickly out of our sight.
At camp we learned that the people on the dock had watched these two wolves chase a moose into the water, and the wolves slunk back into the forest, where I must have seen them.
9/4 8:30 a.m., Shelter 4, Moskey
No one is moving quickly, not in my camp anyway. We’re staying one more day, hiking to Lake Richie, then back here for one night, then Daisy Farm and Rock Harbor. It looks like the rest of camp is leaving, so we should have a quiet day. My ankle feels fine. My boot is going to spend the day in direct sunlight. I stayed up after sunset watching the stars pop out of the darkness. I could feel the pulse of the island in my hands as they rested on the bare rock. I crawled into bed around 10 and fell asleep instantly. No aurora, but I saw the depths of the night sky until a bright waning moon rose, and the gentle lapping sounds of the water meeting the 1.5 billion-year-old basalt slab that held me.
If I were going to give a piece of advice to the shelter graffiti artists, it would be that I wish haikus were harder so you guys had to think it through, and not just mash syllables together.
Today’s chores:
Mentally prepare to go to Richie ✔
Fix pack ✔
Soak in the lake during the heat of the day ✔
Eat sausage ✔
Dry boot as much as possible ✔
Pack tent ✔
Trash update: the trekking pole basket Dave found fits on my pole. I think I lost mine here in 2021, so the island has given me a replacement.
Tomato sauce leather in yellow rice is a game changing development. Such flavor!
Mid-Morning sometime
I fixed my pack! A seam near the zipper was coming undone, so I sewed the fucking fuck out of it and reinforced it with grosgrain ribbon. A grasshopper that is missing one of its hopping legs is laying eggs in the dirt on the rock by our shelter. She seems totally unconcerned with me. She’s focused on digging her hind end into the shallow dirt on the rock by the water. In May, we’ve only seen teeny tiny grasshoppers on young thimbleberry leaves at Lake Desor S. I wonder if this is her last day?
Noonish
High wispy clouds. Changing weather? Our grasshopper gal pal has expired after laying egg catches for a few hours. Kind of a beautiful life cycle moment. I hope her nymphs are strong and healthy.
3 p.m. Shelter 4
We have lazed about all day. This is a nice place to be married and in love.
The weather is cooler today, but still hot and sunny. More clouds than yesterday. The shelter is staying cooler than it did yesterday, so we haven’t wandered far from camp. Ate all the Sweet Tart Ropes. I have turned the heel on my second sock. Dave has finished Clive Barker’s “The Hellbound Heart” and has moved on to Charles Portis’ “True Grit.”
5:30 p.m. Shelter 4
Dave is making dinner. Once the sun was behind a cloud, I was able to spend a few hours watching the clouds pass over Moskey Basin. Bright puffers, traveling west to east, midway in the atmosphere. Some of them have shadowy bellies, but none look like storm clouds. Dave and I each felt a single drip, we aren’t concerned. The air is cooler. I watched a second grasshopper lay eggs in the dirt on the rock. I think it’s important when you’re on Isle Royale to dedicate a few hours to staring at the sky.
An older man has swum out to the middle of the water. Good for him.
I haven’t seen a camp fox here, but we do have a nosy camp squirrel. Dragonflies are hatching from our shoreline.
6:30 p.m.
The loons are singing many verses tonight. They’re calling from other sides of the lake now. At least three spots, maybe more. The loon’s symphony lasted a full 9 minutes. A wonderful sound to knit to. About halfway up the second cuff. These socks are much taller than I expected. They fit well.
Dinner: Chicken, taco Rice-a-Roni, corn, beans, cheese, ghee. It was voluminous.
Update: There is a camp fox. Dave snuck up on him, as he was sneaking up on me. He was about eight feet behind me, but I didn’t know until Dave showed up.
8 p.m.
High, wispy clouds. Tea with honey after dinner.
9 p.m.-ish
I think the weather is changing. The wind picked up after sunset. Zero percent surprised if we get rain tonight.
