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.
Dear reader, in September 2023 my husband Dave and I took our third trip to Isle Royale National Park. These posts are a record of my trip, and almost directly transcribed from the little notebook I carried with me. Anything in italics is a note from Present Me, who finally got around to posting these in March 2024.
Weather Prediction
Date H L Sunrise Sunset
9/1 74 37 7:13 a.m. 8:36 p.m.
9/2 82 64 7:14 a.m. 8:34 p.m.
9/3 83 63 7:15 a.m. 8:32 p.m.
9/4 78 64 7:17 a.m. 8:30 p.m.
9/5 79 60 7:18 a.m. 8:28 p.m.
9/6 66 54 7:19 a.m. 8:26 p.m.
9/7 62 54* 7:21 a.m. 8:24 p.m.
9/8 64* 55* 7:22 a.m. 8:22 p.m.
9/9 63* 54* 7:27 a.m. 8:20 p.m.
*=Not NOAA
9/1 – 8 a.m. Ranger III – Houghton
9/9 – Ranger III – Rock Harbor
No rain in the forecast, but gusty winds. May be rainy or cloudy after the 7th. (Tuesday & Wednesday.)
Note: It did, in fact, rain. It went from the last hot days of summer to proper fall overnight.
Rock Harbor 9/8 – Stay
9/9 Depart 9 a.m.
Weather Report
9/1 Accurate
9/2 Accurate, HOT
9/3 Rain at night, day sunny, hot, accurate
9/4 Accurate, partly sunny
9/5 Accurate, sunny day, t-storm at dark
9/6 Windy RAINY, Cool, Accurate
9/7 Cool, breezy, humic, clear, wind p.m.
9/8 Sunny, cool, accurate, no breeze
9/9 No entry, probably accurate.
What Litter We Packed Out:
• Camp soap on a rope
• Broken glass bottle (old)
• Trekking pole basket (Replacement for mine!)
• Baby Hulk sticker
• Knot of embroidery floss
• Fishing lure, snap swivel
• Piece of plastic bag
• Pieces of glass (small) |||||||| ||
• Someone else’s hair tie (ew.)
• Piece of clear, hard plastic
Oops don’t do that again
Things to do to improve your next visit
• Factor in how seasickness affects your hike.
• Take off quickly from boat, pack to go before boat
• Toothpaste tabs storage options
• Do not let lotion bar melt in the sun
• Hot pepper/hot sauce
• Get another Osprey bladder
• Camera, lighter, 18-300 mm lens, night photos, longer battery
• Magnet for dock fishing (1-5 pound pull)
• Separate corn and beans
• Ghee tub in Ziploc
• More tomato sauce leather, a lot
• Buff for Dave, neck and hair
• Alternative (???) options Mainland Me does not know what this means.
• Better rain jacket for Lindsay
• More fuel always
Animals seen 2023:
Two wolves
Family of loons, hunting ||
Squirrels ထ
Mergansers ထ
Water snake |
Smol toads ထ
Gartner snake ထ
Egg-laying grasshoppers ||
Herons ||||
Beavers |||
Large woodpeckers |||| (Pileated woodpeckers!)
Small woodpeckers |||
Snails in the lake (12)
Bald Eagle
Black fox
Red fox |||| |
Friday, September 1, 20212
9 a.m. Ranger III Lounge
We’re just past the bridge. It’s a beautiful morning and I think warmer than when we’ve traveled in May. The tops of some trees are already showing their fall colors. My general nausea has been on high alert recently, so I’ve already put my little motion sickness bracelets on. The Ranger has replaced the puke bags with literal chicken take-out buckets.
4 qts per person, per day, of berries you can eat.
2 gallons of apples per person, per day
Poo 50 steps from water
Soap and dishwashing – 50 steps from water
1000 moose, 31 wolves
Foxes steal hiking boots
6 p.m. Three Mile Group Camp Site #2
We did not make it to Daisy Farm today. The water was not smooth and my motion sickness got gnarly. I didn’t get to eat any food on the boat. I spent about 5 hours hugging my chicken bucket and staring at the horizon. When we got to Rock Harbor, I went to the shop to eat whatever was around, which was chips and Skittles. So it made more sense to listen to my upset guts and not walk another four miles. All the folks at this campsite are also refugees and wayward hikers. They’re friendly.
7:45 p.m.
We’ve had dinner – rehydrated chicken and shells and cheese.
9:40 p.m.
The sun has set on Isle Royale for the first time for me. The stars are just coming out and I have already found Pegasus. I’m back in the tent (red headlamp.) We will hike to Moskey Basin tomorrow – 8.3 miles. Continuing today would have been a bad plan. I am glad we stopped. There’s a good breeze, and clear skies forecasted. I hope to stargaze properly at Moskey tomorrow.
Isle Royale National Park is the least visited of all National Parks, but it’s the most returned to. When I first visited in 2019, I had done minimal reading about the place. I knew that I had gotten into backpacking, that this was a Midwestern National Park I had not visited, and that it was called a “backpacker’s paradise.” If you do any amount of research about Isle Royale you’ll find that people speak about it with great reverence, almost like the island is a magical place. I was ready to round those folks up to “romantics”and let them hike their own hike. By the time I left Isle Royale the first time, I knew without a doubt that it is a magical place for which I, personally, feel great reverence. The island got me. I haven’t spent a single day not thinking about Isle Royale since I left. I wasn’t able to make it in 2020, so I took the very first chance I could in 2021 and spent eight nights in early June, hiking the island. I should note that the Grand Portage Band of the Lake Superior Chippewa have been the caretakers of Isle Royale since time immemorial. They call it “Minong” which means “The Good Place.” That description, thankfully, is as accurate today as it always was.
I haven’t exactly figured out how to write about Isle Royale. Generally, I like to take the tone that everywhere I find in the Midwest is a place that you should visit. Especially those trails that are less traveled than others. I can’t do that with Isle Royale. Everyone who can and wants to go to Isle Royale absolutely should go to Isle Royale. It’s without a doubt the best place I have ever been to. It is difficult to get there. It is difficult to get around once you are there. The amenities are very sparse. There is no cell phone reception. Wi-fi doesn’t exist. I learned that there is a satellite phone, but it costs $1 a minute. The weather can change on a dime, which could delay arrival or departure by days. A visit to Isle Royale requires a great deal of planning, preparing, and doing your homework before you get there. The island rewards those who slow down, this is not a place for a quick visit. The average visitor stays about 4 days, and from my perspective that wasn’t close to long enough.
I won’t claim to be an expert on Isle Royale because I am not. I also won’t encourage you to go there on a whim, this is a very different place than your neighborhood park. Instead, I’m going to share with you my own travel journal. I literally carried this little notebook with me on the trail, and in this and the next two posts, I have transcribed and clarified them for you. The photos are all mine, and all from this trip. This will be a 3-part series, to keep things manageable. All notes in italics are added by me, on the mainland, to help clarify or add context to placeswhere I was talking to myself when I wrote it.
Weather predicted for IR and what happened:
If you try to predict the weather for Isle Royale you will find most weather reports change hour-to-hour or vary depending on what end of the island you’re looking for. In effect, it’s impossible to predict Isle Royale’s weather. The night before we left for the island, I wrote down the predicted weather and all week that became the official weather report. It turned out to be about as accurate as I could ask for.
Voyageur II docked at Grand Portage, Hat Point. A fine ferry, just check on your seasickness meds.
June 6 Feldtmann Lake Site 1
Sharing a site with my new buddy Austin from Minneapolis, and Dave (Dave is my husband). Covid rules (and previous ones) have caused us to share a campsite. No big deal. The Voyageur II isn’t quite as charming to my seasickness as the Ranger III.
Pink lady slippers – orchids that are native to Isle Royale National Park. These were spotted on the Feldtmann Lake Trail on June 6, 2021.
The second we hit the Feldtmann Lake Trail we saw at least a dozen pink lady slippers. The hike to the overlook is deceptively easy and the hike from there to camp is deceptively long.
The hike to Grace Creek Overlook is easier than you’d think. A good day hike option if you plan to stay in Windigo.
Saw a bull moose almost immediately upon getting into the camp. Notable day for flora and fauna. Hot, sunny, glad I got a brimmed hat. Black flies in abundance.
Bull moose swimming across Feldtmann Lake on Isle Royale National Park in June 2021. That same bull moose ignoring me. A moose in water is kind of like an iceberg. Above the neck is just like 2% of the moose.
6:30 p.m. – As we were making dinner, we heard something big splashing on the shore. I spied a bull moose diving for supper – too close for comfort but so amazing. Eventually, he came on land! Right on the trail! My campmates and I kept a grove of trees between us, and it as it walked right through our campsite! We worried about the dinners we abandoned when we abandoned camp, and now his big hoofs were hoofing right past them! He wandered off (without upsetting dinner any more) into the woods behind our camp and shook the water off like a dog. Another camper told Dave it was a “swamp donkey.”
This big guy came swimming up by my campsite one evening. Then he wandered through my campsite. It was terrifying, I thought he would step on my dinner. Moose are great swimmers. They dive deep to the bottom of the inland lakes on Isle Royale National Park because that is where the saltiest, protein-rich plants grow.During the growing season these plants will make up 30-40% of the moose’s diet.Then he came up on land and ambled right through my campsite and it was terrifying. He must have been 9 feet tall. That’s my foot, size 9 in women’s, next to the footprint of the moose that wandered through my campsite.
June 7 – The beach at Siskiwit Bay, 3:10 p.m.
The sun wakes us up at 5 a.m. here, which worked out because the thunderstorm started at 6:30. Leaving Lake F. (after rushing to pack) I watched a storm cloud rise 90 degrees straight up over the warm air of F. Lake. Thankfully, the trail is mostly away from the water between there and Siskiwit, which insulated us from some of the worst of it. Things had more or less moved on by the time we got to the little overlook at the top of the ridge.
Handsome little butterfly.
My rain jacket came off just after F. tower. That’s when the mosquitoes found us. F. ridge trail is beautiful and an easy descent. The bugs can fuck off.
We took Site 1 (group site). IR is very crowded, but everyone is behaving themselves. I waded up to my knees in the brisk bay first chance I got. Dave is combing the beach for rocks.
Siskiwit Bay, looking out towards the lake.
Last night after our dinner date with a moose, we wandered to Rainbow Cove for some great rockhounding. We didn’t bring our headlamp, or we may have stayed for sunset. Another time. (We were so tired.)
Dave skipping rocks at Rainbow Cove.
Having camped on a moose highway, we were concerned about setting a guy line and causing a moose to trip and crush us in the night, so we left the flaps flat on Dave’s side of the tent. No one got crushed, so it must have worked. It’s so sunny and warm, I am glad I brought this dress. (I brought a t-shirt dress. It was a great idea. Bring a t-shirt dress! It’s just a long t-shirt.)
A different swamp donkey at Feldtmann Lake.
10.2 miles is probably the longest Dave and I have ever hiked on purpose. All our dogs are barking. No more big hikes for 6 nights, and nowhere to be tomorrow.
The beach at Siskiwit Bay.
8:25 p.m. Sitting on the dock at sunset
Some campers are building a campfire in the community ring. We hung out all afternoon while dudes played frisbee. Everyone was enjoying the heat and sun. A nice Canadian family made dinner on the dock. Very wholesome party scene.
When my fellow campers got to Siskiwit Bay and read the signage, they learned that fires were allowed in the community ring, but no one could find the community ring. So they did their best and made one where it looked like others had set one previously. The very next day trail maintenance crews came in and installed this brand-new grate. I didn’t stick around for the inaugural fire, but we did move the grate up and down a few times because neither of us had ever seen one that hadn’t been warped by 1000 previous fires.
June 8 Group Camp 1 10 a.m.
I have had such a leisurely morning. It’s downright l u x u r i o u s. I got up with the sun, Dave slept in. I drank coffee on the dock. At around 6:30 a.m. I had the place all to myself. I got some writing done. Just clearing out the brain. I chatted with Austin again before he left for Island Mine. He’s green in some very cute ways. Rain tomorrow might block the eclipse and ruin our hike, but nothing to be done about that. (You may not have heard, but there was a solar eclipse on June 10, 2021. It was far more visible in Canada, Russia, and Asia, but if you were on one remote island at the top of America like I was, you may have been able to see it. Spoiler: It rained. No eclipse visible.)
Merganser ducks, mergansing at Siskiwit Bay in June 2021.
2:40 p.m. Around 10:30 this morning Dave and I had climbed out onto the jetty to go get water when a small boat came into the bay. Owned by the NPS, it was two trail maintenance guys here to clean up the camp. They’re great. A large fallen pine was firmly blocking the main trail to our campground, so when they walked through to inspect, I pointed them to it. Like two young lads, they were clearly gleeful to get to use the chainsaw. Our site is now dramatically bigger, with a new walkway.
The jetty on Siskiwit Bay.
The wind picked up on the lake, it’s cooler than yesterday. Nothing but clear blue skies with wispy white clouds. White caps in the bay. Even the trail guys don’t know what the weather will do, but everyone talks about rain tomorrow morning. Might be no eclipse for us if clouds happen.
The mouth of the Big Siskiwit River, which was overrun by swallowtails.
We walked down to the beach to the mouth of the Big Siskiwit River. Dave picked up many rocks. I’m packing out someone’s Mountain Dew can. 🙁
The Big Siskiwit River. The trail is washed out here because beavers have redecorated. The park service advises you to walk on the beach instead.
Sitting on the beach while the crew chainsawed our site, a wild fox appeared at the lake! First, he just came in for a drink and slunk back into the weeds. We were gleeful.
This fox wasn’t as sly as he thought he was.
A moment later, he appeared again on the other side of us, and he came so close! I think he hoped we had food for him (sorry, buddy!) he made the same face my dog does when she wants something.
That is the same face my dog makes when she wants me to throw the tennis ball. THE SAME FACE.
I feel really smart and rewarded for keeping my food about six feet up a pine tree. It’s safe from foxes up there, and the shade is keeping it cooler than the air is.
Food security matters so much on Isle Royale because of those tricky foxes and squirrels. The added bonus I got, was by keeping my food in a shaded pine tree, my snacks (and cheese) were kept at least 15 or 20 degrees cooler than the air.
We’re running low on provisions but won’t starve before our resupply in Windigo in 2 days. No snacks today, just rest.
He tried sneaking up on us from four separate directions. These foxes are sly.
8:40 p.m. – tent away from bugs
Our foxy friend got close in camp during dinner. He came sniffing around as we were cooking chicken and vegetables. We had to get up and shoo him away four times before he got the hint. No food here, sorry buddy.
But, like, also clearly just a dog sniffing smells. It’s weird.
As I was getting ready to hit the trail this morning, I stepped out of the tent into the pouring rain to visit the latrine. I turned a corner and came within 10 feet of an adult cow moose. She stared at me, determined I was neither food nor wolf, and moved on. I remained frozen in place the whole time. (I have no photos of this, sorry, I was terrified and it was raining.)
The sun sets at around 9 p.m. on Isle Royale in June. It ends up feeling like perpetual daylight, but it does wonders for your circadian rhythms.
We are running low on provisions. Nilla wafers have been promoted to breakfast food and granola rations have been halved. Cut into the parmesan – a delight! Looking forward to reprovisioning in Windigo. I’m gathering quite the shopping list. We learned a lot about fueling Dave on the go yesterday. Long hikes mean he needs constant refueling. He’s taken all the Popeye’s Chicken honey packets.
No notable new people except for the maintenance guys. One called Island Mine “so beautiful” and the other has huge gauged out earlobes and a former career as a merchant marine.
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You’re not supposed to take the rocks you find, so I took a picture of this smiling guy instead.
The eclipse was a bust. Thunderstorms rolled in around 4 a.m. we so didn’t get to see it at all. We waited in the tent for the worst of the storm to pass and got on the trail by 7 a.m. The rain didn’t really stop the whole way.
The beaver redecorating on the trail from Siskiwit Bay to Island Mine was extensive. They put a creek right through the trail. NPS advised us to walk on the beach itself to the point where the ascent begins, so we did that. I understand a cloud of mosquitoes were following me the whole way.
Updated NPS advice for the trail between Siskiwit Bay and Island Mine. They advise taking the beach, and since the beavers’ have relocated a marsh to the middle of the trail, that was the way to go.
We rolled into camp around 9 or 9:30, chit chatted with some (damp) hikers who were trying to wait out the rain. Then we set up the tent and crawled into our sleeping bags and snoozed the rest of the morning. Island Mine camp is just a small ridge in the woods. If maple trees make you swoon, this is the place for you. We could make a fire, but everything is so wet we won’t bother.
Campsite #2 at Island Mine. Campfires are allowed (downed wood only) but it is also Bugs’ Town.
I hung a line for our wettest things to drip dry. If the sun comes out and heats them up, great. I am not counting on it beating the humidity or canopy drips. Better than nothing, for sure. I am glad I wore the slightly damp socks on the trail today. I have one dry hiking pair left. (Pro tip: Keep a dry pair of socks in your sleeping bag and put them both in a dry bag.)
We’re in the tent all day, probably. So. Many. Bugs. No worries about finding water in the creek though. Windigo tomorrow, resupply box, clean hands, and one cold beer.
Fun fact: Antler sheds are commonly found by signage at campgrounds at Isle Royale. This gives you and me, regular folks, the opportunity to pick up an antler and get to know it. Antlers are, however, a vital source of calcium for the forest creatures that need it. So, if you find an antler shed on Isle Royale, pick it up and check it out, just leave it where you found it.
The storms on F. Lake came in from the west and moved east. Today the storm came from the east and moved west. There’s not much exploring at Island Mine. We’ll be back in two days, but we may feel less rushed to get here. If your main task is dodging bugs, Island Mine is the place for you, my friend.
The creek by Island Mine campground. The park service cannot guarantee that water will be available here, but the flow was strong in June 2021. The water you pull from this creek will probably be light brown in color, because it’s full of tannins from decaying leaf vegetation. If you think about it, that’s kind of like drinking a tea made by the very forest itself, and it does have a weak tea flavor. Dave is convinced it cured his acid reflux.
5:10 update – This is Bugs’ Town. The water is easy to get to and – now, at least – abundant. The flow is strong. The water is full of tannins. Like drinking the very forest itself. The water filters through decaying vegetation and just kind of tastes like weak tea. Dave loves it.
Island Mine is about 5 miles west of Windigo, 5 miles east of Lake Desor, and about 4.5 miles north of Siskiwit Bay. It’s a good place to stop, but I would consider walking 5 extra miles not to camp at Bugs’ Town again. I bet it’s real nice early or late in the season, though.
7:45 – Two guys next door posted up around 3 p.m. clearly soaked. They hung up their tents and sleeping bags and then went about building a large fire. The temp is dropping. I hope they don’t get hypothermia.
When I say Island Mine is Bugs’ Town, what I mean is the businesses are bug businesses, the banks deal in bug money, the nightclubs play bug music, the mayor is a bug who ran on a pro-bug platform. Island Mine is a town for bugs, so prepare your spray and mosquito netting if you’re going to visit.
Friday, June 11 12:30 p.m. Site 13 Washington Creek
We got a shelter! We got up at dawn and were on the road to Windigo by 7 a.m.
The view from Site #13 at Washington Creek in Windigo. This shot was taken while it was actively downpouring. Rain in a tent is a mix of pluses and minuses, rain under a shelter is kind of nice.
We got here in time to see a ranger carrying our supply box up from the dock. It worked! We’re munching on the last of our cheese and Nilla wafers now.
The hike down was nice and easy and very wooded. The rain started around midnight and had let up by the time we got up. Trees spit on us most of the hike. We took the first available shelter we could find and hung our tent up to drip dry. It’s all covered in wet leaf litter.
This pretty damselfly hung out a good part of the day on the front of our shelter.
The weather is cooler today and foggy. The new tourists in Windigo looked soggy and sick. I guess we’re expecting this to continue for a few days. Ew. Dave has hung up absolutely every sock, bandana, shirt, and boxers he can.
A view of the pretty damselfly from the other side where you can see how green and iridescent she is.
We did a bit of commerce while we were in town. At the Windigo store we got a dry bag specifically for my sleeping bag. I had been storing it in the food’s dry bag during travel, and swapping back at camp, but that is done now. We also got banana chips to fuel Dave on the go, candy and Moon Pies, which we ate on the Visitor Center patio. In the Visitor Center we threw down on new wool socks, stickers, bandanas and a junior ranger book. We’re go back into town later and pick up a couple of beers.
Washington Creek is the place to be, if watching birds is your thing.
We’re spending the afternoon drying out in the shelter. I’m not sure how far we’ll go with all this humidity. I’m not expecting this to be a thing, but we are in the designated isolation shelter so if someone comes up with the ‘rona, we may get booted. Not really expecting that. We’re in no rush to get out of here tomorrow and back to Island Mine. The sun may come back after that, they say in Windigo. (This would be an absolutely terrible place to be in quarantine, by the way. Medical help is on the other side of a pretty big lake. It’s probably not a good idea to go to Isle Royale at all unless you’ve received your covid vaccine.)
I think there’s a law that you have to take a photo of someone holding a couple of antlers to their head next to the National Park welcome sign, so I am posting this here to avoid being fined.
Island Mine was so humid they only reason our clothes dried at all was because we hiked through the rain and maxed out our drying time. Another rain squall around 2:30 today, with some thunder. A few hikers walked by looking for a site but moved on. There is a nest of baby merganser ducklings right below our campsite. Little black and white poofers. Our tent is finally dry. Hoping to get the laundry try too.
These baby merganser ducks were nesting almost directly under our campsite in Windigo. If you find yourself at campsite #13 at Washington Creek, please take extra care not to bother these adorable little popcorn snacks. They’re very cute, but heavily predated.
8:30 – Great bird action on this site all evening. Lots of nesting ducklings. A duo of Canada geese parents came up by our campsite to feed their (11!) goslings just after our dinnertime. Dave and I sat motionless at our picnic table. The geese stared us down like two angry bouncers guarding a K-pop band at a frozen yogurt shop. Their goslings ran through and over the foliage, like a little gosling salad bar.
A couple of big, angry-looking Canada geese parents stared me down while they ensured their 11 goslings enjoyed the salad bar by my campsite. You ever see an angry bouncer stare at someone like they’re looking for a reason to kick that person out of the bar? That’s what these geese did, but at me.
A merganser duck swam by with 8 lil’ ducklings riding on her back.
A mama merganser carrying as many of the little popcorn snack mergansers on her back as she possibly could. The sight of this caught me so off guard that I went full-on white girl and could not even for quite some time afterwards.
Laundry drying nicely. We got to the shop too late for beers, so we drank the half liter of chardonnay in our resupply box instead. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Saturday June 12 6:15 a.m. Still Windigo
A foggy morning on Washington Creek.
A thunderstorm rolled in just after dark last night. The rain continued all night, but by now it’s calm. The skies are overcast, but there’s no wind. Most of our stuff is mostly dry and our rations are full again.
We’re going to have a long, foggy morning in Washington Harbor. We’re headed back to Island Mine next, so once we get there, we’ll (probably) be in the tent avoiding bugs again. The plan is to hike to Lake Desor at around 6 or 7 a.m. tomorrow, so we’ll have the whole day. Then we’ve got the long hike to Malone Bay the next morning, and all day.
The fog delayed the sea planes by 4 or 6 hours, so all the people planning to take the seaplane to Isle Royale had their trips cut a bit short. You should always plan for that to happen on Isle Royale, it could even delay your departure by a few days.
I felt extremely human after washing my hands with soap and fresh water.
I found this moth inside the latrine at Windigo and I thought the moth itself looked like a beautiful agate, so even the shitter moths are gorgeous here.
2:45 p.m. Site 2 Island Mine
The creek at Island Mine, but on a sunny day for a change.
No one else here so far.
As we were walking up the Greenstone today, maybe 3 miles or so west of Windigo, and about 100 feet ahead of us on the trail – we saw a young moose traveling at a full gallop through the thick forest. He ran perpendicular to the trail we were on, and I am grateful he wasn’t any closer. It was so quiet, even when all its hoofs hit the ground. How is it they do that? Silently? It was gone just as quickly as it came. This one was smaller than the cow I ran into at Siskiwit Bay. We’re having all the good animal encounters this trip.
What makes a moose gallop?
Just a bug enjoying a day at Bug Town.
I. Mine is still very much Bug’s Town. Grateful for head nets. The weather has improved. The sky above the canopy is crystal blue and the temp is nice.
This morning before we left Windigo, we returned to the Visitor’s Center with our completed application to be Junior Rangers. We were sworn in by Ranger Jenna, which was actually rad as fuck. There is no age limit on the Junior Ranger program, and Jenna was genuinely glad to do it for us. We give stickers and a really cool laser cut wood pin. We swore an oath to protect and defend Isle Royale’s wilderness and wildlife. I think we made the park rangers’ day.
A couple of bugs who have annexed my tent into the Bug Town city limits.
We ran into the Cold Dudes from Island Mine again before we left Windigo. I am glad to say they did not get hypothermia. One guy did melt his shoes a little trying to dry them out over the fire.
3:30 p.m. – Just shoo’d a squirrel out of the outhouse.
This is not the squirrel I shoo’d out of the outhouse. They look alike but probably don’t even know each other.
5:45 p.m. – A dinner of chicken and Knorr’s Spanish rice. Our dehydrated beef had gone bad so now we’re rationing chicken. Boo. Why does Knorr’s Spanish rice taste like a warm blanket on the trail, but back in real life it tastes like an insult to both Spain and rice? We’re saving mashed potatoes for after the long hike. We have enough noodles we won’t go hungry if the boat were delayed for bad weather.
Prepare for bugs at Island Mine, and get ready to drink some real tasty forest tea pulled right from the creek.
Two more parties came to the campground, including one loud Floridian who was not prepared for the mosquitoes. He said they were like “small cats.” He’s with a chipper lady who looks very prepared. She loaned him her headnet. The other is a quiet couple. One more camp cocktail and then we’ll start powering down, inside the tent, away from Bug Town. (A camp cocktail is what Dave and I call an 8 oz cup of water with a Nuun tablet in it. It’s less about having fun and more about replacing your electrolytes. Camp cocktails are very important.)
Camp cocktail, is just 8 oz of water with an electrolyte tablet in it. I once completed running a marathon, and realized when I got home that I couldn’t read words anymore. That’s because I was low on electrolytes. Electrolytes are so important, you’ve got to put them back.
7 p.m. – Bugs win, and I am now in my tent. The water bladder in my pack malfunctioned today, spilling about ½ l of water in my pack. Thankfully, everything critical was in a dry bag. The sun and wind refreshed all the laundry today. Hopefully, the weather stays like this. We hope to get on the road to S. Desor bright and early. Dave’s snoring did not wake me up once last night. I think the island improves our allergies.
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This little lady is probably an ant queen nymph, so let’s think about that. She’s here, she’s just hatched, she’s still learning the ropes and now she’s got to go find a mate, then go off and found – and manage – an entire new ant colony. This girl has a lot on her shoulders. Remember #Queen that #SelfCare is important. We spotted her on the shores at Siskiwit Bay.
Bugs are to Island Mine what pollinators are to Lake Desor.
Sunday, June 13 1:30 p.m. S. Lake Desor Site 3
We packed out of Bug Town around 8 this morning and got to the lake around 10:30. We had our pick of sites. The sky was crystal clear blue all morning. I even wore my last remaining pair of clean, dry socks on the trail today. The hike was gently rolling the whole way with gorgeous weather.
This is not a bee. It’s a fly that’s mimicking a bee’s colors. This is just a regular boring ol’ fly, but it’s incognito as something with a stinger. Smart fly.
We got to camp, set down our stuff, snacked (we may have too many snacks now) and took a few minutes to select a site with the best water access. We got the tent up and 6L of water filtered in exactly enough time to see a storm roll in. It’s just a light rain so far, and all of our stuff is safe and dry, but this has put a hamper on the lake wading I wanted to do.
Clouds rolling in from the west over Lake Desor.
If Island Mine is Bug Town, this is Pollinator City. Painted Ladies, Swallowtails, bees, bee-mimics, spiders, grasshoppers. The flowers here are abundant. We’re in the tent right now, hoping the storm is mild and quick.
An actual bee, picking up pollen from thimbleberry flowers.
The other travelers we met are seaplane people who were delayed yesterday due to the thick fog. One couple we met on the trail today seemed bummed because they hadn’t seen a moose yet. They got in late yesterday and stuck to their original travel plans. They hiked 18 miles from Rock Harbor to Lake Desor in one day and planned to hike to Windigo today for a tomorrow departure. These plans strike me as rushed and unfun. The island rewards you for slowing down, and they didn’t have much to say about the scenery. No wonder they hadn’t seen a moose yet.
A handsome daytime moth.
The island gave me a bit of clarity this morning with regard to how to proceed with an annoying personal issue. I feel like the island is a cold place, on a billion-year-old uncaring rock, and there is a lot to love about that. I, too, can learn to evaluate what I need and clearly make my presence unignorable or act with intention that supports myself primarily. A week on the island will give you many gifts if you slow down.
The tiniest baby little grasshopper hopping happily on the undergrowth.
We scared another family of merganser chicks at site 2 here. I might end up napping in this tent.
We napped in the tent during a super pleasant thunderstorm at Lake Desor and this was the view that greeted us when we woke up.
4:30 p.m. – We napped for two hours. It was a gentle pattering rain with the sun high behind low clouds. It’s impossible not to nap under that sound. The skies are clear again. The wind is picking up from the west again but no clue to say what the weather will do. The water access at this site is something else. We waded out onto the big rocks and the crystal-clear water. Island Mine’s water is a light brown with a weak tea flavor, these are the clear unbothered waters of a glacier that melted 10,000 years ago. Lake Desor is about 200 feet above Lake Superior. It is at least 15 degrees cooler by the water than at our campsite. The climb between them is steep. We’re both using walking sticks to go up and down it. Damselfly larvae are hatching in abundance just further down shore.
A little dragonfly nymph emerging from Lake Desor. We sat there for a few minutes literally watching its little wings harden, which is bonkers.
This is the kind of lake where every shore looks like trees are about to fall right into the water. The little islands in the lake look like evergreen punch bowls. This lake is full of glacial erratics.
It’s tough to take pictures of those punch bowl islands, but I swear they’re in this picture.
The wind is giving the lake a shimmering effect in the long waning sun. There are so many swallowtails here. Tiny whitecaps on the lake. The north side of the lake is primarily pines and conifers. To the east of us is a stark stand of aspens – tall, branchless and bright in the sunlight. Here on the south side is a mix of cedar, aspens, birches and a few pines. Our campsite is full of thimbleberry flowers.
Dave just found the tiniest snail next to the biggest slug on a beaver-chewed stick.
The biggest snail Dave ever found, and just above it you’ll see the smallest snail. It’s a real Odd Couple situation on this stick, but they make it work.
The plan is to get another early start tomorrow and try to get to Malone Bay at 1 or 2. The whole trip is 10.8 miles – the longest hike with a heavy pack either of us have ever done. Earlier in the trip Dave was psyching himself out about it. The #2 longest hike ever with a heavy pack we have ever done was the hike from Feldtmann Lake to Siskiwit Bay. He feels way more confident in his abilities now.
This flower looks exactly like an asparagus spear, but red, before it flowers. I genuinely thought they were some weird, wild asparagus but nope. Anyway, don’t forage and eat foods if you don’t know what they are and that’s advice for life.
We have seen two kinds of orchids so far. A dozen pink lady slippers, and one yellow orchid with tendrils that looked like pigtails. I did not get a photo of the second one because we were hiking in the rain.
The first little snake I was able to get an eye on. I found at least half a dozen lurking in the waning sunlight of our campsite.
6:45 p.m. – Our campsite is Snake Central. I’ve chased off four or five so far. One was close to an inch thick – which was the only good look I had at it.
This wasn’t the thickest snake I saw (I think) but he did hang around for a long while. I don’t think there are any poisonous snakes on Isle Royale.
Dave found two giant moths (Luna moths!) copulating, which is nuts. They must have followed each other’s scents for miles. This is a romantic spot, so that makes sense.
Luna moths! Two of them! The lady of the pair lets out some pheremones into the air when she is ready to do such a thing, and then the male of the species follows that scent for miles and miles until they find each other. I guess normally, they like to do this in the midnight hour (a time for romance) so I was very lucky to see them in broad daylight, right along the trail. Who knew luna moths were exhibitionists? A view from the other side. I understand that once a pair of luna moths start getting funky, the process can last several hours, and they won’t stop.
BAD OUTHOUSE. (Don’t ask. It was gross.)
7:20 p.m. – A tiny and very brief r a i n b o w.
A little rainbow! A little guy! All the colors are in there, you just have to look.
8:15 p.m. – Red sky low on the horizon. Good weather tomorrow maybe? We’re watching another dark cloud roll in now.
8:40 p.m. – Not sure but maybe we heard a wolf pack howl? Either that or it was a pack of fox kits? Or there are some jovial campers nearby.
If I had two or three days to just chill at a campsite, Lake Desor would be a top candidate.
June 14 6:10 a.m. (Still L. Desor)
Clear skies (sorta) today. Beautiful weather for a long hike. 10.8 miles to Malone Bay and our last full day here.
Malone Bay, a couple of geese, a gaggle of goslings, and not another human for miles and miles.
3:10 p.m. Malone Bay #1
We made it. We hiked 50 miles in heavy packs.
Clear waters as far as the eye can see, and a pebbly beach to comb at sunset.
The bay is just breathtaking. The lake stretches to the horizon. There are some huge rocks to sit and sun on. The water is icy and clear. If it were warmer, I’d jump in. I think Siskiwit Bay was warmer but there isn’t a single other soul in sight here. We’ve seen exactly one other person on the trail today and he was coming from here. I know I don’t want to do that hike going up, down was tough enough.
Clear waters and undeniable evidence of the power of glaciers over time.
The hike was arduous. Leg 1 to Ishpeming Point was a 400-foot climb over 3.5 miles. Ish. Point to Lake Siskiwit was a 600-foot drop over 3.5 miles and you have to walk on top of the beaver dam where the trail is washed out. The third leg from S. Lake to camp was the toughest. There is more up and down than you expect, and it just. keeps. going. Someone in Windigo told Dave that the last leg “fucks with you” and now I know what they mean, and I agree.
When you get there, there’s not another soul in sight, and this is the view from your campsite.
This is the nicest campground with the least traffic, this whole trip. A winner’s circle in a way. Mashed potatoes, chicken, veggies and cheese for dinner. The boat comes for us at 10 a.m. tomorrow. We’re in a shelter so no need for a tent.
Today you could not ask for better weather. Fuck black flies though.
Another one of those little punch bowl islands, except this one is much bigger and out in the big lake.
They told us on the Voyageur II last week that the last was 33 degrees, and here you can absolutely feel that. Your toes get numb after a few minutes in the lake. The air is absolutely beautiful though. The sky is warm, bright and sunny. One of those glorious Lake Superior days you always hope for. The terrain down was so rough and uneven we all have barking dogs and aching ankles. That hike was tough. It is mentally and physically exhausting to walk on terrain that chaotic and uneven for so long. I don’t think there was a single flat-footed step I took those last 3.5 miles.
I want you to pay attention to the tiny crescent moon in the corner because it is dreamy.
My camera is low on battery, and I have space for about 75 more photos. Eep.
Brook trout in the mouth of the nearby river. We saw them while walking over the bridge. Might have just seen a goshawk go by, on the hunt for fish.
Site 1 plus: Excellent sunset view.
Minus: All afternoon sunbake.
The best view of sunset I had the whole trip, which works out because I was too tired to stay up for sunset most of the trip.
We both feel fitter and stronger.
I think when you come to Isle Royale it evaluates what you’re about and it rewards you, or doesn’t reward you, depending on your intentions. It plays by its own rules, and it won’t teach them to you. Since time immemorial it has rewarded those who come here with good intentions and not-rewarded those without the island’s rules or interests at heart. Want to find copper for tools? Yes, copper for you. Want copper for profit? No copper for you. Want to slow down, take it all in, and have a willingness to plan for a difficult journey? Yes, you get to experience wildlife in great abundance. Want to speed down the Greenstone and spend 48-hours or less on the island? No moose for you. Come with open eyes, willing hearts, and reasonable expectations? That’s like being wrapped in a wool blanket by someone who loves you without question or hesitation. Put up with bug town? See two giant moths making more moths. Come with no plan, provisions, skills or trusted people on the mainland providing promised support? Starve to death. (Literally, that happened.) The island rewards you for preparing, slowing down, patience, adaptability, and willingness to embrace discomfort. It does not reward cutting corners or speed. On the sunken wreck of the steamship America, there is a Model T Ford. I have to wonder what the intentions of the person bringing a car to this roadless island were, and if the island didn’t intervene to keep the island car-free.
This is a place where extremes find balance. The sun is baking my skin right now, but if I put my feet in the lake for too long, my toes will go numb. I don’t dare wade in.
I really could not get over the sky and water at Malone Bay.
7:00 p.m. – What makes a moose run? Was he running from something? For the joy of it? Was it a recently liberated yearling just getting a feel for his hooves? Google this when you get home. (Update, I don’t have a good answer and I have googled it. If you know what makes a moose gallop, please let me know.)
I’m just one lady who can’t stop thinking about cloud formations.
8:00 p.m. – It’s easy to see the different air currents here, just look at the cloud layers. Especially when winds come from the west. They just break up in all directions when they hit the island like that.
Still no one else here. The nearest humans as the crow flies would be at Hatchet Lake – an 11-mile uphill hike from here. The nearest ones I could talk to? No good answer. We’re about 20 miles on foot from Windigo. Hope the Voyageur II is on time tomorrow. Clear skies tonight. (Normally, there is a ranger station at Malone Bay, and I could rely on them to help me in the event my ferry was delayed or something. The ranger station at Malone Bay is closed this year, so if you go there, don’t count on being able to find a ranger.)
8:45 p.m. – Found a pebbly beach nearby. We’re likely to stay up and see the sunset tonight – the first of the whole trip! Spotted a beaver swimming in the lake around 8:30 p.m. What was it looking for?
That little blip in the foreground? That’s a beaver. In Lake Superior! Will wonders never cease.
Tuesday, June 15 8 a.m., Site 1 Malone Bay
Another glorious day and an easy rest day. The boat comes for us at 10 a.m. (hope they remember!) and all we have to do is hike the .3 miles to the dock. I am packed. Dave may take the full two hours. (He did not, he only took one full hour.)
I took one photo of myself, and so it’s the best you’re going to get.
We slept in this morning! Until 6:15 a.m.! The latest I have gotten up in a week. We have two granola bars left, some cookies, cheese and jerky. There’s a 3L of Lake Superior water coming with us. The seas are smooth as glass from my view in the bay. Not one cloud in the sky today. The Milky Way was out last night. The Isle Royale lighthouse was lit. The shoal can get to be as shallow as 3 or 4 feet over there. This shelter had the best graffiti of the whole trip. “Cowabunga it is then,” – Abe Slinkin.
Honestly, I find myself living by a similar motto very often. Thanks for the wise words, Abe Slinkin.
11:30 a.m. – On the Voyageur II. I can’t believe that worked. Dave and I hiked over to the closed ranger station around 9 and waited there. The ferry came sailing into harbor, and we boarded at 10:05 a.m.
The Voyageur II made it right on time. They’re professionals, so I shouldn’t doubt them.
The lake is smooth today, but we’re still in the quiet waters of the park. I had a few cookies (let’s hope I hold onto them). Sailing past Rainbow Cove now.
It’s a strange and wonderful thing to hike all over the corner of one, magnificent, island over the course of a week, and then view your entire hike by boat in about 3 hours.
Epilogue
The Voyaguer II made one more stop at Windigo to pick up departing passengers before we headed back to Grand Portage. There was a party that wanted to leave the island ahead of schedule, and another that had changed their plans to leave that day, so the boat was overbooked. For a moment, Dave and I debated hopping off, giving our seats to two others, and staying another four days. Unfortunately, we were out of water purifying tablets and didn’t feel ready to take on that risk. The ferry got pretty crowded after that, but Dave and I managed to plant ourselves on the seats at the back of the boat. I get motion sick very easily, so I wanted to be prepared to stare at an unmoving horizon the whole time.
The one lone radio tower that exists on Isle Royale. There is no wi-fi, your cell phone is useless, but if you have a radio you might do okay.
I think the island evaluated my intentions when I arrived and rewarded me with smooth easy seas the whole ride back. I was able to watch the island as I sailed past, leaving Malone Bay, rounding The Head and ultimately sailing into Washington Harbor. Everything I could see, I hiked in the previous week. I kept my eyes fixed on Isle Royale the whole boat ride home. While other passengers napped or fidgeted with their phones the second cell reception came back, I couldn’t bring myself to do it. It almost seems rude to check your email while Isle Royale is still within sight. I regret not letting those other folks take our spot on the ferry.
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The Rock of Ages lighthouse greets visitors as they come and go from the western end of the island. I am confident this won’t be the last time I see it.
