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It’s a 8 hour ferry ride from [tag]Grand Portage[/tag], MN out to the middle of Lake Superior. The ferry runs only certain times of the year, so [tag]Isle Royale National Park[/tag] is not exactly the easiest park to get to. But I got the marina 45 minutes before departure, tossed the last of stuff in my backpack, and boarded the Voyager II for a 5 day adventure to the island.

During the ride, I got to meet most of the folks on the boat. The passengers included a couple of photographers, some people canoeing, others counting moose-kills, two really cool groups of backpackers and a few people who were staying on a cabin on the island. Out of 38 passengers, I found that I was only one of 4 people that _hadn’t_ been to the park before. Therefore, there were plenty of people that could tell me what I could do and see. I opted for the grand tour, a 54 mile backpacking trip from Rock Harbor on the east end of the island back to Windigo on the west. The Minong Trail is tough, they said, but there seemed plenty of places to duck out if I got in over my head. With the ranger-led orientation (Hi, Ranger Valerie!) at Windigo running through my head and the great info from everyone aboard, I was rip-raring to go.

Upon arriving in Rock Harbor, I stamped my passport book and hightailed it for Daisy Farm, snapping photos all the while. I opted to bring my little Pentax Waterproof instead of the big camera as they were predicting rain. I’m wary of water and cameras for some reason. Mistake on so many levels. First, no rain to speak of. Second, the scenery and weather were INCREDIBLE and I could have used the better lenses. Lastly, I think I’ve killed the battery in the little camera. I was only able to take 30 photos before *BEEP* “BATTERY DEPLETED.” AARRRGGGHHH. Now, I’d seen enough MacGyver as a kid, so I was able to rig up a batter charger with my flashlight and the wire tie from my backcountry permit. Well, I could take a few more photos until THOSE BATTERIES DIED! There are a few good photos in the album this time, but nothing of the last two days.

The trails were easy to follow and being only 600 feet above sea level was a nice change. A long, difficult section, 6 miles or so, of the trail follows a ridge on the northern side of the island. This put me way above the island, giving me 360 degree views of Lake Superior, various inland lakes (lakes on an island in a lake, what a concept!) and all kinds of wild life and flowers. The weather, despite being a little cool at night, was perfect for hiking. The only problem was that many sections of the trail were either muddy or completely underwater. I suspect in a few more weeks, the trail should have dried out. Unfortunately, my boots now smell like I was walking through a swamp (’cause I was!) That’s what boot cleaner’s for I suppose, but I tossed the socks. I also was nearly alone on the trail – I only met one other group camping one other hiker on the last day. Perfect solitude. Out of the campsites I stayed at, I think that Todd Harbor on the second night was the best. The campsite sits on an inlet on the north side of the island. Great views of the sun dropping over some small barrier islands right off the coast.

I did get to see four moose (mooses? meese? moosi?) while hiking. One, I was just coming up over a ridge on the third day (post-battery-failure) when I heard a twig snap. Standing to one side of the trail was this large, brown, shaggy apparition that looked vaguely like Bullwinkle. Those animals are BIG, and I hear that these are the smaller variety. I stood there trying to coax one more photo out of my camera, and she (I knew it was a she for she had no antlers) just stood there, chewing on some leaves, wondering what I was doing. I guess she got bored because she stepped over the trail and disappeared quietly into the trees. I saw her eyes watching me as I walked by, still filled with boredom mixed with vigilance. I also got to meet Rocky, or at least Isle Royale’s unique red squirrel subspecies. Now, these little guys were insane. I was walking down this long boardwalk and this little squirrel comes racing at me, doing about 40 or 50 miles an hour. He stops not 4 feet from me and starts yelling at me. He wouldn’t leave, and I wasn’t about to turn around for a squirrel, so I called his momma a beaver and he leaped into a nearby tree and let me pass, yelling at me the whole time. As I walked past, he jumped back onto the boardwalk and took off on his original course. Guess he had things to do. There were also loons everywhere, but I missed the bald eagles. Also got to hear some of Isle Royale’s wolfs howling in the night. At least, I think so. I was half-asleep at the time, so it could have been some loons messing with the tourist. But there were plenty of prints to prove they were there.

The trip was capped by a presentation by John Vucetich of Michigan Tech about the study of the interaction between [tag]moose[/tag] and [tag]wolves[/tag] on Isle Royale. Interestingly enough, the two animals only appeared on the island VERY recently, like 1900. The island’s isolation has proven to be an asset in the longest predator-prey study in the world. All of a sudden, the people looking for dead moose on the island made sense. If you get the chance, check out the project’s website (for the photos if nothing else…)

If I were to do this trip in the future, here’s how I’d do it. Do the same trail, but pack an extra box with a little propane hibachi grill, deep frozen hamburger, a few beers, a big bag of cookies and a change of clothes and shoes. When the ferry first stops at Windigo for the wilderness orientation on its way to Rock Harbor, jump off, leave the box with the ranger or at the store. When I’d arrive again in Windigo, dirty, tired and hungry after 50 miles of hiking, I’d retrieve the box, take a shower (yep, they have ‘em there), put on some clean clothes, fire up the hibachi and drive the other campers nuts with my little BBQ. I’d give ‘em cookies to make them feel better, but I’d hide the beer.

Off to Voyagers. Remember, two entries a week now, so see you on Friday.

Read on the inside of this outhouse:

Why wasn’t the young pirate allowed to go to the movie? Because it was rated AAARRRRR!