Adventures on Isle Royale

I find comfort in solitude. It energizes me. Adventure excites me. Isle Royale had been on my bucket list for

many years. This was going to be the year. A year of emotional healing and a celebration of 40 years life. I wanted to do "the most difficult hike in Michigan", so I began to plan a backpacking adventure on the Minong Ridge. Anyone that knows me will confirm my super planning powers. Ok, I’m a bit compulsive about it. I purchased all my tickets and passes in January while I was entirely laid out with the most horrific flu of my adult life. I splurged and opted for the sea plane view over Lake Superior. I had to wait for a 9 month gestation period for my bucket list adventure to come to fruition. I fully planned to go on this adventure alone. My careful planning and preparation would serve me well. A few months later, my friend Michelle asked if she could join me and I was thrilled for her to join in on the adventure. I must say we are a very good adventure team. 

Day 1: We stayed in the cabin at the hangar in Houghton. There were threats of rain. I was worried we wouldn’t get to the island that morning. That would screw up my entire itinerary that I so carefully planned. Don’t worry, I had a contingency plan. And a contingency plan for the contingency plan. 

There was a vibrant full rainbow over Houghton the morning before the flight. Even the deep purple that is so often faint to the eye. The flight from Houghton in the Keweenaw to Windigo on the island was approximately 35 minutes. 

The storm came in right behind us. There was a huge red and yellow blob on the pilot’s radar which was displayed on the Ipad in front of my passenger seat. I sat shot gun! Ken, the pilot, got us out just in time. The skies were ominous behind us. The plane was a 1952 Beaver. I hear pilots covet the Beaver. It was so awesome to see Lake Superior and Isle Royale from the sky. I thought about all the shipwrecks below. 

We landed at Windigo and waited a while for the ferry. The Voyageur II took us to McCargoe Cove. It was slow. It used to be an old fishing boat. Rain. Lots of boy scouts. 

We got a shelter at the campsite. We did a day hike to explore the Minong mine. We went into the mine. Looked like a scary clown lived in there. 

Found thimbleberries, blueberries, and chanterelles. Lots of moose scat. Ramen for dinner. More rain. Glad to have shelter. So glad. Went to bed pretty early because of the weather. Rain was coming down heavily, and the temperature was dropping. Took photos of the moon at 4:30am and went back to bed. Michelle wondered what the hell I was doing. The rain had stopped. The temp had changed again. The air was warm again after the storm had passed.

Day 2: McCargoe Cove to Todd Harbor. Corn pudding for breakfast with eggs in a bag with dehydrated veggies that I dried myself. I enjoy using my stick stove, but I burned my fingers and thumbs this morning. My pointer finger on my right hand was the worst. I bandaged it with some burn cream before the hike. My skin was white for a few days. My finger print was gone.

 The 6.7 mile hike to Todd Harbor was most difficult in the first few miles. Lots of uneven exposed rock. We took a side trail up the face of the rock and ended up with a spectacular view of Otter Lake. I propped my pack up for back support and just enjoyed.

Found lots of blueberries in this area. Heard a loud crash in the woods, which was likely a moose, but nothing in sight yet. Later down the trail, thimbleberry bushes were up to my elbows. So refreshing on the trail. I keep thinking about the thimbleberry jam I’m going to get in the Keweenaw, and the thimbleberry margaritas in Calumet. One fantasizes about food when you eat dehydrated meals in bags for days on end. I found the mother lode of mushrooms on the trail. A white capped mushroom with bleeding red liquid coming from the cap. Once I had Google access, I confirmed it was a Bleeding Tooth. 

There were about a half dozen close together. I shared the photo with the ranger when we got back and she was as excited as I was. We started to second guess ourselves about proximity to the Todd Harbor campground. Did we miss a turn? According to my Garmin, it wasn’t too far. We prepared chicken salad on the trail and put it back in our bags to rehydrate. On we went. Only one shelter at Todd Harbor. The shitter is out of toilet paper. Looks like more rain tonight. We got a nice site by the water with some trees that have a nice view of the harbor. I put up my tarp in a new configuration. I hope it keeps me dry tonight. I stuck my feet in the cold water for a while before filtering more water, hoping the chill of Lake Superior would calm the pain. I can’t wait to see some stars. It was rainy the night before so I didn’t have the opportunity. Sitting here listening to the water crash on the rocks in the sun. I think I found a greenstone. So relaxing. Making me sleepy. I better get out of the sun. There’s a small island out in front of me. I collected driftwood for the stick stove. What’s for dinner? No Facebook or work emails. Thinking. Watched several storm clouds brewing above Lake Superior. Woke up Michelle from a nap to prepare for rain. Made dinner and to our amazement, the rain never materialized above our camp. Seemed to be all around us though. Mosquitos became thick. Went to bed. Had a critter wake me up in my bivy. I think he smelled the food in my pack. I shook my tarp at him and he responded with a shallow huff. Like a deer, but squirrel style. Heard some howling in the distance. Since there are no coyotes on the island, I’m pretty certain it was one of the two wolves left in the island. At least I think so. The rangers said they are typically on the north end. And we were on the northern shoreline. 

Day 3: Todd Harbor to Little Todd. Woke up really early. Could not sleep. Was not comfortable. Was hearing too many noises. Started to tear down my camp. Made coffee and breakfast. Used more of the driftwood I had collected for the stick stove. But, birch paper is absolutely the way to go if it is available. I re-taped my feet and my bony clavicles to protect them from the pack straps. My pack seemed to be leaning to one side the day before. I went over it and adjusted the waist band to make it more even. It seemed to work better. I’m not sure who this Todd guy is, but we hiked off from Todd Harbor to Little Todd campground. Unfortunately, still no moose. Lots of poop. Lots of thimbleberries. So good. The ridge was really nice and the birches were scenic. I had to stop once to adjust the wrap on my left baby toe. We ran into three guys that we shared the sea plane with. We later found them on Facebook. They were hiking towards us in the opposite direction. They told us to get site 1 or 3 at Little Todd and warned us about the beaver dams in the final stretch back to Windigo. 

There were muddy sections on the hike today, as well as some precarious creek crossings. I said “Oh shit” several times, but managed to stay out of the water. I feel like my balance is still poor since my foot injury. Walking down logs over the water is tricky. We ended up with site 2 at Little Todd, which was actually right by the water. The beach here is much different from Todd Harbor. There is more rock, and the rock is darker. 

We dipped in Lake Superior as a group of campers down the shore were sitting on the beach with full pants, jackets, and hats. I rarely go in the water. It felt entirely refreshing and maybe I’ll smell a little less, at least for a little while. There’s moose poop around my bivy. I wonder what kind of critters will visit tonight. I created my bivy opening opposite of the wind in case any weather rolls in at night. Saw a few Indian Pipes today. I really enjoy the sounds of the crashing waves on Lake Superior. My ankle is throbbing. I collected several piles of down wood as this site had a personal fire pit at our site, which was nice. The wood was to be smaller than your wrist. Well, you know me. We had a nice fire. I later found a toad on my bivy screen before bed. At almost the same time, Michelle found a different giant toad on top of our cooking pot. I had set the soot covered pot next to the high grass. Went to bed since the mosquitos were attacking. Woke up to drips on my face. I was worried my down quilt and my down puffy jacket would be soaked. They weren’t too bad. Disconnected the lines on my bivy to move it away from the tarp. I was certain it had rained, but the dew was just so heavy it entirely saturated my tarp. Despite that, I slept pretty solidly.

Day 4: Little Todd to North Lake Desor. Soaked. Entirely soaked. So much dew here. I woke up and immediately put my rain pants on as the grass was really high around camp. I ran down to the beach to get a few pictures of the sunrise. I put all my wet clothes and my tarp on the beach to get some sun, but they were still wet when we headed out for the day. We made breakfast and took it down to the beach to eat. The waves are our entertainment. We watched two loons in the water in front of us. They went underwater three times and traveled almost all the way across our horizon. The loon calls have been frequent. Then we hit the trail for Lake Desor. The trail was along the rocky Minong ridge. Every step was uneven. It took a lot of concentration. And, the sun was beating down on us in full force. This was our shortest leg so far, but it was also the most difficult. There was also a lot of very steep climbing. A challenging day. But, that photo opportunity... Our camp friends took our picture on the ridge. It ended up being my favorite photo from the trip. Then, we ran into some guys we had said hello to previously at another camp. We stopped to rest and have a snack with them. The beaver dam crossing appears to have affected the trail. It was a bit confusing due to the forced reroute. We stopped in our tracks when we heard some rustling. Could it finally be Mr Moose? We put down our packs and hiked closer to the water. We decided it was just a beaver. After all, we were at a beaver dam. I’ve seen three snakes so far. Still no moose. North Lake Desor campground is on an inland lake. The water is mirky as compared to what we have been pulling from Lake Superior until now. The path to pull the water from the inland lake is nearly as treacherous as the Minong trail, with a steep rocky embankment. The dragonflies come out at night and they look like helicopters. I put my tarp up a little higher off the ground to give more clearance to the bivy. 

We are planning to change the initial itinerary and attempt to hike all the way to Washington Creek campground tomorrow. I had planned to break up the section and camp in the back country midway. I didn’t think my busted cadaver foot could go that far in one day, but I’m actually feeling great and I am entirely amazed. Went to bed under my perfected tarp configuration. Unfortunately, I did not sleep very well. I kept hearing critters around me. At one point, I shined my headlamp outside to see what was out there. 

Day 5: North Lk Desor to Washington Creek. We decided to hike to Washington Creek after all. My initial plan was to backcountry camp somewhere between North Lake Desor and Washington Creek, and finish the hike the next day. There weren’t a lot of great camping spots in the middle and I’m actually glad we decided to just knock out the 12.6 miles. However, my feet were hurting very badly. We both felt pretty rough after completing the hike. There were fewer exposed ridge sections than the day before and some incredibly beautiful forests where I found a large perfect cluster of oysters mushrooms. I found a second black inky later on. We came across a tent and a hanging back which were oddly placed on the trail. We later learned about the medical evacuation. It’s speculation, but I believe that was their gear. They were rescued by helicopter because of severe dehydration. The article online stated that one of the individuals were going in and out of consciousness. Coast Guard in Traverse City performed the helicopter rescue. The rescue video was eerie to watch after our trip. Lots of climbing and another extremely challenging day. One of the more “interesting” points were the three beaver damns. They were very difficult and I relied on my poles for balance heavily. My foot went fully in on the first one, and we trudged through lots of mud. Michelle lost her balance and fell in at one of the dams. “Beaver poo”, she repeated several times. The water was nasty and smelled pretty terrible.

The pass through the dams involved balancing on precariously placed sticks and logs. One beaver damn changed the entire trail, so much so that it disappeared. I climbed up a steep embankment following what I thought was the trail, but it just led me to a patch of juicy raspberries. The trail had disappeared and we got off track for about an hour. We used the Garmin to get us up on top of the ridge and we finally found the trail after that. Our friends from the prior camp got lost for 1.5 hrs there. However, they were younger and much faster hikers. Their names were Laura, Stewart, and Trevor. I was thankful to get back on track. That could lead to a very bad situation. Later, we discovered the largest thimbleberry patch on the planet. We finally got to Washington Creek and we were looking pretty rough with mud covered pants. Michelle's zipper on the leg of her hiking pants was wide open. The ladies at Washington Creek were talking about us and "the one that fell in the beaver dam". Ha! We looked like a hot mess. We cleaned up, sort of. Then, we lounged at the seaplane dock before attending the ranger’s presentation about Isle Royale shipwrecks. The ranger had a cute voice fitting for the role. Getting tired of meals in a bag. Had to choke that one down. Not sure about the plan tomorrow. Perhaps a nature hike. Depends on the dampness status of our boots and pants. Boots and pants. Boots and pants. Still no damn moose. I think it’s a conspiracy. We got the very last shelter. I’ve never been so excited about sleeping on the floor.

Day 6: Washington Creek to Windigo. Tossed and turned all night in the shelter. My sleeping pad sounds like crinkling paper. Woke up around 8:00am. Michelle had gone to the outhouse. While I was waiting, I prepped for breakfast a bit and grabbed my camera. I walked to our section of the river with my camera to check for moose. There was probably a nice view when the shelters were built in the 1970’s, but the view has diminished. Overgrown now. No damn moose. Then I walked to the shitter after setting my camera down on the picnic table. I wasn’t even half way there when I heard Stewart telling Michelle about moose in the water. I still had to peee! Michelle grabbed my camera and I caught up with them. There was not one, but FOUR moose in the water. Finally! Moooooose! They were majestic! We watched them intently. Ironically, they were all hanging out in the water by where the day trippers congregate, which happened to be our last stop. We creeped through the back of a few shelters and chatted with some amazing ladies. Then, we got as close as we could get. We watched them for an hour. Three of them ended up leaving, but the giant bull continued to graze on the plants at the bottom of the water. One lady told me the plants in the water are very nutrient dense so they keep returning. Ironically, my camera was in rough shape. Maybe it was from the rain, sweat, and grime from the previous day’s adventure, but I had a cloudy film on the lens that I could not clarify. I took this as a lesson to stop and enjoy the moment. And our trip was finally complete in every way. So thankful and grateful. Finally, the bull moose took off and I went back to my coffee as a priority. I started up the stick stove at the shelter. I seem to have picked the perfect quantity of sticks when I gathered the night before. I attribute it to being too sore from the hike to bend over. We decided on a leisurely day. 

We participated in three programs presented by the park rangers. One was a guided nature hike, one was about the history of Isle Royale as a National Park, and one was all about moose. Learned a lot today! Then we took the nature trail out for about a mile. We had some snacks and then boarded the sea plane. The pilot didn’t tell us that there was a change in plans until we were in the air. The fog was dense at Rock Harbor and the passengers were delayed. He picked Michelle and I up at Windigo and flew to Rock Harbor. I was totally ok with the change of plans. We got to see an ariel view of our adventure from the days prior. We also got to see the fingers on the east side of the island that have intrigued me. Would like to kayak out there. We landed at Rock Harbor and picked up the couple that we had ironically started our adventure with in Houghton at the initial sea plane dock. A German couple with an adventure baby were anxious to board, but a larger plane was coming very soon. It’s important to have contingency plans on the island. One small thing can change everything. Apparently, I was so tired that I passed out on the plane for a few minutes. We landed in Houghton, then drove to Calumet for the night. That shower was the best shower ever. So much stink. We finished the night with chicken enchiladas and thimbleberry margaritas at Carmelita’s, with a draft KBS at Shute’s for dessert. Ok, I had two. So tired. Going to bed. Copper Country cruising is on the agenda for tomorrow and Copper Harbor biking adventures to follow. My soul has been fully recharged, and I’m smiling once again. Thankful for this adventure in every way. I can’t wait to return to this incredibly magical island in Lake Superior. Minong means "the good place".