If you've read through
my previous journal entries, you've no doubt learned that Isle Royale is
my favorite backpacking destination. Is it any wonder...with plenty
of solitude, challenging hiking, wildlife viewing opportunities galore,
and more, Isle Royale is just a great backpacking destination. When
another opportunity presented itself to help a group of hikers experience
the island, I jumped at the chance.
Our group of hikers was an
interesting mix of people. I knew several of the folks before the
hike, but soon developed friendships with each of them. Five of us
had previous 
backpacking experience. The other four, although novices, had plenty
of ambition and the commitment necessary to make a trip of this nature
work. In our group, four members (the more mature in the bunch) were
retired teachers from the area. The women on the hike were sisters--both
with environmental education backgrounds and careers. One participant
was a truck driver who spends countless hours behind the steering wheel,
yet nearly hiked us all into the ground. Completing the group was
my regular hiking buddy Darrin and me.
Our route on this adventure
was a cross-island hike from Rock Harbor to 
Windigo. Unlike several of the other hikes, we stayed along the shore
of Lake Superior longer to allow Darrin and me to see some scenery we had
not yet been able to enjoy. (Thanks hikers!) In case you weren't
aware of it, I have a personal goal of hiking all trail miles on the main
island of Isle Royale National Park. I've seen some stretches numerous
times, so I am always appreciative of an opportunity to hike other trails.
We reached Rock Harbor late
in the afternoon after a long, rocking and swaying ride from Grand Portage,
Minnesota. It didn't take long to get our legs in action to cover
the miles needed to reach our first campsite at Three Mile Campground.
En route to Three Mile, some in our group saw one cow moose cross the trail.
For those who didn't see the cow, we mistook one odd looking fungus as
a moose dropping until further observation revealed it was growing from
the ground. We were hoping that wouldn't be our only encounter with
moose-related fauna.
Because of our group size,
we were required (and happy) to use a group site. 
Like every other trip, our first responsibilities after reaching camp were
to set-up tents, cook supper, and fill water bottles. This hike was
a bit different from my other group hikes in that we hadn't had practice
sessions using the stoves and water filters before reaching Isle Royale.
We decided that the level of experience was such that the new 
backpackers would quickly learn the routine, especially with plenty of
hands-on experience. Since I had not hiked with any of the group
before, except for Darrin, I was quite surprised to see how the other experienced
hikers worked almost like a fine-tuned machine. I should mention
that two of them have hiked together in the Rockies for 17 years!
All of the experience was a great asset to our group. After the first
half-day on the island, nobody was inexperienced in our group.
Following
the water treatment, supper, and camp set-up, we enjoyed a beautiful sunset
over Lake Superior. For me, the night went fast. I was surprised
since this was the maiden voyage of my Eureka! Gossamer tent.
It weighs less than three pounds and has very little room, but worked great
for me. (It's slightly larger than a bivy sack.)
Morning seemed to come quickly and everyone was anxious to hit the
trail again for our first full day on the island. Before breaking
camp, we explored the area near the camp. A rocky ledge nearby proved
to be at least one location on the island where we were able to get out
(scratchy) on a cell phone. The ledge also provided a nice overview
of our campsite.
Our first full day of hiking
was also the day when Darrin and I were able to hike segments of trail
we hadn't seen before. Our final destination for the day was West
Chickenbone via the Rock Harbor, Lake Richie, and Indian Portage
trails. As my other journal entries have indicated, I really enjoy
hiking along the edge of Lake Superior. For that reason, the Rock
Harbor trail rates as one of my favorites. Now, after experiencing
the beauty of Lake Richie and its trail, I might have another favorite
section of trail to hike. I found many "film-worthy" views of Lake
Richie as we moved along its shoreline. I 
hope to someday spend more time around Lake Richie--possibly fishing, paddling,
or just relaxing.
As we moved along the edge of Lake Richie, I noticed several others in
our group appreciated the views of this stunningly blue lake. I'm
sure many frames of film were exposed in that area.
For those wondering, the lake
really was that deep, rich blue! The extra mile or two added to our
day to allow for hiking near Lake Richie were certainly worth their effort.
As
we proceeded toward West Chickenbone, we encountered a section or two of
trail that passed through occasionally wet terrain. Following park
policy, hikers traverse the area on boardwalks conveniently built through
the boggy areas. Be sure to look around while hiking
the boardwalks. There are almost always plenty of moose tracks near
the wooded walks.
Our evening at West Chickenbone
was similar to the previous night...filter water, cook, set-up tent, relax.
Because the day was one of our high-mileage days, all of us were plenty
tired and ready to take off our packs for the night. During the night
or very early morning, Scott mentioned that he thought he had heard moose
in the area of camp. I didn't hear them, but Scott was convinced
he had. Sure enough, as we left camp we watched moose a short distance
off the trail. Before we left, we hoped everyone in the group would
see moose and it looked like we would be successful.
From
West Chickenbone on, our path followed the Greenstone Ridge. As is
typical on Isle Royale, the campsites are well hidden from the main trail
nearby. Once on the Greenstone Ridge, it was impossible to look down
and see our campsite. I think that is what makes Isle Royale so unique...you
always seem to be alone with nature.
Our
next camp would be Hatchet Lake, just a short seven or eight miles away
down the path from West Chickenbone. I've always found this particular
stretch of trail to be a relatively quick and easy hike, even though there
are plenty of ups and downs. It seems like the miles just melt away.
Apparently the other hikers
found this to be a quick-hike day too! We reached camp early in the
afternoon which meant there was plenty of time to relax, chat, 
eat, wash ourselves, and for some, to stand in the cold Hatchet Lake.
Stacey was suffering from some leg pain and since we had no ice with us,
she was encouraged to stand in the cool water of Hatchet Lake. Since
she was hesitant to stand in the lake, Darrin volunteered to stand with
her in the cool water. Being one who didn't want to get Stacey excited,
I mentioned only to a couple of people the possibility of leeches finding
tired human flesh to be appetizing. As predicted, Darrin left the
water with a leech firmly attached to his foot. Stacey had none,
which was just fine.
Sunrise
at Hatchet Lake was crisp, to say the least. Like the previous morning,
temps were plenty cool. So much so, that we debated whether or not
to start our hikes in shorts or not. Obviously, camp work was done
in long pants. The up-side of cool nights are the foggy lakes in
the morning. The natural beauty of a foggy Hatchet 
Lake proved to be too much of a temptation for Darrin. He had to
try his luck at fishing before we packed up gear. Who can blame him,
the setting was perfect, views were incredible, and whether he caught any
fish or not (he didn't), didn't matter.
As
we took care of our individual camp duties, a recognizable noise was heard
in the not too distant timber. In fact, we could hear the noise originating
from several locations, and none were too far away from our camp.
A short hike further down the trail revealed the source of the noise.
Across the lake was a bull moose grunting and scratching near the shore
of Hatchet Lake. But, much closer, a battle was brewing. A
young bull had apparently entered the domain claimed by a dominant bull.
The old boy would not tolerate the young bull in his territory and very
strongly moved him out of the area. I shot photos while the dominant
bull was focusing his attention on the younger bull. After the young
bull turned and ran away, the big bull looked at me hiding in the trees.
Needless to say, I too quickly left the area.
Our
day of hiking would lead us to my favorite campsite on all of Isle Royale:
South Lake Desor. Although most days of hiking were mostly one foot
in front of the other, we did have many, many great scenic overlooks, a
few end-of-the season berries to munch on, and plenty of snack breaks. 
As we crossed Isle Royale, we passed by several moose bones scattered along
the trail. On this day, we found a nearly complete moose skeleton
next to the trail. Notice how the skull is missing. According
to the information we received directly from Rolf Peterson (Wolf/Moose
expert) the skulls of dead moose are harvested for research purposes.
We assumed that to be the case with this skeleton too.
Just
as my previous stops at South Lake Desor have been, this visit too was
exceptional. As we hiked the long off-shoot trail to the group campsite
area, we were met by a great looking red fox on the end of the boardwalk.
Usually, I would be thankful to see a red fox up close. On Isle Royale
though, I know that the resident fox population will readily steal from
your camp, including while in your presence. Fortunately, this fox
ran off and we didn't see it again.
Following our camp routines,
and knowing this was our last night "deep" on Isle Royale, we gathered
along the shore of Lake Desor to watch the sun set. Words can't describe
the sight we were treated to. I am beginning to wonder if the sun 
ever sets routinely on Isle Royale, especially at Lake Desor.
While we sat along the shore
line, a very special sound was heard. Up on the Greenstone Ridge,
not far from our camp site, we could hear wolves yipping. Their chatter
didn't last long, but we heard it. For Darrin and me, this was the
first time to hear wolves after five and six hikes across Isle Royale.
For the rest of the group, maybe it was beginner's luck. Whatever
the case, we heard wolves!
Shortly after the wolf serenade,
our group retreated to the comfort of the tents for one last night in the
heart of Isle Royale. Although we were ready for a good night's sleep,
the moose had other ideas for us. A bull, cow, and at least one calf
wanted to pass not near our camp, but almost through our camp. Some
in our group headed for the "safety" of the outhouse a short distance up
the trail. The rest of us stood behind what we thought were safe
trees. To our surprise, the bull casually pushed a similar tree over
in one quick effort. It took two of us to lift the tree off the ground,
so it wasn't that it was a weak or dead tree.
After what seemed like an incredibly
long and tense stand off, the moose family passed nearby and we all tried
to settle in for a relaxing night of sleep. Obviously, with the moose-induced
adrenaline running through our veins, it took a while to fall asleep.
The next morning, before breaking camp, I tried to find signs of the traveling
moose. As much as I searched, I was not able to find any of the animals.
Then, hardly five minutes later, all three animals were casually browsing
close to our camp. I had completely missed them, even though I was
looking very hard for them.
By now, you've noticed that
our last full day of hiking on Isle Royale is without photos. We
hiked nearly the entire distance from South Lake Desor to Windigo in a
cold rain. Temperatures topped out around 45° and the steady
rain soaked us thoroughly. Compounding the discomfort was the fact
that the trails were a greasy, slippery mess. I was concerned that
an ankle would twist, or worse. My concern proved unneeded and all
of us made it to Windigo cold and wet, but we made it.
Again, we went through the
end-of-the-day ritual, but this day was different. To our surprise,
the showers were still in operation. I don't need to go into details
about how good a warm shower felt after a long cold walk. While the
ladies of our group were at the shower house, they met Candy Peterson (Rolf's)
wife. The Petersons were on the island for a seminar and in a round-about
way, we invited ourselves to meet them. They were a friendly, willing-to-share-their-knowledge
couple and we appreciated the opportunity to visit with them.
During the night at Windigo,
we again had moose pass through our camp. Most of our group woke
to the commotion of the thundering beast tip-toeing around tent guy lines.
I apparently talked to the other campers during the excitement, but I didn't
remember any of it in the morning. In fact, I still don't.
Anyway, we found tracks to prove we had visitors.
Finally, after a week on the
road, our group again boarded the ferry for the return trip to Grand Portage,
Minnesota.
I think I can speak for the
group and say that Isle Royale was again a gracious host to our adventurous
hikers. My guess is that all will likely return at one time or another.
As for me, I still have a few miles to hike before I can state I've covered
the island. I'm sure I'll be back!
For more information
on backpacking across Isle Royale, click here.
