Summary
Isle Royale National Park is the one of the least visited national parks due to its unique geographic isolation. The park straddles the 48th parallel eighty miles north of Houghton, MI in the upper corner of Lake Superior, and is known for its moose and wolf population. In the map above, Lior and I spent eight days and close to 59 miles through hiking in one of the most remote wilderness areas in the lower 48 states. In the map above, we trekked from the far south western corner (bottom left corner of the map) to far north eastern corner (top right corner of the map).
Video
I’ve posted above a 22 minute video of the trip. See below for a longer written description of the trek.
link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEf78NhiMqk
Travel Log
Day 1: June 30, 2022
We arrived in Houghton an hour early for our 10:00 AM flight. The weather did not look promising with thunderstorms to the east, rain, and 20-30 MPH winds. At 10:45 we watched our pilot walk out on the dock, look up at the sky, look down at the water, and then walk back to us. “If we can see, we can fly. Right now we can see so we’re leaving early.”
We boarded the 1963 DHC-2 Beaver with four other hikers planning to do an east-west traverse of the island and took off in the rain. The 80 mile flight lasted about 50 minutes and was relatively smooth. The pilot flew about 2,000 feet over Lake Superior the whole way and talked about how he flies by reading what the water is doing below. He flew backcountry planes in Alaska for years and prefers the technical problem of water landings. As an aside, do not look up the long history of the DHC-2 Beaver before flying in one.
By 11:00AM we had unloaded our gear and made our way to the ranger station at Windigo. We showed our permits and submitted our plans to the ranger on duty for a seven day island traverse, and the ranger on duty signed our paperwork. We picked up two fuel canisters at the tiny store and set out on the 7.2 mile hike to our first campsite, Island Mine.
Within the first mile Lior stepped on a garter snake, startling both the snake and Lior. Both seemed fine and we continued through beautiful forests of white cedar and paper birch, reaching our campsite by 4:00 PM. By 5:00 we had set up camp for the night, made dinner, and had a fire going to keep the mosquitos at bay. Even though twilight lasts until well after 11:00 PM that far north, we were fast asleep by 8:30.
Day 2: July 1, 2022
We slept almost twelve hours and after breakfast we were packed up and on our way to South Desor by 9AM. This was probably our shortest and quietest day at just six miles. The trail was not at all technical and we arrived at our campsite by Desor Lake shortly after noon. On the way through the lower latitude forest, we caught our first glimpse of Canada and saw a lot of interesting butterflies and insects but not too many signs of larger mammals beyond the occasional pile of moose skat. As we moved farther north east along the Greenstone Trail, the ferns encroached on us to the point that at times it was hard to determine where the trail actually was.We spent the majority of daylight playing board games and exploring the coast of Desor Lake, watching the waterfowl and beavers traverse the shores in search of food.
Day 3: July 2, 2022
We packed up and left South Desor by 8:45 AM and started the hike to Todd’s Harbor. I had originally planned for us to hike from South Desor to Hatchet Lake (8 miles), followed by a rest day with 3.5 miles from Hatchet to Todd’s Harbor, but the night before Lior poured over the maps and mileage charts and asked if we could go to Todd’s Harbor today and have an extra day at Rock Harbor. I had some reservations and we negotiated that if we reached Hatchet Lake and we felt that we were done for the day, then we’d make camp there. If not, we’d continue to Todd’s Harbor.
We made our way on the high rock of the Greenstone trail that traverses the center of the island, and saw more views of Sleeping Giant Provincial Park about twenty miles away. At seven miles, we turned onto Hatchet Lake trail and we both agreed that we were feeling good and it was still early enough in the day to continue on to Todd’s Harbor. The next two miles provided our first two moose sightings, a close encounter with a beaver, and miles of beaver dams terracing valley after valley. We arrived at Todd’s Harbor around 3pm and were surprised that the only backcountry shelter there was available. I made the terrible decision to swim in Lake Superior, which basically meant that I jumped into the 42f water and ran out screaming; however, I did go to sleep deet free for a night. We spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out on the coast of Todd Harbor skipping rocks and roasting marshmallows over the fire. I woke up around 10pm to watch the sunset across the bay, and then woke up again at 2:00AM to the sound of a moose in our campsite munching on everything around. Skipping Hatchet Lake would come to be known as the best decision we made the entire trip, since a series of good things happened over the next four days that wouldn’t have happened had we spent our rest day there. Having said that, I’m glad that there was room in the mileage to make that decision, rather than having days with long be the default and not a shared choice.
Day 4: July 3, 2022
We woke up to a beautiful but cold sunrise at Todd Harbor (46f) and explored an abandoned copper mine a quarter mile from camp. When we came back, a fox was trying to steal our breakfast near the shelter. We set out for the seven mile trek to McCargoe Cove along the Minong Ridge Trail, which is considered more difficult than the Greenstone but provides better views and more access to the northern side of the island and Lake Superior. Minong is the Anishinaabe name for the island and my understanding is it translates to “The good place.” Since 2019, the flag of the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa has been raised on the island at Windigo. This was worth talking about today as we surveyed multiple 19th century copper mine sites that scar the landscape today, while for thousands of years indigenous copper mining was surface level and not invasive. Isle Royale is one of the few places in the world, as a volcanic island, where copper can be found and harvested on the surface.
We reached McCargoe Cove just before 2pm, and there were two boats in the dock and they had collected a large pile of firewood. McCargoe Cove has one group campfire site for all campers and boaters to share, so any fire has to be communal. The two boats were from Houghton and traveled 80 miles together, and on board one was a six year old kid. We got to talking, and pretty soon they were sharing hotdogs, s’mores, a chocolate bar, roasted pineapple, ice, a Bell’s Two Hearted, and the use of their boat dock so Lior could jump into the water, which he continued to do over and over until he finally decided he was too cold. We were the first backpackers to arrive and were able to snag one of the few shelters in the cove, and after making camp the boaters let us borrow their stand up paddle board to explore the beaver dams at the edge of the harbor. The next day, the boaters took four days of trash, which Lior especially appreciated because he was in charge of carrying all of that. Lior remarked a lot about how if we hadn’t skipped that day at Hatchet Lake, we never would have met the nice “boat people.” He also noted that the trail journal in our shelter mostly talked about the boat people negatively (“They are loud! They bring lawn chairs!), but after talking with them we learned that they had not only been trail angels to many over the years, but also provided emergency medical transport at least once before.
Day 5: July 4
We woke up at McCargoe Cove and the boat people had made a fire in the communal fire ring, so we ate our breakfast together and said thanks and goodbye. They let us know that the weather was turning for the worse later in the day, and that we would likely get hit by rain and a cold front by 5pm. Before we left for the trip, the weather forecast for the week looked to be highs in the mid 50s each day with lows in the high 40s and 40-50% of rain. I packed with the possibility of wet/hypothermic conditions each day which meant one cold weather kit for Lior and including rain gear, down coats, hats, and gloves, and an additional down blanket. With only three of our seven campsites allowing any fire, I also packed additional sets of base layers and wool socks. By day 5 we hadn’t used any of that gear that was taking up about 25L of my 62L pack, so I was a little glad that the forecast was changing because I kept thinking dang, I could have fit 25L worth of chips in my bag instead.
The hike from McCargoe Cove to Daisy Farm was a coast to coast hike from the northern shore of the island to the southern shore, and brought us from the Minong trail back to the high rock of the Greenstone. We passed dozens of beaver dams and climbed to the highest point on the island. At the top of the fire tower, I briefly caught one bar from a Canadian cell tower which was enough for me to dial Jan and say hello. By the time we descended the fire tower the weather had dropped to the mid-40s and it was starting to rain. We reached Daisy Farm by 3:30 PM and by that point I had to wear a jacket and gloves to leave our tent, and that night Lior made good use of an extra down blanket that I packed as a liner for his sleeping bag. We played chess until around 7pm and then went to bed, with the possibility of reaching Rock Harbor the next morning motivating us to turn in early. The boat people told us that it was possible to rent a small motorboat at Rock Harbor and travel to other islands, and that idea became our motivation to start the 7 mile hike at sunrise and reach the marina before noon.
Day 6: July 5
We woke up to more cold weather and rain and hiked in gloves and base layers along the foggy coast for seven miles to Rock Harbor. On the way, we passed a cave high on the ridge line that was formed by the waters of Lake Superior long ago. We had our third moose encounter, this time relatively close to us. She didn’t seem to be bothered by our presence and was more interested in breakfast so we were able to watch her for a few minutes. When we arrived at Rock Harbor by 11:00 AM, we threw our gear into the closest open shelter we could find and went to see about a boat rental to Caribou Island. When we reached the ranger station we learned that no flights had been landing since the day before due to the fog, and that they were not allowing boat rentals due to weather for the foreseeable future. We learned that one exception though was intra-island NPS boats, so we were able to get a ticket on one for 2pm to the site of the famous Isle Royale Wolf/Moose study. Between noon and the boat, we got a burger at the only restaurant on the island and sat outside taking in the six day traverse from Windigo to Rock Harbor.
When it was time to board the boat, there were only two other passengers and we spent several hours exploring the peninsula where the study is. Toward the end of our time on the island, we saw a canoe coming through the fog with a fishing rod bent deep into the water. The canoeists called for help, and two rangers ran over to help lift the mammoth lake trout out of the water. Weighing in at 27 lbs, it even contained two foot long herring in its belly. We got back to Rock Harbor around 6pm and ate another round of burgers, and then Lior spent an hour working on his Junior Ranger exam. At 7:00 PM, we went to a presentation on the NPS artist in residence program which was cool. The night was still cold, but the rain had stopped and we slept well.
Day 7: July 6
We woke up in our Rock Harbor shelter and Lior finished his Isle Royale Junior Ranger workbook while I made coffee. At 8:00 AM we brought the paperwork to the Rock Harbor station. On the way, we avoided a charging moose. When we reached the station Ranger Mariah went over his workbook and gave him an oral exam. After he passed, they swore him in and gave him a wooden ranger badge. We then checked on the boat rental situation and were told that for the second day in a row they were not allowing boat rentals due to the dense fog which had grounded almost all transport to the island for two days. Without the possibility of a boat rental, we hiked to Scoville point, the easternmost point on the island. I’m glad we did that hike early in the day before the fog lifted because it was really beautiful once the sun started to shine.
On the way back, we saw a bald eagle’s nest with two babies and one extremely protective parent. We had another burger for lunch and bought a ticket on a NPS boat to Raspberry Island. Before we launched, we transferred our gear from our shelter to a room at the lodge and we each took a much needed shower. The boat to Raspberry Island only took about 15 minutes each way and we spent the rest of the afternoon hiking and exploring the rocky shores and bluffs. We found a bog full of carnivorous pitcher plants. When we arrived back at Rock Harbor there was another free NPS presentation on the island’s animals and we stayed up late to watch the sun set. This was our last full day on the island and Lior especially was hopeful that the fog wouldn’t lift over Superior and we’d be stuck there for a day or two or three more.
Day 8: July 7
We packed up our gear at 7:00 AM and went down to the water to rest before the canteen opened at 7:30 AM and we were able to buy a breakfast burrito. Despite Lior’s wish for fog and a few more days on the island, the weather was clear and the plane was expected to land. This trip represented almost a year of anticipation, planning, and joint preparation. We backpacked and camped in various conditions at least a half dozen times in the six months leading up to this trip. We poured over maps, documentaries, and books together. Lior even spent a month buying and saving up snacks for the 2000 mile round trip car ride. It’s easy to guess but hard to know as a parent what experiences are formative and what are not, but if I were to guess I’d say he’ll probably remember this trip in 20 years. Or at least he’ll have this film to watch if he doesn’t.
Our last conversation as we hiked to the landing side mostly dealt with our experience of time. When we were on the island our sense of time was different: the days were noticeably longer and some days seemed to last as long as a week at home, and yet we somehow still reached the end of our time hiking across the island. When we were traversing the island we only had one thing on our mind at a time, while at home we often have many things and tasks on our mind. How could the days have lasted so long in the moment, and yet in retrospect our through hike across the island seemed to go by so quickly? I didn’t have any answers, beyond just the promise that there will be more trails in our future.