Trip Report> Isle Royale

[Doubletime]

Last week we headed to Isle Royale to backpack the island from end to end as well as going from the north shore to the south shore. There were 10 total in our group and we had three hammockers and 7 ground dwellers among us.

Two of the people ran Hennesey asym expedition zips and I ran my Warbonnet Blackbird XLC with Superfly.

For the Hennesey boys it was their first trip in hammocks and they absolutely loved them as they were not sore from sleeping on the ground and they slept like rocks. It was the usual great sleep in my Bird as well.

We boated over from Grand Portage, Mn and began our hike Windigo traveling to S Desor campground the first night. Second day found us on the way from Desor to Todd Harbor on the north shore. Day three we headed out on the Minong on the way to McCargoe cove where we spent two days as we needed to build in a zero day due to the boat schedule. On night two of our stay a McCargoe we had a cow and calve moose pay our camp a visit at 12:30 am, and man can they make a rukus.

Day five we headed south thru the interior of the park to Moskey Basin. Man you really need to see the sunrise at Moskey basin. Next day we headed from Moskey to Three mile where we spent the night. The last day found us on the trail at 4:15 AM to catch the boat. Well 15 yards in front of me on the trail were two glowing eyes taller than I. Yep, a big cow moose was standing on the trail wondering what the heck is disturbing her breakfast.

The remainder of the day is spent riding the boat the length of the island and then back to Grand Portage.

For those of you who may be considering a trip there just do it, truly amazing place.

A total of 8 nights were spent in the hammock, and many amazing views and memories.







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[Big Flounder]

Looks like a great time! I'm hoping to do a solo trip over there at the end of next May.

[TrailSlug]

Nice trip. How was the weather? How were the bugs? How many miles did you do in total? I've watched a lot of videos of hikes on this island and it's looks like a very nice place to spend some quality time.

[Doubletime]

We had a big storm come in Thursday morning, black flies were aggravating when we did not have a breeze from the lake. In total we hiked 57 miles and that included our day trips exploring the mines and such.

The topography definitely dictates the hike and the speed in which you can cover ground. Some days 7 miles took as long as 11 did the day before. Once your up on the Minong along the north shore it is a different game as far as trail conditions.

[TrailSlug]

We had a big storm come in Thursday morning, black flies were aggravating when we did not have a breeze from the lake. In total we hiked 57 miles and that included our day trips exploring the mines and such.

The topography definitely dictates the hike and the speed in which you can cover ground. Some days 7 miles took as long as 11 did the day before. Once your up on the Minong along the north shore it is a different game as far as trail conditions.

Thanks for the additional update. Glad you had fun. This is on the bucket list but that list is so long.

[andersonaidan200]

Wow, beautiful!

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[xrayit]

Thanks for the trip report, I have wanted to hike Isle Royale since the early eighties just never seemed to have the time.

[johnspenn]

Looks beautiful there. Thanks for sharing.

[airick]

That minong is brutal. Was there in 2013 and did a loop from windigo to mccargo on the greenstone and back to windigo on the minong. The 4 miles from little Todd to North desor were just brutal. Up 2 feet down 3 feet repeat ad nausium.

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