Isle Royale

I just got back to Chicago to drop JGIB off at his house and will recount the wonderful trip that was Isle Royale. First let me start by saying that the trip was 100% worth the ferry ride, the biggest reason some folks don't end up going. Pricey, maybe ($60 each way), but it is an ISLAND man! An island with wolves and moose to boot!

July 24th -
As you saw with my last entry, Jeff and I left his house around 1AM and made it to the ferry at 8:15 AM - precisely the time we needed to be there. If any road hazards had been fallen upon we would have missed it! I had to stop at one point and get a 5 hour energy shot - man those things work! I slept for maybe 2 hours on the ferry, and we had some coffee and a donut while making an itinerary from the map Jeff purchased at the information center. Jeff made bold plans of walking high mileage days, including a 7 something mile day to the first camp when we got off the ferry. I nodded and knew that the plan would change quickly once the feet were walking the actual miles! The ferry was six hours and we both struggled to play Scrabble with our sleep deprived minds. When we got to Rock Harbor and got our packs we headed out after only 45 minutes of futzing around. We went a total of 3 miles to the first camp before deciding it would take too long to get the second camp before dark. We checked out a neat cave along the way, Suzie's Cave, where we also found Jeff a wood walking stick. Not too long after returning back to the path did Jeff announce he'd forgotten the stick and I went back for it. It takes a bit to get your balance and walking feet. Jeff had never backpacked a day in his life yet and was slow going, watching his steps carefully but clumsily going along. Sometimes you don't see how far you've come until it is in comparison to the beginning. Before hiking and in the beginning, I was very clumsy, sort of bumbling along and tripping over the smallest rocks and roots. I didn't realize I'd become a lot more nimble and graceful. Now I'm not bragging at all here - I said I've become MORE nimble and graceful, but that doesn't mean that I am those at all. I'm still quite clumsy, I just found a little balance along the way maybe!

July 25th -
Slept great after being so tired and got a pretty late start. The new lightweight sleeping bag is working great. It rained at night but I stayed warm and dry. It took a really long time to get packed and ready in the morning. That is another thing - a system. I have my system of unpacking, setting up, cleaning, cooking, packing, etc. I didn't realize that with time these systems become more efficient. Jeff doesn't yet have a system and is still learning how his gear even works, so everything takes forever. Luckily I enjoy lazy backpacking and this just afforded me more R&R time while Jeff was messing with his stuff and making his own routine. I forgot about that awkward phase. We found old mining pits and while we were investigating them I got stung by a bee. I'd never been stung before, so Jeff and I watched as my hand started swelling and hoped I wasn't deadly allergic. After a moment contemplating the possibility of the bee being Africanized, we continued on to Daisy Farm and had lunch. We settled later at Moskey Basin (we kept saying Monkey Basin) for the night. It was a great day filled with beautiful flowers and perfect hiking weather.

July 26th -
It rained all night and morning but we got up and ready in nice warm sunshine. It was a hot sweaty day, leaving me wanting to jump in the water. Oh, and it is my birthday! As we walked, I thought there were crickets jumping away, but upon closer inspection - baby frogs! It reminded me of a time driving in Missouri where there were frogs everywhere on the road and there was nothing that could be done but forge along. The mosquitoes also were out in force and out for blood (pun intended). There were crickets too and slugs on everything. This is a great way to hike; relaxing but still challenging. At camp I got water and bathed a little, using a bandanna for my face and body. I was sitting making diner and went to wipe a stick or something off my ankle - and it wouldn't come off! I got LEACHED! One match later it was removed and revenge exacted. Jeff's sunscreen exploded in his pants pocket, a squirrel tried to steal our everything bagel, and a jackrabbit ran up and smacked Jeff's tent for invading his space. My hand was incredibly swollen from either the bee sting or the 10 mosquito bites. I took a Benedryl and hoped for the best. Looking back, we should have stopped at amazing Lake Riche for a break and swim. Jeff didn't drink enough water today and was a bit dehydrated at the end of the day, leaving him quite tired, hungry and a bit lackluster. Instead we kept going to West Chickenbone (5.7 miles total for the day) and stopped for the night. The sky was crystal clear and we both slept with the rain fly off. It was great to look up at the stars in the middle of the night. It is great to hike this way. I'm relaxed and going at a slow pace that is letting me observe and appreciate nature around me in a different way. This was the best night.

July 27th -
Today was a very long day. We got up early, but it still takes on average 2 hours to cook, pack and be ready to go. It was an easy 2 miles to McCargoe Bay where we changed into swim clothes, got water and attempted to swim. Lake Superior is so cold (later we found out about 50 degrees), that wasn't possible. I got to my knees and then squatted down into the water. Jeff lost his flip flop in a panicked attempt to not fall into the icy water. We were invited by some other hikers to their bonfire and fish cooking they were planning on later that night, but explained we were only there for lunch. Jeff left a trace at this camp site when his Ramen package flew away from the table as we had lunch. We headed past East Chickenbone and around that time it started to pour! We didn't put rain gear on and got soaked. This became the most challenging and most beautiful day. The views along the ridge line were amazing and the terrain was more like the AT, with mountain ascents and difficult climbs. The mosquitoes were especially brutal after the rain, especially where we were walking in chest high foliage. We got to Daisy Farm about 8 PM and had the most perfect chicken noodle soup ending to our day. Jeff developed an interesting assortment of blisters during the day.

July 28th -
Jeff hit his head twice this morning before even leaving the shelter we stayed in. It was great to get into a building and hang our everything up to dry. Of course, not everything dried and I put on damp socks and pants. As we were eating breakfast we heard yelling and then a call for help. We starting running toward the voice (you never know what kind of help is needed or if you can, but try you must!) and found a women yelling that a man had fallen out of his boat. Sure enough, there was a man in a life vest in the middle of the lake splashing around in the freezing water about ten feet behind his motor boat. This was about 200 feet from shore and although I'm a strong swimmer, I knew jumping in that water would only further add to the emergency. Another hiker and his daughter ran up at the same time and he continued running down the dock past me and jumped into the ranger's boat. I had been running with him and untied the boat for him as he started the motor. Right as he was pulling away two rangers ran up and jumped in last minute. What a response time! Well, two other boats made it out there also and he was rescued so we headed back to finish packing up. We had a wonderful lunch at a beautiful spot at 3 mile camp site and then made it back to Rock Harbor right before it started raining. I bought some Isle Royale clothes and ice cream at the gift shop, then we headed to the lodge cafe for some veggie burgers and fries. This was a nice surprise. We took showers and talked all night about ghosts and other odd occurrences.

July 29th -
We woke up and headed to the ferry, Ranger III. We talked to other backpackers that we'd met on the ferry ride arriving and along the way and recounted our experiences for each other. Most other people had sighted moose! That is the one thing missing from our trip - oh well, next time. Mike, a big guy from Michigan told us the story of how he fell out of his rented boat the day before! We were like, "That was YOU!?" We got his story about how wind hit the front of the boat on a wave and flipped him out. We played Yahtzee and Monopoly on the way home, but I was having trouble concentrating because the waves were pretty high and I was getting queasy looking down. We drove to my grandma and grandpa's cabin a few hours south to stay for a few days to rest and I thoroughly cleaned all my equipment.

Isle Royale was a great time and I'd like to go again. I want to go kayaking next time and start at the other end of the island. Pictures are posted on Picasa, so enjoy!