isle royale np [2023]

Isle Royale National Park

 May 15-19, 2023

pre-trip

It was a cold day in late January. My friends and I were looking for a place to go backpacking in at the end of the semester, when we realized the first ferry to Isle Royale would leave the first Monday after finals week. Without much hesitation, we booked our tickets on the Isle Royale Queen IV, and began thinking about where to hike.

As finals approached, as we all rapidly were burning out, we began our preparation for the trip. Checking the forecast became a daily ritual, hoping that the weather would be above freezing. We planned our route, purchased our food, packed our bags, and began the 5 hour drive to Copper Harbor.

When we arrived the night before our ferry was set to depart, we set up camp at a campground just outside the town, and enjoyed dinner, a few drinks, and a peaceful night.

day 1

The start of our trip began with a bit of a hiccup. We anticipated a breakfast place to be open before our ferry ride, however, due to us being the first ferry, they had not yet opened for the season. This marked the beginning of similar situations we would encounter throughout the trip. While this was disappointing, we managed to get breakfast sandwiches and huckleberry frosted donuts from Jamsen's Bakery which we enjoyed while waiting to board. I was even their first customer of the year! As the crowd of people waiting to board the boat grew, our anticipation increased exponentially. It was a cool morning, probably in the 50s, but comfortable. Eventually, the captain arrived and began loading bags onto the boat. 

We pulled out of the harbor just after the scheduled departure time, and began our 3.5 hour journey across Lake Superior. As the land faded behind us, the waves grew. Several people lost their stomachs, and standing outside was the only escape from the smelly confines of the cabin. The wind whipped across us as we stood on the back of the boat, dodging spray from the ice-cold lake. Eventually, after a grueling trip, we arrived around noon. 

After disembarking, we began our island experience by registering with the park. As it was the first commercial ferry to Rock Harbor, there weren't even any park rangers to give us the traditional welcome speech. There were a few park maintenance rangers and a few security rangers, who helped get everyone squared away. While most people began hiking immediately, we began with lunch on the pier, as we watched the Queen depart for Copper Harbor, empty. We enjoyed the warmth of the sun on the pier, eating our tortillas with peanut butter. Eventually, we began our hike. We headed southwest out of Rock Harbor to the Tobin Harbor Trail. We meandered down this trail for a few miles until we reached the Mount Franklin trail, where we turned northwest and began hiking up to the Greenstone Ridge. This single ridge runs nearly the entire length of the main island, and provides gorgeous sweeping views of the island, Lake Superior, as well as Canada, Minnesota, and occasionally Michigan. On our trip, we could only ever see Canada, specifically Sleeping Giant Provincial Park. We took a nice break atop the ridge, and then continued heading down towards Lane Cove. When we reached Lane Cove, all but one of the campsites were occupied. We made it to site 5, arguably worst site at the campground. However, we made due, and enjoyed the sunset while eating dinner. Once the sun had set, we crawled into our tents, and passed out for the night. It was a warm evening, not even dipping below 50. 

day 2

The second day on Isle Royale began with a warm morning in the 50s. We made breakfast, broke down camp, and began hiking. We started by retracing our steps back up the Greenstone Ridge. We spotted a bit of snow off the side of the trail, but not too much. We had a hazy day to start off with due to the wildfires in Canada. After we made it fully atop the ridge, we turned south and continued hiking. We stopped for an early lunch at the lookout tower at Mt. Ojibway. We climbed up the fire tower and nearly got blown over by the fierce winds coming off the lake. Almost immediately from when we started hiking down the Mt. Ojibway trail, we spotted our first of 3 moose. It was startled by us and scampered down the hill. We saw another moose very soon after, directly on the trail. It eventually moved out of the way and we continued our hike, arriving at Daisy Farm. It was warm enough that three out of the four of us decided it would be fun to jump into Lake Superior, which we did. The water temperature was probably about 35 degrees, but it felt amazing. We dried off, and hiked along the Rock Harbor trail all the way to Moskey Basin. We set up in a shelter, and enjoyed lounging in the warm afternoon sun before cooking dinner. We explored some of the other sites, and played a few card games with our neighbors. As we drifted to sleep, we figured we'd be in for a cool night, but didn't know what we were in for.

day 3

The morning was cold, with temps down into the mid 20s. My quilt kept me warm enough, but after my early alarm went off, I decided to go watch the sunrise. I was the only person who got out of the shelter, and I was so happy that I did. As the sky began to glow orange, the water in Moskey Basin was completely still. The sun grew brighter, reflecting off the calm water and the trees near the shore. Eventually, we began our hike for the day. It would wind up being a much warmer day than the morning. We hiked across to McCargoe cove. As it was early season, we encountered a section of the wooden planks that had been broken during the winter and was not repaired. The water was about 3 feet deep in the beaver pond, and the only option was to either walk through the water, or try and hop around the various beaver dams back onto the boards. I managed to hop around without getting wet at all, while two others decided to walk through the water instead. Further on, there was another section of boards down, but was supported just enough to make a quick dash across. The next part of the trail was incredibly muddy, with many trees blown down blocking the path. We eventually made it to the campground, after stopping near a river to watch fish swimming upstream to spawn. We set up for the night, and then hiked without backpacks to explore the minong mines located near the campground. These mines were dug both by European settlers and indigenous residents of the island. The night ended early, as we were tired from a busy day of doing very technical hiking with all the flaws of the trail.

day 4

With a much warmer night than before, we began our hike with a bit more haste. Heading east past chickenbone lake, we made it atop the greenstone ridge where we hiked to Daisy Farm. It was an uneventful day, baring one moose sighting and a lot of views from the ridge. We took some time to reflect and hike apart from each other, a good change of pace for an easy section of the trail. The only hiccup was at lunch where the trail was covered by a new beaver pond. Eventually, we made it to the shelter, where I took a very powerful nap, and then made dinner. It rained a little during our time in the shelter, and it was nice to have space to spread out. I wandered around the campground at sunset, but facing east, there wasn't anything to observe.

day 5

The final day began early, departing the shelter at roughly 7 am. There was rain in the forecast, and hoping to beat it, I set out for the final 7 miles of the trip. Unfortunately, this was not to be. About 2 miles, a steady rain began, and continued all day. I stopped at the three mile campground for a brief respite from the rain, and then continued on with one more stop at Suzy's cave. The rain was unending and cold, and upon reaching the visitor center, we unfortunately were not allowed in. As more people reached the visitor center, we congregated under an awning, waiting for the Queen to arrive. She finally did, and we were faced with one final hurdle; we were not permitted on the boat until the day visitors returned from that day's boat. After a few more cold hours waiting in the rain, we made it on board and began to slowly thaw and dry. 

post-trip

Reflecting on Isle Royale months later, I have fond memories of the trip. Sleeping in the shelters, traipsing through mud and water, and seeing the endless beauty of Lake Superior is something I will never forget. I think that when I return, I'll take a seaplane, but I think that I went the perfect time of year. No bugs was worth the cold nights in my opinion. There was a quiet beauty to the island, with so few visitors. A sense of camaraderie was grown for us all, braving the early conditions. It's a trip I can definitely recommend, and encourage more people to enjoy.