Planned Trip Itinerary: (wishful thinking)
Day 1: Leave home (Michigan) in the morning - Arrive at The Grand Portage and Lodge Casino in Grand Portage, MN.
Day 2: Leave Grand Portage at 8 AM - Arrive at Windigo, IR 10:30, hike to Island Mine. [7mi]
Day 3: Leave Island Mine - Arrive at Siskiwit Bay. [4.4mi]
Day 4: Leave Siskiwit Bay - Arrive at Feldtmann Lake [10.3mi]
Day 5: Leave Feldtmann Lake - Pass through Windigo - Arrive at Huginnin Cove. [12.8mi]
Day 6: Leave Huginnin Cove - Arrive at Windigo - Catch ferry - Arrive at Grand Portage, MN and stay a night at The Grand Portage and Lodge Casino. [5.1mi]
Day 7: Leave Grand Portage - Arrive home in Michigan.
Basic Gear List:
* Backpack: Mountainsmith Bridger 4000; North Face Terra 45
* Trekking Poles: Black Diamond contoured gripped; Nordic trekking poles
* ENO Doublenest hammocks with Guardian bug nets, Pro-straps, and Wal-mart tarps
* Trekking Poles: Black Diamond contoured gripped; Nordic trekking poles
* ENO Doublenest hammocks with Guardian bug nets, Pro-straps, and Wal-mart tarps
* Sleeping Bags: Big Agnes Lost Ranger (20 deg); North Face Snoeshoe (0 deg)
* Sleeping Pads: Big Agnes Insulated Air Core; Generic foam pad
* Stove/Cookware: JetBoil Flash system
* Water Filtration: Platypus CleanStream Gravity Filter; Katadyn Micropur Purification Tablets
* Sleeping Pads: Big Agnes Insulated Air Core; Generic foam pad
* Stove/Cookware: JetBoil Flash system
* Water Filtration: Platypus CleanStream Gravity Filter; Katadyn Micropur Purification Tablets
* Clothing: Two sets of clothing; Long underwear; Fleece coats, gloves, and hats; wet weather tops and pants; four sets of wicking socks
Trip Report:
Day 1: Driving to Grand Portage, MN, A long drive
My wife arrived from work (3rd shift) and we started out from Grand Haven, MI driving toward Chicago. We stopped at Outdoor World in Portage, Indiana to pick up a few more items such has thermal under ware, fleece hat and mittens, and wet weather gear. We ended up needing all of these things on the trip. Outdoor World (Pro Bass Shop) is a very cool, themed, outlet with waterfalls, stuffed Bears, shooting range, etc. They also had great prices on some items.http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CFPageC?
We continued through Chicago and on to Wisconsin and then Minnesota to Grand Portage. I have never been to Wisconsin or Minnesota and both had loads of natural beauty with rolling hills and rock outcroppings. It rained most of the trip and we arrived around midnight at the Grand Portage Casino on the Chippewa Tribe reservation.
http://www.grandportage.com/home.php
http://www.grandportage.com/home.php
[Looking out the bay at Grand Portage]
Day 2: No Go Island, a sea of park benches
We woke up early to get ready for the ferry ride to the island but the view out of our window was not inviting. The storm we drove through last night was still blowing and the woman at the desk said that our ferry was cancelled. Sure enough it was, so we had a day to kill on the main land. We visited the Grand Portage National Monument park Heritage Center which told the story of Grand Portage, the and Indians and Europeans that lived there. We also visited a reconstructed North West Company fort and spoke to some park rangers about the displays. The local Indians used birch bark for everything, their homes, canoes, even wove it into threads for fabric.
[Entering the North West Company fort]
We also visited the Grand Portage State Park. We like to think of it as “the park of a thousand park benches”. Really, they had benches every 100 ft or so on the trail to High Falls waterfall. We figured it was a government thing, you know, they had a hundred grand left in the budget and the only thing they could spend it on was park benches of which were manufactured in some state congressman’s district.
[Looking out from Grand Portage, MN]
We got back to Grand Portage and wanted to save our hotel money for when we came back from the island so we hike a local trail (Josephine trail) and camped in the woods. We strung up our backpacking hammocks in the trees on a hill and I hiked to the top of the mountain while my wife slept. It was a cold, damp, windy night and I think my wife started to get a little sick.
[View from the top of Josephine trail - Our ferry is in the center of the picture]
Day 3: We made it! Sea of roots, rocks, and weeds. Oh no, blisters!
[Windigo is on the west side of the Island, where we hiked]
We boarded the M.V Wenonah ferry in Grand Portage and left about 8 AM. The crossing was very windy and cold (remember the part about my wife starting to get sick) and we did not have all of our cold and wet weather gear on (a mistake we would not repeat on the way back). One guy got motion sickness and my wife was feeling a little of it, I was OK.
http://www.isleroyaleboats.com/
We arrived at Windigo, Isle Royale early afternoon, got our park permits, and started down the trail to Feldtmann Lake.
http://www.isleroyaleboats.com/
We arrived at Windigo, Isle Royale early afternoon, got our park permits, and started down the trail to Feldtmann Lake.
Just to set this up, my wife bought some new hiking boots a month before the trip. She always has problems breaking in new shoes, any shoes, and these boots were no different. She did some hiking in them, got blisters, took care of those and thought she was OK for the trip. She would learn differently. The trail started out very beautiful next to the shore with boardwalks and marsh. Once the trail left the shore, it wined through mile after mile of hip high weeds with roots and rocks on almost every step. There were a few nice outlooks once we gain some elevation but for the most part we were in the trees. We had packed the fixings for some fresh turkey subs and enjoyed these by the trail (I think other hikers were envious of our delicious sandwiches).
[One of the few nicer parts of the Feldtmann Lake trail]
By the time we got to Feldtmann Lake, my wife has blisters on top of blisters and was not feeling well. Feldtmann Lake only has about five campsites and of course they were all full and we were the last ones in. We shared a site with three other hikers and found some good trees to hang our hammocks from. My wife was not happy with how things were turning out and wanted to hike back to Windigo the next day and let me finish the three day loop without her. I told her I would hike back with her to Windigo and we could just do some day hiking without packs if need be. She said she would sleep on it. She took some cold medication, I put a hot water bottle in her sleeping bag with her and we slept.
[Feldtmann Lake]
Day 4: New blisters but a beautiful day, trail, and camp to enjoy them with.
My wife decided after a good sleep that she would hike with me through the loop so we broke camp and set out for Siskiwit Bay. This turned out by far the be the most beautiful and enjoyable of the trails that we hiked on the island. My wife’s blisters were still a problem and accumulating by the mile but the trail was not very rocky and the view and weather were perfect. The nice thing about this trail is that some of it you are hiking on top of a stony ridge without obstruction of foot or view. There is plenty to look at other then just a tree canopy and not a lot of down trees or rocks or roots to trip over. 
[My wife, soldiering on, regardless of blisters]
There was not much water on the ridge but we were prepared for this and carried extra for this leg. We stopped at the fire tower, along with two other groups of hikers, to rest, relax, eat lunch, dry out some of our stuff, and enjoy the sun. (Might note that little did we know this would be the last good batch of direct sunlight we would see for the rest of the trip as we would be under canopy or weather until we left the island.)
We continued on till we reached Siskiwit Bay. This campground has a multitude of shelters, single, and group campsites and even though there were about twelve groups here with us, each had their own site. We pick a site in the group camp area high on the hill and treeline that was very private and had a picnic table. We had hoped to wash then dry out some clothing but arrived late in the day and did not have much daylight left. My wife was happy with the hike and with the site but she was still feeling sick and cold so after we ate so I heated up both water bottles and put her to bed.
[Siskiwit Bay]
It was dark by then and I went to the beach to the communal fire ring with others from the camp ground.
They were waiting for a guy who had pulled up in a large boat to bring out promised fish and beer. I enjoyed the company, stories, and looking at the night sky. This was the first time that I had been that far away from city light sources on such a clear night and I saw the Milky Way for the first time. Others also pointed out satellites and planets as we gazed up. I think we sometimes get so wrapped up with our little doings in life that we miss the big show and a bit of it was glimpsed by me this night.
The only wildlife we saw other then birds was a camp squirrel. You are not suppose to feed the wild live in the park but I think my wife might have slipped it a bit of our trail mix.
Day 5: Good-by sky, hello more blisters, a dark and stormy night
We started out the next day a bit late but refreshed and ready. The trail hugging the shore of the bay was beautiful but quickly took an upward turn as we had to gain some elevation.
We started out the next day a bit late but refreshed and ready. The trail hugging the shore of the bay was beautiful but quickly took an upward turn as we had to gain some elevation.
[One of the few peeks through the trees from Island Mine campground]
More blisters ensued but we made it to Island Mine camp ground by mid day. The water source here was a mere trickle but I was able to scoop out and filter using the Platypus. Almost every review I have read about Island Mine was negative and I can see why. There was almost no undergrowth so it was all packed dirt. The tree canopy was dense enough to keep the grounds dimly lite. The water source was dreary. But this is one of the few places where you can have a camp fire. I assume because there is no undergrowth to burn. We had decided to skip camping here and push on back to Windigo to complete this loop and then hike to Huginnin Cove the next day so after a rest and a snack we pushed on.
The rest of the trail between Island Mine and Windigo follows the Greenstone Ridge trail and this portion passes through Sugar Mountain, aptly named because of all of the Sugar Maple trees. In fact, there were so many of these trees that were rarely caught a glimpse of the surrounding areas. We passed a lone female hiker backpacking to Island Mine and noted to ourselves afterwards that Isle Royale is probably one of the few national parks that a solo female could hike and feel safe do to the inaccessibility of the park to non-hikers. The blisters got rather bad for my wife and I even suggested just hiking in her flops but she was concerned about rocks and stumps so we carried on at a very slow pace. We made it to Windigo camp ground and I scouted ahead and found a site and came back to my wife and took her pack and lead her in. She was so happy to get off of those feet and after looking at them I cannot blame her. I setup in a group camp area, having more problems finding good trees to hang from but did OK. I ended up blocking two trails coming into our site but it was just us anyway.
We went into Windigo to the store there and picked up some Cokes and enjoyed the rest of the day at camp. The sky looked like another storm might hit and it did in the middle of the night. I lined both hammocks with our emergency space blankets to give them extra warmth for the weather. I woke to the sound of the storm and I was a bit away from my wife so wondered how she was doing but I could hear her sleeping and I was dry and warm so I figured everything was OK and went back to sleep. Apparently one of her tarp lines came loose and the corner of her tarp flapped up during the night. My wife later said that she threw her fleece coat over her head and just went back to sleep.
Day 6: The Rangers have a captive audience
We had planned to leave our packs and do a day hike around Huginnin Cove before the ferry arrival but my wife’s feet were so bad that even without a backpack she couldn’t hike so we broke camp later in the day and headed for the shelter next to the docks. Well it looked stormy and windy again and sure enough, the ferry was cancelled so we hiked back to see if we could find a shelter to sleep in and we did. We were lucky in that we took more food then we needed and had plenty of fuel for not only cooking but heating water. Other backpackers were not so lucky and since it was end of session, there were slim pickings at the camp store.
[Our shelter at Washington Creek - kept the rain off but very cold]
Even with the shelter, the cold damp wind was freezing and the shelter pointed its open part to the direction of the wind so I rigged up the tarps to try and block some of the gusts. We ended up heating and reheating water in water bottles and got our socks and sleeping bags dry. One of the rangers was doing a presentation on some of the ship wrecks around the island so we went just to keep warm in the ranger lodge (which was toasty). I am sure that it was an interesting presentation but they could have done a song and dance that night and we still would have been there just absorbing as much warmth as possible. We bedded down that night, each with a hot water bottle and some cold medicine.
Day 7: Deliverance. The rock men of Canada
We woke to a bit of a nicer day so hopes were high for the ferry to run. We packed up our gear and headed for the docks and everyone cheered when the boat came. This ferry had a better enclosed setting area and so the wind and cold were not as bad but we also dressed warmer then we did on the way over. The ride was not too rough and we crossed in good condition.
[Everyone on the dock cheered as our ferry finally arrives]
As a side note, we saw no moose, foxes, or loons the whole time were on the island. The only wild life we encountered was a camp squirrel.
We pack the car and headed for Canada for the trip back to West Michigan through the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The drive through Canada was gorgeous although the road was a bit desolate with curves and hills abound.
We did pass an accident where a truck almost when off the cliff if it weren't for the wire railings on the road. We did see about three foxes next to the road as we drove. There was also a lot of graffiti on the rock outcrops along with odd looking “rock men”. We figured that living out there must be as boring as life could get for a teen so what else are they going to do but spray paint rocks with their names and true loves and build rock men for some odd reason. We had some concerns about gas because everything, including gas stations, close in the rural parts of Canada after dark. But we made it to the boarder and filled up in the UP of Michigan. Made it home without any further issues.
[The road back home through Canada and the Michigan Upper Peninsula]
After Trip Notes:
Believe it or not, my wife said she had a good time and would do another IR trip. If it were not for the blisters, the trip would have been just fine. The weather was a factor but I am not sure I would trade a bit of warmth for bugs. The rain itself was not bad but it was rain and the cold that did us in as far as getting a bit sick.
If I were to use hammocks on the island again, I think I would get a dispersed camping permit to pick my campsite so I could find good hanging trees otherwise I would do ground tents as the campsites are limited and some lack good trees. I am going to play around with the tarps more to see if I can’t rig up a “tent” over the hammock to get a bit more privacy when you want to wash up or change clothing.
I was very happy with our Platypus and the JetBoil although the starter stopped working on the stove (fixed it when I got home). Our pack weight was far too heavy and I would eliminate some of the stuff we brought that we did not use. I would also add a shell for the fleece gloves. A pair of thick sleeping socks would do me well since I get cold feet when I sleep. The camera’s battery died on us and we talked about getting a solar power backup battery for that and the smart phone.
