Backpacking on Isle Royale with Scouts

Troop 7 Summer Venture Expedition
Backpacking on Isle Royale
July 22-30, 2004

Thursday 22nd
Departed Ann Arbor about 8:30am, drove north, over the Mackinac Bridge, then west and north to the Pictured Rocks area, east of Munising, where we found a campsite at North Gemini Lake in the State Forest. After setting up we drove west to Miner Falls and Castle Rock, and joined the other tourists and looked at the falls, then abandoned them at Castle Rock and hiked down to Miner Creek and the beach at Lake Superior. We found a large log and the boys attempted to turn it into a bridge over the mouth of the creek. They all carried it easily, but how to get it across? So they put one end down and tried to flip it over and across the river, but they couldn’t get it to tip, and dropped it. And it hit Zack on the way down. So he and I slowly walked back to the cars. The others tried to float the log across, but the current caught it and swept it out into the lake. Zack is OK, but has a big bump on his head. Back at camp we made dinner, looked at the moon, enjoyed the evening, and turned in.
Friday 23rd
Went for a hike this morning until about 2pm at Castle Rock, the Portal, Castle Beach and Mosquito Beach. It served as a good shake-down hike We had magnificent views from the tops of the Pictured Rocks cliffs.
On the road again, we drove west then out to the end of the Keweenaw, and found our campsite. There’s a falcon (or similar) nesting in the campsite. I’ve seen at least three of them, and they call constantly when flying.

Saturday 24th
Got up early to the sound of white throated sparrows, got the tents down, breakfasted, and drove a short way to the ferry landing. The boat ‘Royale Queen III’ departs at 9:00am, and most of the troop took Dramamine and slept for most of the 4.5 hour trip. Those of us who didn’t watched the mainland recede, and raised the island about 30 miles away. The weather is perfect. Very small waves, minimal wind, bright blue skies, beautiful.
Landed at 12:30, and had a few minutes of NPS orientation, then started hiking. I’m hiking with the older scouts, and with Mr. Riker and Mr. Polich.
Tonight’s destination is Daisy Farm, about 7.5 miles away. The trail follows the lakeshore along Rock Harbor, over patches of glacially scoured bedrock of the Greenstone formation, and through black spruce-hemlock-red pine forests, or white birch-aspen forests. I found a few ripe strawberries, and there are many thimble berry and blueberry bushes along the trail, but alas, they are not ripe. We have many vistas across Rock Harbor to the islands and out into the lake. We passed a few mine pits, abandoned in the 1850s. They consisted of pits dug into the rock about 5-20 ft across and full of water to about 10’ below the surface. Copper was mined on the island as native copper, often found in veins, large lumps, sheets, or small bits clinging to the rocks. But mining on the island was expensive, and the mines generally didn’t last long.
Daisy Farm Campground consists of about a dozen wooden shelters, like an Adirondack with a screened front. But the groups have tent sites with a picnic table. There’s a concrete pier and a beach, and we all enjoyed hanging out there. I saw a fox checking out the campsites for leftover tidbits. They can be quite a problem in the camps here. But on the plus side, we don’t have to worry about bears, as there are none.

Sunday 25th
I slept soundly, but some of the others reported hearing wolves in the night, and one scout saw the northern lights. Heavy dew on the tents and lots of mosquitoes. But the wind picked up and sun dried us out soon.
On the trail, we left the shore and hiked along a ridge with blueberries! Delicious.
All the boys were way ahead when we met the trail ranger near a marsh, exchanged pleasantries, then she realized that our group consisted of 11, but the limit is 10, so we are in violation. When we reached Moskey Bay campsite, two rangers arrived by boat as we were taking a break and filtering water. We discussed the violation and they decided to let us go, but we’ll have a written warning.
So, we have to be on our best behavior from here on. But these guys are really quite responsible so I don’t foresee any problems.
We arrived at Richie Lake about .5 hours behind the boys (we had left before them) and relaxed around lunch on some bare rocks at the waters edge. One of the tents is missing its fly, so some of the boys tackled the problem with a ground cloth and a few ponchos. I took my fly rod down the trail to try my luck at fishing, and Mr. Riker and Mr. Polich did an extra 5 miles to Chippewa Harbor campsite and back, just for the fun of it. I didn’t have any luck with the fish, but collected about half a cup of blueberries. On the way back I saw a cow moose climbing out of the water into an island. After dinner we watched a pair of bald eagles circle the lake, and later watched a family of loons feeding. The chicks didn’t dive, but the first adult would dive repeatedly and about one third of the time brought up a little tidbit, perhaps a leach? We wonder. The second adult came by later and helped with the fishing.

Monday 26th
Breakfast was blueberry muffins.
We watched a beaver swim by. The three of us adults headed down the trail as the boys were just starting breakfast. We made good time to West Chickenbone Lake campground, where the other Troop 7 group was last night, but they had left already. So we collected water, then turned west down the Greenstone Ridge trail. We soon began a hot, dry climb to the first (of 3) peaks of Siskiwit peak. The wind that we’ve enjoyed for the previous two days has died, so the mosquitoes are worse when we are in the woods. We can only stop on bedrock clearings. We had lunch on the first peak, with a great view over Chickenbone, Richie, and other lakes to the north and east. From the other peaks we enjoyed views south over Siskiwit Lake and Siskiwit Bay. And we could see Ryan Island in Siskiwit Lake - the largest island on the largest lake on the largest island on the largest lake in the world. Eventually we arrived at Hatchet Lake campground, hot and sweaty. The water looked sooo inviting, and I waded in and splashed water over me. Then Mr. Riker and Mr. Polich went in for a swim, and Mr. Riker came out with one large and about 30 small leaches between two of his toes. The first group of boys had arrived by then, so they all decided against swimming. As they were leaving Lake Richie they saw two moose crossing the trail! And got pictures too.
A few of the boys and Mr. Strodtman showed up in the evening. They had hiked over from their camp at Todd Harbor.

Tuesday 27th
I have developed a few foot blisters, so I left camp before the others so I could walk at my own pace. The faster boys (Team Awesome) caught up with me at Todd Harbor when I stopped for water. It’s a very pretty harbor, but the mosquitoes today are bad. I headed out again, and nearly everybody passed me along the 6 miles on Minong Ridge to Mc Cargoe Cove. Here we laid on the pier for about 2 hours, and did some ‘extreme’ wading. Some of the boys wanted to do a 20 mile hike, so they headed for West Chickenbone camp, dropped their packs, and looped the lake. They saw two male moose grazing on the shore, and got more pictures. They also met up with the other T7 group.
The weather continues to be beautiful - blue skies, no clouds, afternoon breeze, clear nights. Wow.

Wednesday 28th
Hiked east on Greenstone Ridge (lots of blueberries) to the old fire tower on Ojibway Mtn. I had stopped for the blues at one particularly nice patch, when Team Awesome came by (Luke, Pete, Sam, Brendan). I showed them a handful of blueberries, and they quickly decided it was break time, and they soon depleted the patch.
The tower is maintained for air quality measuring today. From up on the tower we saw another moose. Lunch was taken at the base. From there we headed south to Daisy Farm for some more extreme wading (much colder here) and lounging on the pier for a while. My blisters are still bad, but Sam’s are worse. But he’s keeping pace with the fastest.
The weather has changed, heavy clouds and strong winds in the afternoon.
Thursday 29th
It rained in the night, so the tents got packed up wet. The lake is foggy, and the views to the islands is surreal. Its just six and a half miles to Rock Harbor and the ferry, and we all made it with ample time to spare. There’s a store on the pier, and troop 7 did our best to clean it out of candy, ice cream, and other snacks. Many in the troop took advantage of hot showers too.
The boat arrived out of the mist at 12:30 with a new crop of backpackers and lodge people. At 3:00 we boarded and departed. The wind is still strong, and once away from the protection of the harbor, we were into 3-foot waves, which would send sheets of spray over the bow and foredeck. But about 1 hour from landing, the seas calmed, and while still rough, they were no longer spraying the foredeck. So, some of us plus other passengers hung out there for the final approach. On shore again, we collected our gear, and drove to Houghton and a campground, and a Pizza Hut for dinner.

Friday 30th
The sun came up, the tents came down, and we were off amazingly fast. The drive was uneventful, arrived at the church about 6pm.