The ferry and a passenger at daybreak--ready to depart with the first light. Warm shower behind, cold rains ahead.
The ferry and another passenger anxious to get on board. Boats and gear are already there.
A friendly hiker took this photo on the front decks of the ferry and sent it to me after the trip. We met them again on the other side of the island. The multi-room building on shore is our motel--second door from the right is our room.
Isle Royale met us clouded in deep mist. Many off-shore rocks--just the way I imagined it.
Rock Harbor
A friendly ranger giving instructions on leave-no-trace camping
Russ shoving all the necessary provisions into his boat. They barely fit!
Friendly father-and-daughter duo we met on the ferry
Day 1: Rock Harbor to Chippewa Harbor with a snack stop at Caribou Island campground
Finally on the way. The weather could not have been more perfect on this early Sunday afternoon...
... until, just a couple minutes later, the sky opened up and it started to pour. Abandoned Isle Royale lighthouse in the background.
First night's campsite
There were some sailors moored at the dock
A view into Chippewa Harbor
The Nordkapps were friendly from day one. They did not get along with the canoe, though...
We did not get any of the four shelters and had to build our tents. No biggie--the night was dry. A long-time park volunteer was camping in the group site and gave us some pointers on where to camp along the way.
Day 2: Chippewa Harbor to Atwood Beach including a 9-mile crossing of the Siskiwit Bay and lunch in the bay immediately north of Schooner Island. Had we had the larger scale map, I would have recommended a hike to the abandoned Datolit mine.
Our first full day of paddling started with wonderful sunshine, smiles on the faces and playful atmosphere
2-4 foot waves and rocky shoreline provided plenty of opportunity to enjoy the boats and fresh muscles
We found a quiet cove for a luxurious 2-hour lunch in the sun ...
... which included drying the underlayers
After crossing Siskiwit Bay we visited not-so-friendly fisherman's village
How these rocks support vegetation is beyond me
Second night's campsite at the Atwood Beach. After a late-morning start, we had to dig deep into our energy reserves to stay on schedule on this 23-mile day
The night was beautiful and the east-facing beach provided plenty of shelter from a lively southwest wind. Just as we prepared to cook dinner it started to rain ... hard!
Plenty of tracks on the sand which included wolf and moose
Day 3: Atwood Beach to the little bay just SE of Rainbow Point with a snack stop near a tiny inland lake just E of Long Point. Rough water around Long Point and the Head--breakers for at least 1/4 miles off shore. With the wind and waves we did not make our destination for the day--Huginnin Cove.
The next day, the wind was blowing 20-25 knots directly in the face even close to shore
Hiding from the wind while taking a breather behind the rocks. If we stopped paddling while exposed to the wind, the kayaks would start drifting in the opposite direction at over 1MPH in a matter of seconds!
As much fun as it was, after rounding Long Point and the Head we decided that battling 5-8' waves and 25 knot winds was too much for too little gain. Both of us got knocked over along the way. Luckily, we did not pack our rolls in the hatches that day.
Here are some waves about ready to burst...
... and here they are already bursting. We decided to seek shelter on shore. We watched the waves on hard land rather than the wobbly boat.
There were not too many places to land as the shore was rocky and the waves were breaking far off-shore
Eventually we found a semi-protected landing just short (south) of Rainbow point
Build tents well inland to avoid raging west winds
Thankfully, the forest was not the impenetrable wall of green we saw the night before. There was enough space to set up two tents in a little meadow as well as some level ground for the communal kitchen in between.
Day 4--our longest day just short of 30 miles: SE of Rainbow Point to Todd Harbor with lunch at Huginnin Cove campground and a brief rest stop at Little Todd Harbor.
Ready to depart the following morning. Appropriately, the lens is fogged up. Waves ... gone! Completely!
All the way to Grace Island the water was mirror flat ... quite unbelievable given yesterday's conditions and the constant roar we heard all night long
Just after rounding Washington Harbor the wind picked up again. This time from the east--in our faces, of course
We found shelter for another long rest and lunch at Huginnin cove
The waters were calm inside this idyllic miniature harbor
Idyllic campsite at Huginnin Cove. No campfires allowed anywhere at this location but we did get our stoves going for hot lunch.
Re-packing the boats and ready for the ominous stretch of the northwest coast reported to be without landings
Northwest coast of Isle Royale ... one of the very very few caves around the island. A tiny one at that :(
... yep, it's pretty much like this the whole way to Little Todd Harbor: as advertised, never-ending cliffs of sheer rock going straight up
Not quite without a place to land for 13 miles but the few landing platforms that were there looked very small for rough conditions
We landed at Little Todd Harbor at about 6PM and some friendly hikers took pictures which they later sent to us via e-mail. That's Canada on the horizon
We did not take long at Little Todd and pushed for another 6 miles to Todd Harbor to finish our 30-mile day
Day 5: Todd Harbor to Birch Island with a break on Hawk Island. Day's miles include McCargoe Cove exploration in empty boats. The creek that runs SW from the tip of the McCargoe cove toward Chickenbone Lake was a very nice side trip and must be a premiere spot for moose viewing on hot summer days.
Rainy night inside McCargoe Cove--this was typical weather for about two days non-stop
The east winds persisted but they were not strong ... the weather was going clearly south!
Paddling the Amygdaloid channel. There are no pictures from Todd Harbor because the sky opened up just as we got our stuff to the one of the two available campsites. It rained all night and pretty much the whole next day and the night after that and the day after ...
We planned to go to Pickerel Cove the next day and camp there. Boy were we happy to see an unoccupied shelter at Birch Island! We just wanted to be dry--even if a little bit!
Facilities at Birch Island
A view of McCargoe Cove which we explored in EMPTY kayaks. A beautiful serene place full of loons and even a playful and social otter
Day 6: Birch Island to Duncan Bay Narrows with a short hike to Amygdaloid Lake and a stop at Belle Isle campground. Through the Keyhole, Locke Point.
An unsigned post that marks the entrance to the unofficial trail to Amygdaloid Lake. This was as close as we got to a moose on this trip!
The Amygdaloid Island hike was beautiful: rock, grass, trees, and water
Humidity must have been 100% and rain was intermittent during the hike ... hence the fog on the lens
View across Amygdaloid channel from the top of the Amygdaloid Island
Vegetation and water on top of Amygdaloid
Yummy blueberries--tasty but small
Grass, rock, and fir on Amygdaloid
Merrels which we did not pick
What luck--we found another unoccupied shelter at Duncan Bay Narrows campsite. And a grill for the only fire we had on the entire trip! Toasted bagels were just what the doctor ordered... Wet wood was hard to get going but at least it did not rain during the night anymore.
Duncan Bay: after what seems like forever the skies have brightened up and the sun came out. We didn't actually see it, though--just the clear sky and sunlit NW shore. Ahh...
Day 7: Duncan Bay Narrows to Rock Harbor via Lookout Louise. Russ celebrated the rounding of Blake Point with a refreshing swim in 2-3' following seas. Tobin Harbor hike track is also present.
Monarch Rock on the way to Louise Lookout
Meadow on the way to Louise Lookout
Tiny white speck on the water is our ferry sailing into Rock Harbor. By this time we already knew that it did not sail the day before and the first trip was going to take visitors who did not get to leave yesterday. We were in no hurry!
Yummy Thimbleberries--they were all over the place on the island and ripe to eat. Not quite as tasty as regular raspberries but definitely enjoyable.
A view from Louise Lookout: Duncan Bay underneath and Five Finger Bay beyond, upper left island is probably Belle. Canada on the horizon.
A view from Louise Lookout.
Russ enjoying fully upright position before getting his butt back into a kayak seat to finish off the trip.
We did not eat these...
SUN! Warm! Dry! Well deserved rest on the top of the trail to Look-out Louise.
Trail to Louise Lookout
These are edible but messy to clean and not particularly tasty unless cooked
Mushrooms by the trail
Hidden Lake at the trailhead to Lookou Louise. It supposedly has a salt lick--good place to spot moose according to the park staff. We did not see any on this trip :(
We saw ducks, though
Many campers gathered at the Rock Harbor and awaited the second coming of the Copper Harbor ferry which did not sail the day before due to gale force winds. Trip cancellation hadn't happened in the previous two years. Voyageur II sails to Grand Portage, MN.
We took the time to hike to Tobin Harbor and Scoville Point
A typical rock islet off Isle Royale proper.
A typical rocky shoreline with pools of water
Finally, at about 8PM the Isle Royale Queen sailed toward Copper Harbor which we did not reach until 11PM
Trip back on the front deck of the ferry ... looking toward home. Note distinct shading under the chin :) We camped one more night at a $30/night campsite near Copper Harbor.
Buoy 45001: about 35 miles E of Isle Royale Buoy 45004: about 100 miles ESE of Isle Royale Buoy 45006: about 45 miles SW of Isle Royale
Rock of Ages Weather Station is located just west of the Island Passage Island Weather Station is located just east of the Island
