7 (6.5) day trip

[u/bracekyle]

First time on the island, and wow, as someone who has done all of the Teton Crest and section hiked the AT, PCT, and JMT, this island kicked my butt! Nearly every campsite had breathtaking beauty, and all the backpackers were exceptionally nice. My group saw 4 moose (including a cow and her baby), a few foxes, osprey, griebes, loons, turtles, frogs, butterflies, slugs, chipmunks and squirrels, a bald eagle, and lots of snakes. Loved it a lot, would def return. The Minong is no joke!

Day 1 - ferry from copper harbor, backpacked to Lane Cove, saw a fox on the way, beautiful sunset

Day 2 - to Moskey Basin (our #1 campsite) over Mount Ojibway on the greenstone,, stopped at Daisy Farm for lunch and a great swim, got very lucky and snagged a shelter and it was magic. Saw a moose at dawn in the basin.

Day 3 - to McCargoe Cove, up the Indian Portage trail around chickenbone (no water here due to algae blooms), met a man who had a scary face to face with a wolf, got a shelter overlooking the cove and it was also magic until a group of REALLY loud guys on a fishing trip showed up on a boat and made a ton of noise past midnight :/

Day 4 - to Todd Harbor (our close second fav campsite) on the Minong, booked it to snag the only shelter there, and it was perfect napping, listening to the waves and the wind in the birches.

Day 5 - to North Lake Desor on the Minong, and the rocks killed our feet and ankles. Trail magic: a random stranger helped me fill and carry water up the trail to my group at Little Todd. (thanks, Eric, you rock). Saw a moose in the distance along the way (we spooked it on accident and it ran), watched an osprey hunting on the lake at dusk, then the rain started.

Day 6 - to Washington creek, packed in a break in the rain and booked it over the Minong and it was HARD. the rain came for us in sheets, and the cold hit us as gale force winds blasted us on the high ridges. No lightning or thunder, so we kept at it, but it was a rough second half of the day as temps dipped to low 40s and we were soaked. Washington Creek was FULL due to various seaplane and ferry cancellations, so we had to camp in overflow group sites.

Day 7 - ready to take a seaplane out, we discovered early flights were canceled and all ferries were canceled. Someone on our group did see a moose and her baby cross the group campsite into Washington creek! Seaplane ended up coming just for our flight time before shutting down again. I feel bad for those who were stuck and hope they found a way, but very grateful to make it out.

Superb trip, next time I would give the group a zero day in the middle at Todd or Moskey,

[u/mchgndr]

Setting up tents in the cold rain must have sucked, I luckily avoided having to do that for my recent 5 day trip. I’m sure everything else was amazing though! Agreed Moskey was easily my favorite.