Caught at least 6 garters and one northern redbelly snake which i regretfully didn't take a picture of. The copper garter and the red garter were truly special

Will be on the online in a few weeks (9/13) and wondering if anyone has been on the above trails over the last few weeks and has an update on condition. I know most years this trail can be rough water crossing wise.

Current itinerary will be coming into RH and onto DF night one, Mccargo night 2, LR night 3, CH night 4, MB night 5 and then DF night 6 back to RH to jump the boat and head home.

I recently stayed in the Housekeeping cabins, so I figured I'd make a post about all the questions I had beforehand. They took our bags directly off the ferry and put them into our cabin, so we couldn't access our bags until check-in after 4pm. Just an FYI to put essentials in your day pack. The cabin has shampoo, conditioner, body wash, hand wash, and dishsoap. Bathroom has a tub with shower. There was a large pot, small pot, medium frying pan, and a hodgepodge of utensils including a poorly functioning can opener. Full 6-person dishset with plates, bowls, mugs, etc. You may want to bring a dish cloth, sponge, and/or scouring pad. Microwave, coffee maker, toaster, and 2 burner stove. Bring your own ground coffee. Small mini fridge with very small freezer. There were not a ton of outlets, so if you have 6 people like we did, we'd recommend an extension cord and power strip. All the beds are in one room, 1 queen, 1 full pull out sofa bed, and 2 twin bunks (All comfortable). Ladder situation to top bunk is not great, hard to climb up, narrow, and hurts feet. Head clearance is low above top bunk. The windows have a great view, but only a couple of them actually open, so there is little ventilation. There is a ceiling fan. Towels, linens, and blankets are provided. Four chairs and round dining table. There is a good storage area for gear. Good working WiFi in the cabin. About 60% of cabins have have a great view of the water. There is electric baseboard heating. We had an absolutely great time, wonderful accommodations. We will be back!!

Excuse the formatting I am on mobile. Also the grammar English is my first language I just suck at using it.

Arrived at Grand Portage on 8/20. I used Arrowhead Transit from Duluth to get to Grand Marais the previous day, and a nice lady on Facebook took me to Grand Portage for $80 the next morning. Superior Shuttle Service wanted $195 for the same trip. TooknVoyager II to Windigo. Arrived on the island at approximately 0930 and started hiking at 1020.

My route was from Windgo to N. Desor along the Minong trail for night one. Probably the hardest day, with lots of elevation change combined with overgrowth obscuring the trail. Some sections were flooded, but I always found a way to stay dry. N. Desor only had one other group of two when I arrived at 1530 The night was clear with beautiful stars.

The next day at 0700, I continued to McCargo Cove along the Minog. The same trail characteristics as Day 1, but the trail changes to more leveled, tree-covered hiking past Little Todd. It almost felt like a different trail when I passed the turn for L.T. I had lunch when I got to Tood Harbor  I wished I could have spent the night at Todd Harbor; it looked so nice and inviting, and the trail went straight through it. McCargo Cove was alright; I arrived at 1830, and although it was fairly crowded, I found a spot up the incline to the individual sites. It rained overnight.

On day three, I started hiking at 07:20 to E. Chickenbone, then joined the Greenstone Trail and made my way down to Daisy and Three Mile Campsites before arriving at Rock Harbor at approximately 18:00. I enjoyed a meal at the grill, and a nice family let me share their campsite. It was quite full, and I couldn't find an empty site.

Day four, I took the Ranger III to Houghton. The ferry departed an hour early due to bad weather, and a ranger was going through the campgrounds the night before, letting people know. Rough seas ,a lot of people vomited , including myself, even despite taking Dramamine.

Overall, this was my 51st National Park out of the main 63. I would rate it a 6.5/10. Definitely bring the DEET , the miles are hard due to the bushwhacking and I caught conflicting info on the streams water being safe to filter. So I only filtered from Lake Superior ( Katadyn BeFree FTW ) .

On my way to copper harbor to catch the ferry tomorrow. My base weight is about 23 lbs and I have too much food but excited for my first timevon the island haha

I just made my first trip to Isle Royale. I’m already planning next years trip.

Prepping for my first backpacking trip (and first time ever to IR) and I’m only able to fit like 2/3 of my food in the bear canister. The packaging on these dehydrated meals take up a lot of space! The canister is meant to hold 4-5 days worth of food, which is the length of my trip.

My plan was to bring a dehydrated meal dinner for day 1 after making it to camp, 3 per day for the 3 full days, then one for my final day (hoping to to get lunch at the lodge). There are about 3 of these things I cannot fit in the canister. Also planning to bring about 10 clif bars, which obviously won’t fit at all either.

Is it a big deal if I can’t fit everything in there? What other options do I have?

Bonus question: will a 4oz fuel canister be enough for all the meals + coffee in the morning? Prelim research on that indicates I’ll be cutting it close… (I’m using a Fire Maple Fixed Star X1)

This mornings sunrise from Rock Harbor lodge.

Taken in the morning of 8/16

Took the Minong for the first time this past week and had a blast. Here’s one of my favorite photos from the trip

This place was beautiful morning, day, and night. But I understand why people hype up the sunset!

Hi everyone! We're going to IR for the first time in a little under a week. We can't wait! Given this is our first time, I wanted to get some feedback on our itinerary. I posted in the pinned thread a couple weeks ago but no bites unfortunately. For context we are in our 30s, in good shape, and fairly experienced backpackers (usually shoot for between 10-15 miles per day for a nice leisurely pace). Mostly looking for feedback on the route itself and if there are any alternative routes we should consider. We already have transport to and from rock harbor booked so that is locked in.

Day 1: Arrive at Rock Harbor in late afternoon. Camp at Rock Harbor and maybe do an evening walk along Scoville point

Day 2: Take water Taxi to Hidden Lake, take Greenwood Ridge trail to Moskey basin (how ambitious is this? We could do lane cove instead if we are slower)

Day 3: Moskey Basin to McCargoe Cove (or Lane Cove to West Chickenbone)

Day 4: McCargoe Cove to Three Mile (or West Chickenbone to three Mile via Lake Richie)

Day 5: Hike out

If anyone could provide some suggestions or perhaps chime in as to whether the alternative is superior would love to hear it!

So, I'm planning a 7 night backpacking trip in mid September. There will be 5 of us. So, I know I need to get a small party permit when we get there (we'll be taking the queen IV). I see the permit needs to be displayed. My question is; do I need to bring a clear waterproof display thingy or do the rangers provide a way to display it?

Thanks in advance!

Also, if anyone is curious, heres the itinerary; Day 1: three mile Day 2: moskey basin Day 3: west chickenbone Day 4: hatchet lake Day 5: mccargoe cove Day 6: daisy farm Day 7: rock harbor Day 8: ferry out

We're not complete first timers to backpacking, but not super experienced either. All of us are in pretty good shape. However, it is our first time on the island, so, any advice is welcome. :)

08/18 NPS Caribou Island campground is closed until further notice. No further explanation.

https://www.nps.gov/isro/planyourvisit/conditions.htm

Hey all, taking the sea plane tomorrow at 10am to go to Rock Harbor and realized I'm missing my water filter and bladder. Tried calling the lodge and I am just getting the voice mail. Looks like there are plenty of outfitters in the Houghton area but they are closed or don't open till 10. Does anyone know if the camp store at Rock Harbor sells a water filter? I'm gonna check a few more options but figured I'd ask here as well.

********** Update

Morning all. Fate was in my favor today and the sea plane was delayed due to fog. If anyone else ends up in this stupid mess and finds this while Google searching here's a few tidbits that will hopefully help.

Surplus Outlet - Houghton only has tablets Walmart - Houghton only had a life straw Dunham Sports - Houghton had a Sawyer Mini. Down Wind Sports - Houghton had a 1 liter Katadyn filter and various accessories for $56 - ultimately what I went with. Isle Royale Visitors Center - Houghton Does not sell anything for filtering water.

I'll probably update this while I kill time and check out more shops.

Thanks everyone for jumping to my rescue with various tips and advice.

I wanted to get y'all's feedack on my itinerary - here are four options ranked by total distance. I love to hike and I've been backpacking with a group, but this is my first solo trip and first time at Isle Royale, in early September

While I love the idea of doing the Minong Ridge trail I'm trying to be flexible/conservative and undershoot to avoid setting myself up for any mishaps, due to my relative lack of experience. The question marks indicate potential rest days.

Kinda leaning towards 2 or 3 but I'm truly flexible and open to suggestions - my biggest desires are to successfully and safely complete this, see some wildlife and try to hit the best viewpoints/campsites. I'd love to know some of your favorites.

I'm physically active and I hike, work out and run regularly, but I'm not sure whether the thought of doing 11 miles in a day is realistic (though I've seen that the Greenstone Trail is much easier). I'd love to hear your perspectives on how route difficulty and mileage.

As you can see, I've completed omitted North Desor to Little Todd to avoid the worst of the beaver dams, at the recommendation of the park ranger I talked to over the phone :)

My campsite choices were informed by other wonderful posts and redditor comments like the Campground Tier List -- I'm looking forward to your thoughts! TIA!!

windigo to s desor (greenstone) 11.2 (hard?)
s desor to todd (greenstone) 11.8
todd to mccargoe (minong) 6.7
mccargoe to moskey 8.4
moskey to lane cove 10.8
lane cove to rock harbor 6.9

McCargoe to Todd 6.7
Todd to Little Todd 7
Little Todd to Hatchet Lake 7.8
Hatchet Lake to S Desor 8.1
S Desor to Washington Creek 11.3
Hugennin Cove Loop/Washington Creek 8.2?

mccargoe to todd 6.7
todd to mccargoe 6.7
mccargoe to chippewa 10.6
chippewa to moskey 6.2
moskey to lane cove 10.8
lane cove to rock harbor 6.9

chill at mccargoe/ visit mines ?
mccargoe to chippewa 10.6
chippewa to moskey 6.2
moskey to daisy farm 3.9
daisy farm to lane cove 6.9
lane cove to rock harbor 6.9

A few shots from moose lake last night

Hi,

I'll be heading up later this month! We are taking the seaplane.

I want to confirm my sleeping bag and sleeping pad can be OUTSIDE/strapped to my pack for riding the plane. A friend mentioned thinking all gear had to be put inside one's bag, which does not seem possible.

Thank you!!

Hi all,

Weird question I may be over thinking, but given recent events, I wanted to run this by you guys here.

I'm noticing that a weeks worth of food in my ursack is taking up quite a bit of real estate in my pack when filled up. Typically in the past I would pack my pack so that the food would fill the void space in the pack. Is it required that food stay in the ursack while on the trail or is it still ok to have the food fill the void space of the pack and transfer the food/trash/other smelly things into the ursack and then into the storage lockers when I get to camp? I obviously do not plan on leaving my pack unattended at all while on the trail as it will be on my back or right by my side for any breaks. I keep all trash in a Ziploc which will be inside of a smelly proof bag as well for a little extra protection.

Per the NPS rules and regulations on the new food storage, I read it as saying food needs to be in a bear resistant containers while at camp. It's here as follows: "To be within food storage compliance, campers, backpackers, and paddlers are instructed to store their items in an animal-resistant container while camping....No matter the activity, visitors are not to leave their belongings unattended."

Thanks all, happy camping.

Does anyone know what storage costs per day is at the Lodge? Storage size? Looking to store a clean change of clothes. Thanks!

Hey guys, weird question maybe but I was wondering how hard or competitive is it to get a job on the island? Just moved up here and would love to spend some months on the island next summer if possible. Do you need to jump through hoops? will they just hire people on? Is it like Antarctica where a surprisingly huge waitlist is to be expected unless you have an advanced degree? Thank you and happy hiking !

I'd imagine this has stemmed from too many people not properly storing their food.

Planning on doing Feldtman loop next summer.

My dad’s wish was to have his ashes spread near Lake Richie. My cousin and I just finished our backpacking trip and we fell completely in love. One of the top five experiences of my life, we plan on returning in a few years to do a canoe trip.

These are a few of my favorite views. The first picture is sunrise on Lake Richie the morning after we spread his ashes

I want to share my appreciation for this sub. I had never done anything like this trip before and I was on here constantly reading for more advice and information. It definitely helped me feel like I knew what I was doing a little more and made the trip more enjoyable and a good memorial for my dad.

My parents, in their late 60s, want to visit isle royale for 2 or 3 days. Wouldn’t be camping but would stay at the lodge. A moderate 3-4 mile hike would be the most of what they could manage. So I guess we would hike one day and do something on a boat for the other. I think it would take us 2 days to get there (one to Minnesota or Michigan, one over to Isle Royale).

Is that worth it? Does it feel natural/wild by the lodge and at the accessible hikes? Any additional activities we could do?

FWIW I am leaning against given the above but having a hard time convincing them.

Looked through and searched this sub but didn’t see this question recently here, apologies if I am repeating!

We're going to be backpacking the island next week and arriving at Moskey basin on Friday. We plan on staying at Moskey for an extended 3 nights of relaxation before continuing on. What are our chances of snagging a shelter there?