Day 8
From Todd Harbor we were back on Minong Ridge Trail in no time – this section has a series of open rocky tops with great viewpoints, just a few steps from the trail. It was slow going as we made many stops, sunny day and good visibility made it really good experience. Tasty wild strawberries = more stops. Forest in this part of the island is dominated by conifers. Signs of moose feasts everywhere. We walked down side trail to long defunct Minong Mine (people were digging here for copper nuggets long time ago and in 19th century), spent an hour zig-zagging around the site. Interesting – different experience. We had no problem finding nicely located shelter at McCargoe Cove, not too many people around. A group of scouts running amok collecting firewood, quiet after dinner.
On Minong Ridge Trail between Hatchet Lake and McCargoe Cove
On Minong Ridge Trail between Hatchet Lake and McCargoe Cove, above Otter and Beaver Lakes
Day 9
We heard a lot about wet/muddy trails and wetlands difficult to cross, from rangers and other hikers. In some cases caused by beavers flooding the valleys. We saw what they can accomplish on Hatchet Lake Trail. We were warned about possible problems especially near Chickenbone Lake, as we were crossing the island from McCargoe Cove to Moskey Basin.. The difficulties never materialized. Yes trails were muddy in places, but not such a big deal. We were so ready to face the nature, that we followed ribbon-marked detour on approach to Chickenbone Lake campground (Chickenbone Lake inlet) and crossed the marsh without even checking the bridge and connecting boardwalks which we were told were flooded. Yes, everything had already been repaired. No losses though. The day passed on walking from lake to lake, crossing some wetlands and hopping over small ridges separating lakes. We saw many portage points and thought it would be nice to come back with canoe or kayaks (saw a few people with canoes). Lake Richie looked really attractive, but experienced cyanobacteria bloom at the time (no other lakes were affected). Clouds and few raindrops in late afternoon made us walk faster with hope of finding a shelter at Moskey Basin. We had a few choices, but everything got occupied by the end of the day. We had nice spot with “private” rocky peninsula overlooking the “harbor”. We ate dinner there waiting for sunset, when we noticed multiple river otters swimming towards the dock (family of five it turned out). We walked over quickly enough to see some of them up close. We could hear the youngsters talking an eating fish under the dock planks. The biggest otter stayed behind for an hour and we could see it popping-up in different spots of the bay.
Moskey Harbor