We are ready to go, from Lyell Canyon trailhead to Whitney Portal starting next week. The logistics is quite different from our other hikes: we had to send food to three resupply points, quite a bit of extra planning what to pack. Calories per gram matter, only meals easy and fast to prepare (no boiling). Our packages will wait for us. We need to buy fuel and we will be able to purchase some food for the days at resupply stops. We are learning how to pack lighter and lighter. Location of the resupply points also dictated hiking plan. We will have four sections: 5, 7, 10 and 7 days. Heavier load (food) at the beginning of each one.
We will drive to Yosemite camping on the way, but will stay in hotel in Lee Vining to get good rest and shower, and dinner. We will leave the car near the start (Lee Vining or Tuolumne Meadow) and will use public buses to get back to it from Lone Pine after the hike.
The trail is very well established and we do not anticipate any navigation problems. We spaced campsites evenly as much as possible to get a steady pace: 12 km and 500m total ascent each day on average. Plus one full rest day. But the plan is flexible. There are many camping options and we will make some days shorter and some longer as needed. We are not in a hurry and will go slow. 30 days, 350 km, 14500 m total ascent. No cellular signal most of the time.
We are back from 12-day trip to Isle Royale NP with two stops in Wisconsin to visit Porcupine Lake Wilderness and Pattison State Park on the way in and out, respectively. We hiked 46.5 miles (1400m total ascent) in 8 days on the main trail from Windigo to Chippewa Harbor, and walked locally some 27 miles more.
We were very lucky with the weather on Isle Royale, mostly sunny with rain just on the first day of hiking. Temperature was as expected. Daytime hiking temps: up to 17-32°C, Island Mine to S Lake Desor day was the hottest. Sleeping temps: down to 8-17°C, Windigo and Chippewa Harbor nights were the coldest, S Lake Desor and Hatchet Lake nights were the warmest. Rain: 30 min. drizzles followed by 1.5 h continuous rain, Windigo to Island Mine and very short drizzle at Moskey Basin. It was rainy and rather cold in Minnesota on the way in and out. We were surprised by low numbers of mosquitoes and flies in most places, nothing comparing to Porcupine Lake Wilderness where we were swarmed by mosquitoes all the way on the trail to Porcupine Lake, Pattison Park was not bad in this respect.
All the trails were in good shape and easy, pretty much flat, and not as muddy/wet as rangers and hikers were warning us. We only had to cross one beaver dam. Mud on the trails away from the inland lakes/wetlands was already somewhat dry after several days without substantial rain, although it was quite wet on Indian Portage trail along Chickenbone Lake and to Chippewa Harbor. No problems with navigation, as we mostly stayed on the main trails. There were fewer people around than we anticipated and we had no problems finding a place to park for the night. We slept 4 nights in shelters and 4 in tent. No problems sourcing water, except for Lake Richie which experienced cyanobacteria contamination. With no bears around logistics becomes easier. The park is very clean, including all campgrounds. It was all pretty much easy going.
Isle Royale 2021 itinerary
June
10
Thu
Two Lakes
Chicago ➜ (Subaru, 440 mi) ➜ Porcupine Lake Wilderness WI [@ Two Lakes site #61]
11
Fri
Porcupine Lake Wilderness
Porcupine Lake Wilderness ➜ walk3.6 mi to Porcupine Lake ➜ (Subaru, 220 mi) ➜ Grand Portage MN [@ Grand Portage Marinasite #3]
12
Sat
Isle Royale
Grand Portage ➜ (Sea Hunter III, 8:30 am-10 am) ➜ Windigo MI, walk 0.5 mi to camp site, 5.7 mi to Grace Creek Overlook and Moose Exclosure [@ Washington Creek shelter #1]
13
Sun
Isle Royale
Hike 6.6 mi ➜ [@ Island Mine individual #3]
14
Mon
Isle Royale
Hike 5.5 mi ➜ [@ S Lake Desor individual#6]
15
Tue
Isle Royale
Hike 8.1mi ➜ [@ Hatchet Lake group #1]
16
Wed
Isle Royale
Hike 3.9mi ➜ [@ Todd Harbor individual #6]
17
Thu
Isle Royale
Hike 6.7mi ➜ [@ McCargoe Cove shelter #4]
18
Fri
Isle Royale
Hike 8.4 mi ➜ [@ Moskey Basin shelter #1]
19
Sat
Isle Royale
Hike 6.1 mi ➜Chippewa Harbor ➜ walk 4 mi around Chippewa Harbor [@ Chippewa Harbor shelter #2]
20
Sun
Pattison Park
Walk 0.1 mi to dock Chippewa Harbor MI ➜ (Voyageur II, 9 am-3 pm ➜ Grand Portage ➜ (Subaru, 170 mi) ➜ Pattison State Park WI [@ Pattison State Park site #22]
21
Mon
Chicago
Pattison State Park ➜ walk 4 mi around Big and Little Manitou Falls ➜ (Subaru, 470 mi) ➜ Chicago
We changed our cooking strategy: we started using filtered water for all meals and hot drinks, heating water just to “bottom boil” (not extended rolling boil) to save fuel, adding all the ingredients (sometimes in certain order, not all at once) and letting the pot rest in a cozy for 10-15 min for all ingredients to rehydrate properly (none requires true cooking). We did some test cooking before the trip, trying to get the recipes right for our taste and then made adjustments on the go (we kept some ingredients separately). Our cozy, taped together pieces of recycled envelope used to deliver cold food, worked very well – everything remained warm for quite a while, comparing to “naked” titanium pot. We ended up with roughly 860 g of dry food per day for two. We were aiming at high calorie content.
DRINKS
filtered water
Sayer squeeze system
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tea
black tea/mint bags
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compote
lyophilized strawberries, pineapple, raspberries
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coffee
Nescafe, heavy cream powder, optional Nutella or sugar
We like our Big Agnes Seedhouse SL3 tent. It is for 3 persons, but works well for two, with extra space for backpacks. Not too heavy. Here it is at Hatchet Lake, from placing the tarp to drying out and packing next morning.
Isle Royale is a great palce for hiking, but for us this trip was also a prep and training for John Muir Trail we are starting in late July. Spent quite a bit of time and effort tinkering with packing lists, testing some new kit and refining food recipes, anything to bring the backpack weight down. 5 posts with more details and photos coming soon.
By the time we were making morning coffee everybody else had gone already. We had quiet Moskey Basin all for ourselves. Last hike on Isle Royale. We first walked back final stretch of the trail from previous day to easter tip of Lake Richie, and then down to Chippewa Harbor.  We spent an hour debating which shelter to take, 3 out of 4 were available when we arrived. We still had time to explore rocky coast of the bay beyond old fisherman’s house. On the way back to camp we followed short local trail to rocky hilltop with 360° view. We saw osprey coming back from fishing and later a couple of eagles flying by tree line on the other side of the bay. We started the following day earlier to be ready for ferry back to Grand Portage. Waiting at the dock we talked to other hikers and hungry visitor trying to catch fish from kayak for couple of days with no luck (he got some food from fellow hikers), and we got a brief sighting of lone common loon. We used good weather window to the max, clouds and rain returned as we arrived at Grand Portage. We drove to Wisconsin and camped at Pattison Park. Sleeping in our car helped – we did not have to pitch tent in the rain.
Chippewa Harbor
Day 11 & 12
Good sunny weather returned giving us opportunity to spend a few hours exploring Pattison Park WI, visiting  Manitou Falls area and walking a bit along Black River, crossing North Country Trail from time to time. Pretty relaxing end of our trip, before driving to Chicago.
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.
First, we walked over to the lake near group camp sites with better access to the lake (small beach) to get water for the day. Very calm. Then we continued on the Greenstone Ridge Trail. More open spaces and better views from the ridge top, but not without getting our shoes dirty somehow. We saw Hatchet lake, our next destination, between trees. Another day with sunny weather, bumping up and down the hills. The views are getting better, more open.
South Desor Lake
Greenstone Ridge
Day 7
Beaver Day ! We started  walking along Hatchet Lake and then on Hatchet Lake Trail to Minong Ridge Trail.  This is serious beaver country, with many dams rising water level and in places blocking trails. Beavers migrate from place to place to build new homes. We encountered beaver pond and damaged/submerged trail boards, but it was no too difficult to walk around the obstacles. We did not see beavers on this stretch, but we then arrived at very impressive/long dam and large pond. The trail disappeared. We watched for a while large beaver eating lunch, bark from partially submerged trees. With no easy way around, we had to cross the dam (directed by ribbons). Not as difficult as we initially imagined, still felt adventurous. The same beaver was patrolling the pond along the dam watching for any damage. We were extra careful not to cause any. A bit further,  we saw abandoned dams and ponds drained on another stream. It was a shorter hike and we arrived at Todd Harbor earlier. We picked the most remote camp site. The shelter was occupied. We made a quick hike pass Hogtown Mine to upper water falls, but decided not to cross the stream – the only way to get down to the water line to see the lower falls. With sun up and stones on the beach quite warm it was good place to rinse-refresh and quick dry some of our clothes (not really laundry without soap). We spent the rest of the day cooking dinner on the beach and watching sunset. It was the best day so far.