Isle Royale, day 4 & 5: Windigo to South Desor Lake

Day 4

First day of hiking. After late start just as we were getting on Greenstone Ridge Trail, drizzle and light rain came for a couple of hours. Not too bad. The forest was very green, quiet and quite wet, no open vistas. The trail is easy, sloping up gently at the beginning,  but our backpacks were quite heavy because of all the food for 8 days. We took lunch break near Sugar Mountain and arrived at Island Mine campground quite late. We had companion at three other campsites. Small stream just behind campground was a good water source. Just as we were unpacking our food for dinner, a very shy fox stopped by (visited all campsites). We cooked dinner trying new recipes. All wood was wet after the rain, but we managed to start small camp fire. There was a lot of aluminum foil at the bottom of the fire pit, the only complaint we had during the entire hike, as the park was otherwise very clean.

Day 5

Luckily the rain never returned. We continued on Greenstone Ridge Trail, through forest and later on rocky top of the ridge. Views towards the west started to open, South Desor Lake and Lake Superior. Perfect weather. Again the trail was easy, even the last stretch to campground on Desor Lake by some described as somewhat difficult (?). We had  isolated site, a bit higher up above the lake with nice view and easy access to the lake. There always were tent sites available on all campgrounds we visited, most quite large and well spaced, clean with easy access to water/lakes. We worried about availability as we usually arrive at campgrounds quite late, we start late and move slowly. There were fewer hikers than we anticipated. The first two hiking days passed quickly, on uneventful side, which was OK as we needed time to relax.

Isle Royale, day 1-3: Chicago to Porcupine Lake Wilderness (WI) to Windigo

After frantic packing and long drive we arrived at dusk at Two Lakes (Bass and Owen) campground (recommended) in Chequamegon–Nicolet National Forest, north Wisconsin. We had a nice spot on Bass Lake. Next morning, we walked a short loop through the forest to Porcupine Lake from a small parking spot on Porcupine Rd. We were swarmed by mosquitoes all the way. Permethrin treated outer layer cloth, DEET, picaridin and mosquito nets helped somewhat. At some point we met North Country Trail (one of our favorites) which we hiked a bit in Michigan in previous years. With car packed in the morning, we took a short break for picnic at Lake Owen and drove the rest of the day to Grand Portage (Marina). We stopped at Northwest Outlet in Superior WI to buy water filter (somehow misplaced ours). The weather was not looking too good: rain and cold. We slept both nights in our car converted to “camper” (more about it some other time).

Lake Porcupine loop and short drive to Lake Owen picnic area

Click on wikiloc logo for more info

 
Morning was even less promising: cold, wet and foggy. We left our car in parking lot next to the ferry dock and were the first ready to board. We checked-in our backpacks, walking sticks and fuel and took seats outside in the back of the ferry. We had warm cloths, rain ponchos plus food and some other stuff we needed only in Windigo packed in shopping bags. The ferry was full. The sailing was uneventful, in quite dense fog. We had the briefing with ranger, picked up a permit and were ready to go. Washington Creek campground looked rather full, but we went to shelter #1 and got lucky: the group staying there the previous night just finished packing and was about to leave. The shelter has nice location and view on the creek. By the time we settled, the fog disappeared and we had nice, sunny rest of the day: a relaxing walk on Feldman trail to Grace Creek overlook, with stops on the way back to see moose exclosure exhibition, Windigo docks and the store (we used electrical outlet there to charge batteries). The trail was beautiful with many wildflowers and great views from overlook. We heard a moose in the background in the afternoon and got to see it in early evening. The night was quiet, cold, no rain.

Illinois & Michigan Canal Trail

On March 20 we walked 13 km (return) from McKinley Woods to Moose Island on I&MC trail along Des Plaines River. Not too many signs of spring yet. Beaver at work, squirrels, waterfowl, and what looked from distance like hawk and couple of eagles.

Returned on May 9 to walk 11.5 km (return) west from McKinley Woods past Dresden Island lock. Got a good look at muskrats, wild turkeys, turkey vultures, egrets, geese. We did not see any orioles, but bird-watcher drew our attention to their song coming from the forest.

Illinois Forest Preserves

January 18, April 5 and May 2

Sag Valley Forest Preserve. Two loops in Teason’s Woods: 5.5 km in January, 9.5 km in April  (recommended ) and another 12 km loop in May. Walking for a while on unmarked trails cutting across woods and prairie.

Sag Valley and Palos Forest Preserves trail maps

☞ Our 9.5 km Teason’s Woods trail on wikiloc
☞ Our 5.5 km Teason’s Woods trail on wikiloc
☞ Sag Valley Forest Preserve trail map
☞ Palos Forest Preserve trail maps

 

April 5

December 2

Palos Forest Preserve: Maple Lake East-Pulaski Woods East and South.

October 22

Palos Forest Preserve: Spears Woods.

August 18

Herrick Lake and Danada Forest Preserves: Danada-Herrick Lake, Green Heron and Bluebird trails.

Herrick Lake and Danada Forest Preserves trail maps

☞ Herrick Lake trail map
☞ Danda Forest trail map

 

August 4

Palos Forest Preserve: west of Wolf Rd, Bullfrog Lake, Tomahawk Slough.

John Muir Trail (cancelled in 2020)

JMT second try – we have permit for the hike from Mono/Parker Pass trailhead to Whitney Portal starting late July 2021. Still working on alternative entry trailhead: we prefer to  start from Lyell Canyon trailhead and perhaps changing from linear hike to a loop. The trail trace is 310 km, but including side resupply trips we will hike around 350 km. We plan on driving from Chicago. We have a month to enjoy the hike.

 

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