Hiking on Isle Royale

Random Memories of a 70-Year-Old Rambler

By Chet Anderson (aka Gray Ghost)

June 12th to June 27th, 2012

Journals, photos, and more available at: http://www.grayghost.info

caa54024@yahoo.com

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Last winter (2011-12), I went to a presentation at an REI store. The talk was about the Superior

Hiking Trail, which I planned on hiking in the fall of 2012. While there I saw a poster for

volunteering on Isle Royale. We would be repairing artist-in-resident buildings. If accepted, an

applicant would make a $50.00 donation to the Isle Royale and Keweenaw Parks Association

Historic Preservation Fund and pay $200.00 for food for the 9 days. After looking into it, I filled

out a very interesting application/questionnaire from John Dunn, the leader and organizer of

these groups. The questions asked were about types of work experience and use of hand tools.

It also asked brands, age, and condition of my backpacking gear. I believe that information

helped leader John decide if you were comfortable living and working outdoors. I thought I had

a decent chance of being selected because of my gear list and varied jobs through life. My one

worry was that filling out that information indicated that I had reached a mature age. Another

requirement was that an applicant’s backpack or duffel bag does not exceed 6500 cubic inches;

at 3900 cubic inch my backpack was great.

Isle Royale was a mystical place for me. I knew very little about it. I was aware of the moose and

wolves that were on the island, and that their populations had fluctuated greatly through the

years, with few or no new genes coming from the mainland. I had never thought about going

there. When I saw the poster at REI my desires changed. The idea of volunteering and living on

Isle Royale for a short time seemed like the chance of a lifetime.

I was lucky to be selected and offered a spot with the second group. John has two sessions:

one was June 12-19 the other was June 19-27. There were about six people in each group. The

National Park Service provided the volunteers with a ride on their Ranger III Park Service boat

departing from Houghton, Michigan. The only problem was that it was a six-hour boat ride. I

don’t think I will be booking any cruises; the novelty wore off soon and it was just a long ride to

the island.

After being notified that I had

been selected to join the second

group, I asked John if it was

possible to either go early or to

stay after my week of

volunteering to do some

backpacking on the island. John

was able to arrange for me to ride

out on the Ranger III with the first

group and then I could hike until

my group was scheduled to start.

Ranger III

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Isle Royale

Isle Royale is an island archipelago located in northwestern Lake Superior, approximately 13 miles to the closest point of Ontario, Canada, and 18 miles to Minnesota. The main island of Isle Royale is 45 miles long and nine miles wide at its widest point. It has an area totaling 210 square miles, and has approximately 200 smaller islands scattered about the periphery of the island. The main island has 83 lakes in its interior, and a number of smaller ponds. Isle Royale’s topography is characterized by ridge and swale contours that are oriented southwest northeast, along the lines of uplifted geological features. The highest elevation on the island is Mt. Desor, which is 794 feet above Lake Superior, and 1,394 feet above sea level (Franks 1999, II-III).

…

After I had arranged time for backpacking on the island, I ordered a map and a book describing

the trails on the island. There are two longer trails that run the length of the island: the

Greenstone Ridge Trail is 40 miles long, and the Minong Ridge Trail is 25 miles long (both

figures approximate). With numerous loop, spur or other trails, there are around 165 miles of

foot paths on the island.

6-12-2012, 8.1 miles for the day. I camped at Daisy Farm.

It was 54 degrees at 9:00 pm.

The Ranger III left Houghton for Rock Harbor at 9:00 am. It was 3:40 pm by the time they had

unloaded my backpack and box and I was able to start hiking from Rock Harbor. I had a box

with some work clothes, for which I thought I would incur storage fees while I was hiking. John

offered to take it out to the work site and hold it until I was done hiking. That made it much

quicker and easier (and cheaper) for me to start hiking.

At the Isle Royale visitor center in Houghton they said the Minong Ridge Trail was closed

because of a fire. This was going to be a disappointment because that was the trail I was most

looking forward to. On the Ranger III the purser gave out the permits for hiking and he said that

the Minong Ridge Trail had been opened. The fire wasn’t very large but it took some time to

send someone out to see what the conditions were and to approve the opening of the trail.

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My information said the Minong Ridge Trail was the least used and had some of the best views.

That was where I was naturally drawn; it also indicated that it was the hardest to follow. I

wanted to explore as much of the island as possible while I was on it. My plan was to hike the

Minong Ridge Trail to Windigo. Then depending on how long that took me I would do more

hiking or make a push back to Rock Harbor to

start working. I was able to reach Daisy Farm

via Tobin Harbor trail 8.1 miles with a short

side trip to Suzy’s Cave. Suzy’s Cave is a rock

formation that was formed by waves when the

lake was much higher. There were 15 shelters

at the campground but they all had permits

hanging on the doors so I used my tent. I’m

not sure where everyone was because I saw

only two other people.

6-13-2012, 5:40 am 45.5 degree

15.1 miles for the day. I Camped at Todd Harbor.

70 degrees at noon

I saw a wolf at 6:54 am on Daisy Farm trail just before the junction with the Greenstone Ridge

Trail. It was crossing a rock outcropping with just some scattered low brush. Even with a fairly

open view I still only saw parts of it. If it had happened around home I couldn’t have said

whether I saw a wolf, dog, or coyote but on Isle Royale there was no other possibility. The wolf

population is down to nine with two females. Three wolves died last winter by falling into an

old mine pit. This is the lowest the wolf count has been on the island in all the years they have

been studied. I did bring my trekking poles with me but I just left them in my pack hoping to be

quieter and see more wildlife. It worked!

I saw lots of variety during the day: many different flowers and birds. There are many remnants

on the island from the copper mining that had gone on

even before the Europeans had tried in the 1800s. I

came across quite a pile of equipment on a ridge with

no one around. I think somebody was portaging. There

were paddles and what looked like rubber rafts; that

made sense. But four 2”x6”x8’ foot planks duct taped in

pairs and some black plastic pipe cut in half lengthwise

didn’t lend themselves to any explanation.

I had the shelter and campground to myself at Todd

Harbor. The shelters are very impressive; they are Adirondack style and all have screen fronts

and a screen door and they are quite large with wood floors.

Suzy’s Cave

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I had a great view of the sunset looking out over Todd Harbor. I had wondered about hours of

daylight on Isle Royale and found that the island had 20 minutes more daylight than St. Croix

Falls on June 13. With sunset at 9:55 pm and sunrise at 5:22 am, that meant 15 hours 58

minutes of good hiking light. That was more daylight than I had energy for!

60 degrees 10:00 pm

6-14-2012, 22.8 miles for the day I camped at Washington Creek (Windigo). 6:00 am, 55.4 degrees It was 64 degrees at noon overcast and windy with speeds from 25-30 knots. 74 degrees at 4:30 pm, wind quit I saw a bull moose at 7:32 am on a wooded stretch on Minong Ridge Trail, and I was able to take two poor quality pictures. The moose population is estimated to be at 750. This is an increase from 2006 when they had a record low of 400 moose. I saw my first Snowshoe hare on the island at 8:22 am-again, two poor quality pictures. I went 30 hours without seeing anyone from before Todd Harbor until Windigo. My information warned that the Minong Ridge Trail could be hard to find but I found it was very easy and the nicest one in the park with many views to the north and west to Canada and Minnesota. In the

morning I came to a log over a small stream with two snakes sunning themselves; one was a Garter Snake and the other was about the same size and brown. I was able to take a picture of them before they left. Near Windigo the trail went too close to a Goshawk nest. The Goshawk was loudly aggressive and it continually scolded me as I walked by. It even dove on me a few times, taking my cap off and drawing blood on the back of my head on one dive. I had put a bandana on a stick and held it above my head to divert it, but it was smarter than that.

I had a shelter to myself at Windigo. Actually I had the whole campground to myself. I didn’t reach Windigo until 7:00 pm and the store was closed. Sadly there would be no hot food for me that night! It started to rain about 8:30 pm, so I was glad to be all settled and dry in the shelter by then. I saw a few Snowshoe Hares at the Windigo campsite area. I saw more Snowshoe Hares around the developed areas than I did in the Interior of the island. I wonder if that was because they had some protection from wolves in the developed areas or if they were less afraid of humans and easier to see. Doing some research I found that the main predator for Snowshoe Hares is the Red Fox on Isle Royale. This leads me to suspect they were accustomed to humans, because the Red Fox are said to be common scavengers at most of the camp sites. The Red Fox was the one animal that I thought I would be sure to see, but it never happened. Different times when we were at Rock Harbor others were seeing them, but I did not. It was 55.8 degrees at 9:00 pm.

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6-15-2012, 19.3 miles for the day, I camped at Hatchet Lake. 58 degrees at 8:00 am, quiet and overcast. I had to wait until 9:00 am for Windigo store to open. The Park Visitor Center opened at 8:00 am they wanted details of my wolf sighting and the two turtle nests that I had seen predated along the trail. I asked them about snakes on the island and they said there were only two: Garter Snakes and Red Bellied Snakes. I thought, “Wow, two species and I have them both in one photo.” No such luck; there are many color variations of the Garter Snake. When I showed them my picture they said it was two Garter Snakes; oh well. When planning my trip I had tried to find out what the store at Windigo stocked but didn’t have much luck. I was able to find that they carried a few food items and sold sandwiches. I have quit carrying a stove so I was glad to see they had pizza: that and a quart of milk made a nice breakfast. I bought a sandwich and an 8 oz. salami for later. I finally started hiking at 10:44 am. The sun came out at 11:00 am. I reached Island Mine Trail junction at 1:07 pm. A sign said it was 6.5 miles back to Windigo. This means I hiked 6.5 miles in two hours and 22 minutes. This was much better than my usual pace. Leaving Windigo, the Greenstone Ridge Trail was a very easy trail, flat and wide with a gradual climb and more deciduous trees than I had seen so far on the island. I met 4 hikers between Windigo and Island Mine junction, but nobody after that. 64.2 degrees at 9:00 pm 6-16-2012, 22.1 miles for the day I camped at Lane Cove. 5:30 am 51.9 degrees and some clouds no wind Sunny and 71.6 degrees at noon There are a lot of Canadian Tiger Swallowtail butterflies on the island. They were quite common

on Hawkweed flowers that grew in most of the open areas. I saw my first three hikers at noon, and four more between East Chickenbone Lake and Mount Ojibway tower, a distance of 5.7 miles. This made another stretch of 23 hours and not seeing another person. I met a couple at the trail junction for Lane Cove trail. She looked completely worn out. I would have liked to have taken a picture of her but thought I better not. I did voice some concern for her but her male hiking partner

said she was just fine. There are no shelters at Lane Cove so I used my tent for the second time. It started to rain at 9:50 pm; this was the third evening of rain; the first one I spent in a tent, and the other two in shelters.

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6-17-2012, 15.6 miles for the day I camped at Rock Harbor. 5:40 am 55.6 degrees slight wind and clear. The 4.9 miles of trail from the Lane Cove junction east to Lookout Louise has so much wet foliage (from rain and dew), that even though my boots are watertight they filled with water coming through my pants. It did not dry off even by noon when I reached Rock Harbor, which was the end of my trip. Very few hikers use that section of the Greenstone Ridge Trail because it is just out and back. You can get a boat ride and walk up one mile to see it. This is what I did two days later for a second look when I joined the first group of John’s volunteers. Sometimes you can't see your feet for the Thimbleberries and other brush. This was my worst day. I was wet almost to my waist; all the other mornings it was only to my knees. They do a good job of clearing down trees on Isle Royale; but there is not enough staff for much other trail work. I heard they used to have 12 workers on the trail crew; now they have four. One nice pleasure was watching a Horned Owl as l walked by. After reaching Rock Harbor about noon I enjoyed the Island Catch Panini for lunch. Then it was time for shower and laundry. Next was dinner, and my choice was the Island Catch Panini again. I slept in a shelter at the Rock Harbor campground. 54.7 degrees at 8:00 pm 6-18-2012, 53.2 degrees at 7:30 am. There was lots of rain last night, and some fog in the morning which cleared off by 8:00 am, leaving the morning nice and sunny, though more was in rain in the forecast for the day. I met

Bob Guiliani at breakfast; he was leading a photo workshop on Isle Royale and knows John Dunn. He said that his group would walk out to our work site for a visit the next day. Having made better time than I allowed for, I was a day early for my volunteering. I took a leisurely walk out to Scoville Point and joined John and the first crew. John said I could sleep in the Stack-Wolbrink cabin on Minong Island. That was great: much drier, roomier and nicer than my tent. Stack-Wolbrink Cabin and the Whiskey Jack

View from Lookout Louise

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The Stack-Wolbrink cabin was like living in a museum: everything was left from the last residents and that appeared to have been in the nineteen thirties. I had a crockery wash basin, pitcher and chamber pot next to my bed. There were kerosene lamps, treadle sewing machine, icebox and a floor model radio. We were allowed to sleep there but instructed not to move the other things; it had all been inventoried by John’s wife for the park service. Jerry also slept there. We were provided a canoe to commute to the main island and the Dassler cabin where we had our meals and organized our plans for the day. After breakfast and washing dishes we would listen to the Island weather report by two-way radio; it was first given in MAFOR form, then in plain English. 6-19-2012, 56.7 degrees at 6:00 am in the bedroom of Stack-Wolbrink cabin. Looks like it will be sunny with some wind. With the cook and the first crew, Grace, Bob, Alan, I went by boat (the Whiskey Jack) over to a dock that has a trail to Lookout Louise. That evening the new crew came in: Mary, Mike, Larry, Jerry, and Charlie. It rained in the afternoon. 50.7 degrees at 8:30 pm 6-20-2012, 59.2 degrees at 6:30 am in the bedroom of Stack-Wolbrink cabin; it rained all night with lightning.

Rain continued most of the day. I helped Mike and Larry build a water jug stand and most of one bed. We have to filter Lake Superior water or haul it from Rock Harbor with the Whiskey Jack. John has a few water jugs to transport water and the stand was made to store them and make it easier to use water from the jugs. I used the canoe to haul firewood from Minong Island to the Dassler cabin. 57 degrees at 9:00 pm

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6-21-2012, 58.5 degrees at 7:00 am. It rained well into the night. Forecast good for next four days. We hauled two loads of junk to Rock Harbor with the Whisky Jack (the work-boat that the park loans to John), and also scraped windows in the afternoon on Stack-Wolbrink cabin. We went to an evening presentation on animals that shaped Isle Royale. Alan showed me the Devil’s Club at Rock Harbor-a thorny plant that grows out west but only a small remnant population on a couple of other islands nearby, and maybe only that one plant on Isle Royale. 59.4 degrees at 10:30 pm.

Devils Club

6-22-2012, 59.2 degrees at 6:00 am inside cabin. 50.5 degrees outside, at 7:30 am. It was a nice day. We scraped and painted trim on Stack-Wolbrink cabin. In the evening we went to Rock Harbor for a presentation on the “Geology of Isle Royale and Lake Superior.” 51.3 degrees at 10:00 pm 6-23-2012, 53.1 degrees at 7:00 am, sunny and still. Finished scraping and painting window trim on Stack-Wolbrink cabin. Scraped and painted Dassler sleeping cabin. We went to an evening talk on plans the Canadians are working on a sustainable management plan to protect a large area of drainages into Lake Superior on their side of the border. 6-24-2012, 55.6 degrees at 7:10 am. We scraped and painted at the Kemmer cabin and its sleeping cabin. We quit early and took the afternoon off so we could go to Rock Harbor for showers and ice-cream bars. 6-25-2012, 55.2 degrees at 7:10 am. Sunny with light wind. In the morning we scraped and painted at the Kemmer cabin. In the afternoon I scraped and painted the door on Stack-Wolbrink cabin (our sleeping cabin). I painted it a soft yellow. John thought it was fine, but to me on a gray cabin with green trim the yellow door really stands out when viewed from the water. 73.8 degrees at 5:00 pm.

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6-26-2012, I lost my thermometer. I usually hang it in a tree with shade for accurate temp. I could not find it after dinner. I’m not sure where I hung it but John found it and sent it back to me after I returned home. We had the day off. Mary, Larry, Jerry, Mike and I went up to Mount Franklin were you can see north to Canada, and on the way up you get a view of Lake Superior and the south side of the island. John treated us to dinner at Rock Harbor. I had the Island Catch Panini for the third time. Then we went to a presentation on the wolves and moose of Isle Royale. Three of us slept at the shelters in Rock Harbor so that the Whisky Jack only needed to make one trip in the morning. This made it easier to board the Ranger III in the morning for the six hour ride back to Houlton Michigan.

Summary I found it a unique place; there are a very limited number of species. If they can’t fly or swim, they may not be there. For example, there are only two snakes: garter and red bellied, and two small rodents: deer mouse and red-backed vole. No grouse of any kind. The wolf numbers are down to a historic low at 9, and there are 750 moose. I enjoyed my time on the island and plan on returning and hiking all the trails I missed. I figure that it will take at least another 100 miles of hiking to connect the rest of the trails.