193 Hours on One Wild Isle

I’m not going to lie, this trip had a lot of tests for us.  Physical, mental, and emotional.

Dock at McCargo Cove.  This is where our trip officially started.

 

Overlook of Lake Desor we had passed the previous day.

 

We were dropped off in McCargo Cove by the Voyager II ferry on June 4th at 1:00 P.M. and picked up at the Windigo dock at 2:00 P.M. on June 11th.

Day 1 and smiling.

That’s 8 days and 1 hour on a very large and mostly deserted island without communication with the outside world.  On 5 of those days it rained, and every day was different.  We rarely saw people outside of the campgrounds, and some of them had been out there longer than us.

 

There’s a trail there, I think?

 

Our original plan was to follow the Minong Ridge from McCargo Cove to Huginnin Cove but the weather wasn’t cooperating with us.  After talking to a few people that had, it’s probably better that we didn’t.  And you know what?  That doesn’t bother me one bit, because we’ll be back and we’ve still only covered less than a third of the island in the 3 trips we’ve made there.

Ice in Minong Mine

To top things off, there was still ice on the island, but on the plus side the biting flies still weren’t out yet.

 

On the ferry ride out.  There’s still ice on the North Shore too.

 

The important thing is that we’ll be back.  If after 3 trips the island hasn’t scared you away then I don’t think it will.

 

Largest spider of our trip, ~5″ across.

 

Nope, we’ll be back.  There’s still a lot of the island to see and there’s a lot of history to learn about.

Some days it was tough to find a place to write.

A few quick stats about our trip:
Days on the island: 8
Rain Days: 5
Miles Hiked: 49
Steps: ~145,000
Moose seen: 0 of ~1,400
Wolves seen: 1 of 2
Mosquitoes swatted: too many to count
Average Overnight Low: 43°F
Average daytime high: 56°F

The Gray Jays watch your every move.  As cute as they are, don’t let them near your stuff.

Some things not to forget next trip: rain pants, spare boot laces, hiking poles.

Important things to remember that made the trip more enjoyable: tortillas, summer sausage, and dried fruits.

Yes Isle Royale, we’ll be back again.  You have many nooks and crannies for us to explore yet.

Day 7, still laughing and happy despite all the rain and the smell…

Loons calling on Lake Desor at sunset.

There’s a lot of history to learn about as well, and I’m looking forward to it.  I can’t imagine what it was like for the families that lived out here full time without access to the outside world up to 6 months out of the year.

This boat has seen better days.

 

Rock of Ages Lighthouse, the first and last thing you see on the island if you take the ferry from Grand Portage.

 

We’ll be back IsRo, but we won’t wait so long to return next time.