641-831-0186
Photography, Audio and Acoustical Solutions, Telecommunications

Isle Royale Michigan, Adventures in Rain

Located in the Northwestern part of Lake Superior is collection of islands known as Isle Royale and is under control of the National Park Service, managed for recreational purposes. Isle Royale is mostly one large island with many small islets, coves, streams and inland lakes and an occasional harbor. Access to the island is by boat or float plane and the passenger ferries are the primary means of transportation to the island. The only vehicles on the island are service vehicles used right around the harbors and have little to no use beyond those areas. Hiking trails are the means of exploring the main island and canoeing is a popular option on the eastern half where there are many lakes, portages and safe waters to explore.

In September of 2002, a friend and I spent five days on Isle Royale hiking and exploring the western side. The late-season timing of the trip was because of scheduling conflicts throughout the summer, the hatred of bugs and the desire to avoid as many people as possible. Isle Royale gets around 30,000 visitors every year, with the majority of them during July and August. We managed to avoid the masses, thereby making for quiet hiking and easy availability of camping sites. An added benefit of our timing was that the colors were starting to change providing nice color contrasts for photography. We arrived in Grand Portage, Minnesota on the Sunday of Labor-Day weekend. This meant that we probably would get just one night of high-density population to deal with. As it turned out, it was a brilliant plan. Unfortunately, I came down with flu symptoms the morning of our departure and by the time the ferry docked on the Island, I had a headache that almost drove me overboard. Wouldn't have been too difficult since the waves were running about six to eight feet and the boat rolled so much that the railings were going under the waves. At some point I did find a place to hide out that gave me plenty of fresh air and was only moderately wet. Sickness bothered me for almost the entire week, but managed to enjoy the trip regardless.

The original plans were to start hiking once we docked in Windigo, but we both were feeling punky and I was in no shape to carry my pack farther than I had too.  Oh, did I mention that it was raining? We camped out in a shelter at the nearby campground and watched the moose travel by in stream just feet from us. Once the sun started up we packed up and hiked towards Feldtmann Lake. The hike was fine, except that my strength was at about 25%.  That made for an awful hike and I was utterly exhausted when we arrived. We setup camp, and I grabbed a book to read down at the beach on the little inland lake. It was nice, but my head still hurt like a vice was clamped down on it and Hercules was turning the crank.  In about an hour it started to rain. We dove into the tent and rode out a torrential rainstorm that didn't let up until morning.

The sun broke out into a jaw-dropping sunrise. It was one of the most beautiful I've ever seen. The hike to Siskiwit Bay was beautiful. The trail goes uphill to Feldtmann Ridge and stays up near the ridgeline for about eight miles. The last mile is almost entirely downhill, providing a nice relaxing cruise for the last part of the day's hike. On this segment, the trail passes through photogenic forests and meadows. Around the halfway point we found a tiny waterfall and a rock outcropping. Placed on a rather large boulder was a lone moose antler.

That evening at Siskiwit Bay, we were treated to a very nice sunset. The skies were changing rapidly and I had to work fast. I shot more film in one hour than I did the rest of the trip! After the skies finally muted and the afterglow was pretty well gone, I returned to the campsite. We sat down and ate some supper, but almost jumped out of our skin when a huge bull moose passed about 10 or 15 feet away. We felt his footsteps through our shoes before we saw him. This dude was big! I wasn't sure what his disposition was, but I almost dove under the picnic table. His muscles rippled. Obviously, we were no match for this moose and were glad that he continued on, but awed by his shear mass and the experience of seeing him up so close.

We decided to make the next day a short one. I was exhausted and still feeling pretty sick. We ventured as far as Island Mine. This was the first opportunity for us to have a campfire, so after scrounging through all of the sites we found enough wood for a couple hours of smoke inhalation. The gnats and skeeters found us and so did the rain. The rest of the evening was spent in the tent listening to thunder echoing off the ridgelines.

The next morning started off dry. The rain had stopped, we packed up, ate breakfast and just as we were about to leave the rain started up again. Notice a theme, here? The night before, I cleaned out a couple pounds worth of uneaten food. No need to carry it if I wasn't going to eat it. In the fire it went. Wasn't much, but it did lighten the load to where it needed to be. Neither one of us was feeling well and we were rather tired of the rain, so we headed back to Windigo and grabbed a shelter to stay in. On the hike back, he went ahead and I took my time taking pictures along the way. Within a couple miles of Windigo the fog had settled in and provided terrific lighting for photography. Unfortunately, my backpack decided to fail about that time, requiring major repairs with string, straps and duct-tape.

That evening, I loaded up the OM-4 with Ilford Delta 400 pushed to 1600 and went moose hunting. Down by the boat docks an adult female was submerged except for a small spot on her back and her head whenever she came up for air. I shot a roll of film on her, but ended up violating her circle of comfort. I dove behind a rack of canoes and waited for her to mosey on up the hill.

The next morning, I did a day-hike to to the north shore. Traveling light, I had a bottle of water, a granola bar, two extra rolls of film and my Olympus XA stowed in a fanny-pack. It was a very pleasant hike and I was enjoying the freedom of not carrying a backpack. My only regret was not packing my SLR and more water.

The return trip was very nice. The sun was shining and Lake Superior was unusually smooth. Our first order of business upon returning to the mainland was dining on big juicy steaks. The thought of these steaks at the end of our journey helped with the eating of backpacking food.  Didn't make the freeze dried stuff taste any better, though.

I highly recommend Isle Royale for those seeking a respite from the "Disneyland crowd". The photographic opportunities are many and you have the option of traveling via trail or water. I plan on returning in a couple years to explore the eastern half.