Written by: John Heneghan
Pictures are at:  http://community.webshots.com/album/148928346glkxzU

Got back fom the island Saturday night. My first early trip. I have allways wanted to go before the season got under way and this was the year.
I went up with my girlfriend Tricia, her 4th trip to the island and my friend Brian, his 1st and my 14th.
We left Chicago Sunday 5/23 after Brian got off work. Drove through rain and got up to Copper Harbor at 1:00 AM. We stayed at the Bella Vista. Woke up at 6:00 AM and went to the Pines for a light breakfast.
I had checked the Marine forecast Sunday. Gale force and higher winds were predicted with 10-14 ft waves. We lucked out with 4-6 ft seas with an occasional 8 ft wave. The ride over was rough with winds and waves out of the NE. We were rolling most of the way across. Quite a few people were hanging over the back. I felt sorry for those who were sick. A lot of the floor inside was taken up with people laying on the floor. As we got closer to the island and in its lee, the waves decreased. Everyone was happy to set foot on shore.

We went though the LNT orientation and then filled out our itinerary, a self registration process. We were on our way to Daisy Farm.
It was becoming sunny and the winds had died down so I quickly zipped my pant legs off and took my vest off. After a brief stop at 3 mile, we continued on to Daisy Farm. It was good to be hiking along Rock Harbor again as it had been 7 years since my last trip along there. Our last 2 trips were on the West end of the island. I noticed immediately the birch trees were just begining to bud. The visibilty towards the inland areas was much clearer with out the trees leafing out. Stopped for a few minutes at the mines. It would have been interesting to be on the island in the early 1900's/late 1800's.
Arrived at Daisy Farm and selected a shelter as there weren't many people there. Again I was impressed by the increased visibility from the absence of leaves. Many wildflowers were out. Went down to the dock to filter water. Spoke to a few of the people we shared the boat ride with who looked considerably better than they did on the boat.

Had a snack and rehydrated and proceeded to set up in the shelter.
The temperature had started to drop so we added layers and walked around the site to say hi to others who were on the boat. We ate dinner and went down to the dock to hang out and enjoy the views.
I was surprised at how light it was at 10:00 PM. We returned to the shelter and listened to the loons calling. How I love the sound. Went to sleep and slept soundly till about 3:30 AM when we were awakened by loons just offshore making a ruckess about something. It is eerie how off in the distance they can sounnd like the howl of a wolf.

Woke to the steady noise of rain on the roof. Had hot chocolate and oatmeal and crawled back into my bag to watch the day begin. As the rain continued we discussed our options and decided to wait out the rain. Read for a while as did Brian while Tricia caught up on her sleep. I had picked up a copy of One Man's Wilderness before coming out to the Island. Great read, I highly recommned it.
By the time the rain quit it was late and we opted to stay. Went up to Mt Ojibway to check out the tower. Great views on the way up and from the tower as the sky had started to clear. Hoped to see moose on the way up or back but did not happen. Nice views from the tower.
On the way down, I saw a Bald Eagle floating on the currents. Beautiful to watch. We got back to camp and cooked dinner and went out to the dock. There was another couple in a tandem kayak who were heading to Chippewa Harbor when the lake calmed down. Tricia saw a mink along the shore. Went to bed after watching a beautiful Rainbow make its appearence.

Got up early had pancakes and tea. Packed up and headed to Moskey Basin. Before leaving, Rolf Peterson showed up from across the bay. He was on his way to check on a moose kill up on the ridge. We chatted briefly as he was in a hurry. Nice fellow, kind of a bonus having attended a talk by L.David Mech a few weeks ago in Chicago.
The hike to Moskey was pleasant, comfortable temperatures and nice scenery. I had forgotten the ups and downs of traverseing the ridge.
I had remembered eventually dropping down of the ridge into a mature stand of Birch trees that were apparently the victim of the same storm that hit the BWCA a few years ago. It was interesting to note the increased growth of spruce and fir in lieu of the birch. Arrived at Moskey Basin and went and got a shelter on the water (#3) I think. I love Moskey Basin, one of my favortite places to stay anywhere.
Had lunch and set up camp. Filtered water and went for a hike. Usually as you get closer to Moskey, the incidence of moose tracks increases but not then. Did see a rather large set of wolf tracks between the creek and the shelters. we walked around to see what else we could find. Saw numerous yellow rumped warblers and a song sparrow took up residence in a tree outside the shelter. Watched a group of Red Breasted Mergansers fishing off the shore. The males were beautiful in the breading plummage. Watched a few canvasbacks and Goldeneyes feeding off the dock. At one point while walking on the pungeons, a snowshoe hare stepped up and was walking toward me. I wanted to see what it would do so I spread my legs and I think he would have walked through except Brian and Tricia were behind me. I did notice the big feet were still white while the rest of the body had turned brown.
We reurned to the shelter and had dinner and wennt down to the dock to relax. The sun had come out and it was a beautiful evening. The wind picked up out of the south overnight. In the morning there were numerous warblers that had apparently taken advantage of the south wind over night. I have never seen such a variety of Warblers in such a short time. Brian noticed a river otter swimming out in the bay in front of the shelter. We watched it fishing for a while. Packedd up and left for 3 mile.

Got to Daisy Farm and stopped for lunch. Took a short break and then continued on towards 3 mile. Again the abundence of Warblers was great. I saw a Redstart, Magnolia, Yellow, Black and White and others that I could not Identify as I did not have a bird book. It was fun to watch them flitting around. Arrived at 3 mile and took up residence in a shelter along the water on the west end. Put out a few things to dry in the sun and aired out my bag. Tricia filtered water while I set up the shelter. The birds continued their show. Watched a bald eagle out over the water. Soon the shelter next to us was taken by the same people who were next to us at Daisy Farm. We chatted of our sights and adventures and talked about whether the ride back would be the same- and wondered whether the little restaurant was open.
Watched a beautiful sunset as much as we could see and enjoyed our last night on the island. We got up early had breakfast, packed up and left for Rock Harbor. It was sunny and warm-at least for hiking.
Arrived at Rock Harbor, placed our gear in a shelter and headed over to the restaraunt, but were dissappointed to find it not opening till 6/8. We went to the little store and got some good junk food-and real milk and enjoyed. We talked to others as they showed up and commented on hearing the seaplane fly in to the island and leave as we arrived at Rock Harbor. Don't know if they got their FAA certificate yet.
We watched as the red fox mad its way around the harbor trying to get food. We took a walk down to Tobin Harbor and sat there a while. Very pleasant.
The ride back was nice, 1-2 ft seas, sunny. Slept a little and finished my book. Spoke to one of the crew about the New Queen IV which is supposed to be running by July. It is supposed to cut the 4 1/2 hour trip to 3 hours. Can't wait. Supposed to be smoother in rough weather.
Stayed the night at Bella Vista. After showers, we went to the Mariner North for dinner. The Harbour House apparently had a fire and would be closed for a while.
Got up the next morning and left for Houghton. We took 26 along the lake. It is a beautiful drive. Had breakfst at Soumi in Houghton. Great breakfast, worth the wait from Copper Harbor!!!
Now I have a kayaking trip to plan for after labor day!!!
I have pictures, but my computer has decided that you don't need to see them. So as soon as I can persuade it otherwise, I will post them.
 

(C)Copyright 2004 John Heneghan