June 8th - Arrived in Rock Harbor via the Queen. Fortunately no one was sick. It was a long boat ride, we forgot to take the games out of the pack, so no cribbage board.  Got into Rock Harbor on time, unloaded our packs and signed the itinerary forms.  Had our orientation speech from Suzanna Weber, the ranger, it was group interactive on Leave No Trace principles.  Filled our water bottles and hiked up the short path to the shelters.  We were in luck and settled into #2, then sat around the picnic table with the map to decide what we wanted to do for the afternoon.  Agreed on hiking out to Scoville Point, took the south side trail, some tree cover, some rock face, was a good choice for the two who have not been to Isle Royale before to acclimate them to the different conditions we would be hiking on in the days to come.  Had some great views of the small islands on the south side.  Made it to the Point and saw the house there.  Waved to a few boaters going by.  Took the north side route back, so we can scratch that off our trails to be hiked list. Made it back in time to make supper, wash up and then we were off for the first Interpretive program of the season at 8:00 p.m. at the amphitheater.  Suzanna gave a program about Isle Royale and it's relationship to Lake Superior. No moose sightings today.

June 9th - Got up early, tossed and turned during the night, not used to sleeping on a thin mat on the floor....  Liked my new Ridge Rest though, just wish it could be a couple inches thicker!  Some may think it was extra
weight, but I am glad that I brought my Travel Pillow.  Sitting outside at the picnic table a bird jumps on and plucks a few crumbs about a foot from my hand.  A rabbit comes along the trail to munch on leaves.  Peaceful and quiet. Glad to be in Rock Harbor this last morning with a real bathroom and running water.  Packed up and went down to the Harbor.  Met Capt. Ryan and gave him his button I had ordered.  Boarded the boat, only three others besides us.  Met up with Josh from the chat page. Another long boat ride, but this time we remembered the game pack.  Boat made a few stops along the way, picked up a few boaters and dropped them off along the way.  Got into Windigo to a few drops of rain.  Picked up fresh water and put on our
poncho's.  Stopped at the store, surcharge is outrageous, glad that we didn't need to purchase anything. (Remember to bring sunglasses with you, only pair we found was a child's pair at RH.  Jenny had broken hers on the boat so we were hunting a pair for her.)  Walked up the trail to the cutoff, too hot with all the plastic on so took that off here.  Tree cover so the drizzle wasn't a problem.  Stopped frequently at first but gradually got into the groove.  Reached the Island Mine cutoff at 6:30, not too bad for the first day.  Pumped water from the creek, ugh, a light yellow color. Made dinner, sat by the fire and compared sore spots...

June 10th - Rained during the night.  Trail wasn't too bad but I'm still sore from the day before.  Started out at noon, trail is up and down.  Still haven't seen any moose.  We all agreed that we would have liked a sign at
Sugar Mountain and Mount Desor.  At Lake Desor site by 3:00, making good time.  Set up camp, steep path to the water with no shoreline.  Met up with 6 people here, they are all on their way to Windigo.

June 11th - Rained again last night.  Tent is wet, clothes are damp. Fell down three times on slippery rocks with wet leaves on them...hope it wasn't the discounted boots!  I'm O.K. but the pride is a little bruised. Emily fell once so that left me off the hook as the only Klutz of the day.  Lots of hills. Finally made it to the ridge to see Canada.  Met up with a gentleman from Indiana at the Ishpeming Point Tower while we were having lunch.  He was going solo for 14 days.  Misty on and off all day.  Made it to Hatchet Lake in good time, we were averaging about 2 miles per hour. Set up camp, pumped water, (again no lake shore here, but an easier climb down to get it) a quick supper and then it started to rain.  In the tent at 6:30 p.m. writing and reading.  Still no *&$^*)% moose today!

June 12th - Slept off and on to hear rain and more rain.  Got up at 6:00 and went down to the lake to watch the sunrise, finally the rain stopped. Beautiful to see it over the water, watched a loon cross the lake.  Mosquitoes are out in full force here, the only time that they have bothered me during the trip so far. (Jenny from Arizona is a prime target, they love her so she takes a bath in Deet every day.)  Came up from the lake and started to pack.  Heard some noise and looked up to see a Moose in the distance.  It looked to be a Mom and baby combo, so didn't want to get too close. They were in deep foliage so no picture, darn it.  Didn't take long
for us to pack and be on our way with the bugs the way they were.  Up the hill to the ridge, steep climb.  Weather is sunny and warm.  Wonderful views both north and south.  Took lots of pictures today.  Stopped at the West Chickenbone marker, our longest hike of the trip so far, but pushed on to East Chickenbone to match our itinerary.  Individual sites are packed, group site is packed.  Trudged down to the water to pump our bottles full and decide what to do.  Again, no lake shore here, sat on some rocks to soak our feet for a few minutes. Lots of grasshoppers here.  Decide to push on to Daisy Farm as other options were to go back to W. Chickenbone or to McCargoe Cove and hike more miles tomorrow.  Took some Tylenol and shouldered our
packs and off we trudged.  Saw a moose on the way, took lots of pictures. Saw a turtle next to the trail on a rock face.  Were a little upset about people taking up more than one site at the campground, that kept the
conversation going for awhile.  Plodded along until we made it to Daisy Farm at around 9:00 p.m.  Everyone stiff and sore, was a long almost 16 mile hike in one day. Clothes are still damp, hung them all around the shelter.  In shelter #7, at least there is a bathroom nearby with toilet paper already in it and a lock on the door! Made soup and supper, pumped water and went to bed exhausted...

June 13th - Woke up to more rain, clothes still damp. Hoping it clears up today, but we are a day ahead so if not, will stay here an extra day.  Spent most of the morning in our sleeping bags as it was chilly and wet.  Went to the lake to pump water, made a hot lunch.  Rain stopped in the afternoon, took out the tents to dry them off. Put up the line to try and dry the clothes.  Clouded over again so decided to spend the day here.  Still only 50 degrees out. Spent the afternoon reading and writing.  Ate supper and played a few games.  Glad to have a day of rest and relaxation.

June 14th - Up early today, girls want to get to Rock Harbor for a shower!  Hoping to beat the crowd and get a shelter for the night.  Will finally have a chance to wash and dry the clothing.  Made good time, I think we are all finally getting into the hiking groove and it's almost time to go home...  Darn, no shelters.  Went in to the Ranger station to ask about the overbooking at East Chickenbone.  Could not pull it up on their computer,
but we wrote out a complaint form on it. (Won't do much good, but we felt better!)  Ranger suggested that we ask at shelters if they were leaving that day, maybe we could pick one up that way.  Met up with a group of 7 at one that were leaving, no problem with us tagging the door so felt better about that anyway.  Took out the dirty clothes, went to the store for tokens as machine in the laundry was broken.  Stood around as clothes were washing and drying, not too much of a hardship as I had a Coke here! Mark and the girls would have liked a beer, but they don't sell it at the store.  Too expensive to eat a meal at the lodge, bought a tee shirt at the store that will last me a lot longer than a meal.  At last clothes are done, now to the shower!  Oh the feeling of clean clothes and being clean again... spent the rest of the afternoon sitting by the lake and hiking around to the America dock.  Hard to believe that our time here is almost up.  Made supper, glad to have running water so no pumping today to get dish water.  Played a few games and packed what we could.

June 15th - Up early to finish the final packing, ate breakfast and down at the dock by 8:00 to get our form in and the backpacks stowed.  Ranger III looks impressive next to the Queen and Voyageur that we were on earlier in the week.  Hard to say Good-bye to the Island... Took some pictures in the harbor, at Mott Island and of the Light House.  Foggy out, could not see anything on the lake.  Ate, played cards. Under the bridge and back to Houghton at 3:10 p.m.

Our adventure is over...all the planning, packing and hiking are done.  Now, time to start getting ready for the next time!

Written by Melissa Mettner
(C)Copyright 2002 All Rights Reserved