Packed up my Jeep on Thursday, May 16th.  Left work at noon on Friday, headed up I-75.  Stopped off at REI for some last minute supplies.  Besides, it was the first day of their annual sale.  Drove through Michigan, entered Canada at Saulte. St. Marie.  Drove around Lake Superior on Highway 17, to Thunder Bay.  Got in a little after midnight.  Settled in the evening at the Best Western, 5 min. south of the airport.  The nice thing about this hotel was some rooms had patio doors to the parking lot, so I could  load all my junk in the room very easily.

Saturday I drove to Grand Portage, boarded the Voyager II on schedule, with about 20 other people and six canoes?  Arrived at Windigo 11:30ish.  By the way, all the times posted are eastern time.  Got briefing and permit and hit the trail at noon.  Nice hike.  Partly sunny in the 40’s.  My destination today was South Lake Desor.  Got there 4:45p.m.  The camp was deserted, so I chose camp sight #3, by the bathroom.  It clouded in around 8:00p.m., and I was asleep before the sun went down.  Sunday morning arrived with snow flurries and a frozen water bucket.  Temps over night were in the 20’s.  This days hike took me to Todd Harbor.  I had snow flurries all the way.

When I arrived at Todd Harbor I noticed the one and only shelter was occupied.  I asked the person standing outside if this shelter was taken for the day.  He said, it was taken, but agreed to share it with me.  I accepted.  We introduced ourselves and found we both lived and worked in the Metro Detroit area.  I work in Ferndale, and he lives in Ferndale.  So we had a common interest already.  He mentioned that his stove had broken two days earlier, and he had not had a hot meal.  So I offered my stove, and he ate two days worth of hot meals right then and there.  The high point of the evening was a bull moose that walked right past the shelter as it was getting dark.

Monday morning arrived.  Cold but sunny.  It was 24 degrees at 8:30 a.m.  Me and Joe departed the shelter at 9:00 a.m.  My hike for the day was on the Minong, to McCargoe Cove.  I met three guys eating lunch on the trail, all from Michigan.  They offered me to join them for a little lunch.  Pita with honey.  I graciously accepted.  Reaching McCargoe Cove, I got the shelter right by the fire ring.  Jason who I met on the boat a few days earlier, was also there.  That’s when a bell went off.  Both our trip logs had us at McCargoe Cove that day.  I actually e-mailed him before the trip, but he was already gone before he got the e-mail.  When the Voyageur pulled up to the dock to drop off some hikers, I remembered they Voyaguer had candy bars, so I ran on board and got a few.  Boy did they taste good after eating granola and Power Bars.  What  a treat!!!!
The night ended at the community fire ring, with 9 or so hikers all around.  Two gentlemen from Illinois, 2 trail clearing crew,  John and Tara, from Ann Arbor, Michigan, Jason and two others.

Tuesday morning arrived.  Blue skies and sunny.  No ice in the water bucket.  Today’s hike took me past West Chicken Bone, Lake Ritchie, to Moskey Basin.  Upon arrival, it was empty.  Very windy and cold on the water.  Got a shelter and settled in.  Decided around 5:30p.m., to pack it all up and head to Daisy Farm.  The Rock Harbor trail between Moskey Basin and Daisy Farm was very nice.  Second only to the Minong.  When I got to Daisy Farm, I found John and Tara there, too.  Nice to see them again.  I watched the sun set from the dock.  Then I settled in for the night.

Wednesday morning arrived.  Warmest weather so far.  Before leaving, I had Tara take a picture of me on the swamp boards.   I have a picture of me on the same boards, when I was 12 years old, some 29 years ago.  It was a special moment.  Left on the Daisy Farm trail to the Greenstone.  Hiked east to the Ojibway Tower.  Met a group of high school seniors, along with two leaders.  They were at Daisy Farm as well.  I complimented them on coming up to the Tower, instead of using the Rock Harbor trail back to Rock Harbor.  Heading east on the Greenstone, I met John and Tara again for the last time at Mt. Franklin.  What a beautiful view of Lane Cove and Lake Superior!
We parted.  I headed down the Mt. Franklin trail to the Tobin Harbor trail, to end my trip at Rock Harbor.  Another sunny beautiful day.  I settled in to shelter #1.  A little while later, I met John from Grand Rapids, Michigan.  We both talked about our trips and hung out most of the day.

Thursday morning arrived, with sunny blue skies and windy.  We boarded the Voyageer II on schedule for our trip to Grand Portage.  It was very wavy and the Captain told us there was 35 mile an hour north gale, and that we’d be really rockin’ and rollin’ as we turned north to head to Grand Portage.  The trip took 8 hours total.  Seas were around 10 foot.  When I got my backpack, it was soaking wet.  Now I see why some people use their pack covers.  If this had happened on the way to the Island, it would have been big trouble.

By the way, I saw 5 moose.  2 bulls, 2 cows, and one I’m not sure.

Boots I wore on the trip were Ibex GTX.  I got them over the winter, so they were well broken in.  I used Wigwam liners, and Ultra Max outer socks.  My feet stayed blister free, but the easy lace top tangs bent out every day.  They had to be bent back in.  I’m sure sooner or later these will break off.  Just saying this incase anyone is interested in this type of boot.

All in all, the weather was great for hiking.

Things I didn’t use:
1. Bug spray
2. Mosquito net/hat
3. Long sleeve shirt

Best used items:
Garbage bag, I used it to lay equipment on, also to wrap my water purifier in, to place in my sleeping bag.

Walking stick.  I never used one before, but I’ll never hike without one again.
Thermal Rest

Regrets:
Better camera and more film
Second cylinder of isobutane.  As the cylinder ran out of fuel, the stove’s performance dwindled.  I actually had to warm the cylinder every morning under my clothing, before I could boil water.  Yet it was still half full at the end of the trip.

My pack weight at the beginning of the trip was 37.25 pounds.  This included one liter of water.  And 100 ounces of food.  Pack weight at end of the trip was approximately 32.25 pounds.  Carrying this weight, my hiking speed averaged 2-3 miles per hour.  I met many people along the way that had 50-60 pound packs, and they were really feeling it.

FOOD
10 FOLGERS COFFEE BAGS
5 SWISS MISS HOT CHOC
10 PACKETS SPLENDA
2 CEREAL PACKETS, SUGAR SMACKS WITH POWDERED MILK IN ZIPLOC.  THIS CEREAL IS
    HARD.  IT HOLDS UP WELL
3 OATMEAL AND SPICE CUPS. JUST ADD BOILING WATER
5 RAMEN NOODLE CUPS  STYROFOAM  CUP JUST ADD WATER
8 PACK TORTILLAS.  THE ONES THAT SAY NO REFRIG REQUIRED. ONLY 8 OZ MUCH LIGHTER
    THEN PITA BREAD
3  FOIL STARKIST TUNA PACKS
2 CUPS INSTANT RICE IN ZIPLOCK
3 POWER BARS.  TRIED DIFFERENT FLAVORS AT HOME ALL SO-SO BUT ON THE TRAIL THEY
    WERE GREAT
2 GRANOLA BARS
5 MOUNTAIN HOUSE MEALS WITH FOIL BAG- REMOVED BAG BEFORE TRIP
TUBE OF POWDERED MILK

ALL HOT MEALS PREPARED IN THEIR PACKAGING .
I ONLY USED MY POT TO BOIL WATER SO NO DISH WASHING REQUIRED
FOOD WEIGHT 95 OZ / 5.937 LBS

ON TRAIL WATER      2 LB

CLOTHING
WIGWAM ULTIMAX SOCKS 2 PR 6 OZ
T SHIRT  8 OZ
WIGWAM LINER SOCKS 2 PR 4 OZ
BRIEFS- 2 PAIR  5 OZ
SLIPPERS- LEATHER BOTTOM 11 OZ
ZIPOFFS NYLON   REI 12 OZ
REI FLEECE PANTS 10 OZ
PRECIP PANTS MARMOT 8 OZ
WASH CLOTH 2 OZ
FLEECE GLOVES  2 OZ
SKI MASK  5. OZ
PRECIP JACKET MARMOT 12 OZ
SLEEPING BAG REI +20 SUB KILO 36 OZ
FLEECE TOP OLD NAVY 20 OZ
LONG SHIRT 14 OZ
PATAGONIA CAPLENE 6 0Z
TOTAL 161 OZ

WORN WHILE HIKING
ZIP OFFS, CAPLENE, T SHIRT HIKING SOCKS   - 25 OZ
TOTAL 136 OZ
8.5 LB IN PACK

TOTAL 36.6 LBS PACK WEIGHT AT START OF TRIP
TOTAL 32.0 LBS PACK WEIGHT AT END OF TRIP

Written by Mike Affeldt from Macomb, MI
(C)Copyright 2002 All Rights Reserved