Isle Royale Journal July 19-23 2004
Scout Dad
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July 18-
Arrived at Ft. Wilkins with seven boy scouts in tow;
(4 adult leaders, 7 kids) The registration office warned us about
bears hanging around the campsites, and to secure our food in our vehicle
rather than leaving it in tents. At 2:00 AM, we woke up to the sound
of splintering plywood, which was a coincidence, since the door on our
small scout gear trailer was made of plywood. We made lots of noise
as we approached the trailer to investigate, and found the trailer 6 feet
from where we had placed it, with some new claw marks on the now bent door.
Backing the trailer between the latrine door and privacy screen secured
it for the rest of the night.
July 19-
A smooth ride on the Queen III (IV still not ready
to go) was spent playing euchre and chatting with members of the other
troop sitting in the forward compartment with us. Upon arrival on
IR, leave no trace orientation was quickly completed, and we received our
group permits immediately thereafter. We pre-registered in February;
11 total in our group, one unit of five hiking 30+ miles, and one unit
of six hiking 50+ miles; allowing use of the shelters by both. Ranger
Randy reported that the foxes in the Rock Harbor campsites are becoming
bolder by chewing into packs and tents to get food. They now recommend
hanging food in Rock Harbor.
I was with the 30 + mile group (Daisy Farm to McCargo Cove to Moskey Basin to 3 Mile). The older scouts planned on 50+ miles from Moskey Basin to Hatchet Lake to McCargo Cove to Daisy Farm.
The trip from Rock Harbor to Daisy farm was uneventful; two of our scouts hiked ahead in hopes of getting a shelter (maybe the promise of a chicken dinner at the Tamarack Inn on Friday if we got shelters each day had something to do with it?) and were successful...beating a sudden rain shower by 15 minutes. Dinner was lipton noodles, foil pack chicken and a handful of carrots, peas and corn I dehydrated at home.
July 20-
Headed for McCargo Cove, we took the Daisy Farm Trail
up to the Greenstone. After traveling west on the Greenstone we enjoyed
a spectacular view northward before descending towards Chickenbone. We
tried an AT&T cell phone with US/Canada roaming service from the Greenstone
and were able to make and receive a call. We stopped for a lunch
of mac & cheese with foil pack ham at East Chickenbone. Just
as many others have observed, this campsite doesn't offer much appeal such
as a lake view or proximity to water. We arrived in McCargo Cove
and decided a quick jump off the dock was in order. The water was
more than cold...and I swam back to shore while trying to catch my breath.
I washed a few things using camp soap in the latest addition to my gear...the
bottom of a plastic 200 ounce sears laundry detergent bottle. Cutting
the bottom 4 inches of the square bottle left me with a mini sink, water
scoop, laundry tub that fits neatly in my pack. The plastic is thick
enough that hot water used for personal or meal cleanup doesn't distort
the walls.
July 21-
Breakfast was powdered egg whites with a foil pack of
ham and a foil pack of cheese from a velveta shells & cheese meal (The
cheese makes the meal look AND taste better). We filtered water daily
with a sweetwater filter with siltstopper attachment. I also added
a coffee filter rubber banded around the intake; had no problems with clogging/sediment.
Traveled from McCargo Cove to Moskey Basin via the Indian Portage
Trail. This is my favorite trail on the Island thus far; beautiful
views of Chickenbone, beaver dams...very tranquil. After a lunch
break at Lake Ritchie, we continued on to Moskey Basin and found shelter
#7 available. We went to sleep to the sound of loons.
July 22-
Headed towards 3 mile for our final night on the island.
The weather was great, in the low 70's during the day, and 50's at night...Tonight
at 3 Mile was the only nights sleep when I wished I had a little more bulk
to my summer bag. The local camp fox tried to take our trash bag
off our picnic table.
July 23-
An easy day with only 3 miles to go to Rock Harbor.
Just as we finished breakfast, we saw the scouts from our 50+ mile crew
pass our shelter site; they had camped at Daisy farm the night before.
They took great joy in announcing that we were late sleepers, and that
they were going to beat us to Rock Harbor. Their demeanor soon changed
when we mentioned we had extra breakfast food left. The camp fox
couldn't have done a better job in clearing the table of every morsel of
food! We sent the scouts down the trail, and waited for the adult
leaders to catch up. Fifteen minutes later we met the other adult
leaders and headed towards Rock Harbor. We arrived in Rock
Harbor at 10 AM. Our leader checked with the Rangers to see if there
were any volunteer opportunities available for our scouts for the next
several hours. Our scouts ended up completing a service project in
which they dug out around the foundation of the ranger residence cabin
so that ventilation screens could be installed. Nothing like digging
dirt after hiking all week!
The trip on the Queen was smooth and pleasant...and after another fine meal at the Tamarack Inn we returned to Fort Wilkins for the night.
A second trip for Scoutkid; and myself and a first for the rest; the trip was a success all around. Great weather, no injuries, and fond memories that will bring us back again.
Trip Notes:
-The coffee filter on the sweetwater pump is a must have from now on, as is my plastic laundry jug wash basin/sink.
-A cell phone will work from the Greenstone provided it is set to roam in Canada & US, although my call to Scoutmom did cut in and out a few times.
-We used two whisperlite stoves for our group; and checked the MSR website for a fuel amount recommendation. The web site suggestion of 4 oz. Per day per person was excessive. We used less than 2 canisters (22 oz) for our trip; heating water for every meal and cleanup.
-We didn’t see a moose this trip, or hear the wolves like my 2002 trip. We did meet a few bold foxes, and see some moose bones and wolf prints & scat on the trail.
-My efforts to reduce pack weight since my previous trip
were successful; weight before water/food was 26 lbs…a 6 lb. improvement
over 2002.
(C)Copyright 2004
