Isle Royale, Day Six - 2026

At some point, the wind disappeared completely and everything was so still. Aside from a loon who called off and on all night, there was absolutely no noise. We tried to sleep in, as we had an easy hiking day ahead and it was a chilly 38° outside of our sleeping bags, but 12 hours lying down is pretty much my limit! I took a walk down to the lake and it was sheer glass with the sun coming up through the trees. I’ve never seen Lake Superior so calm! 

We took our time getting packed up and made oatmeal for breakfast, which was a nice treat after having breakfast bars every day so far. The sun was warming things up quickly and we were ready to leave Moskey Basin and head for Daisy Farm.

The hike up and away from Moskey was stony and difficult; it was a slow go. We stopped after only a mile to strip off layers of clothing.  We kept at it, with seemingly more ups than downs. The day was sunny and bright, and we stopped after another mile to rest in the shade on a big rock. 

The last two miles continued on along the shoreline and then dropped down towards the lake. Once we arrived at Daisy Farm, we went in search of a shelter. This campground was also one of those closed to tent camping, but there were 16 shelters here to choose from!  The first three we came to were occupied, and out of one, a man came rushing out to warn us of a wolf that had been pestering him and did not seem to be afraid of his shouts and banging of things. We hustled onward and thankfully the last shelter on the shore was available. We ducked inside and dropped our packs, our heads on swivels searching for the mangy wolf. 

We sat inside, arranging our gear and made some coffee to warm us. It was chilly in the shelter, but we were leery of coming out into the sun with the wolf nearby. We continued to hear the man yelling and clapping at the wolf. I wondered if it would visit us, too. 

After a while, things died down and we decided to go out to the lake for water. The sunshine felt so nice and we let our guard down and sat and picked rocks for several hours in the warmth. 

Over on the dock, while a couple people fished, one brave soul jumped off into the icy water and then scrambled back up the ladder. 

We decided to cook our meals inside the shelter that evening due to the wolf situation.  I had no interest in fighting a wolf for my dinner and less interest in losing my dinner altogether to a wolf!  It was chilly in the shelter away from the sun, so after we cooked our food, we climbed into our sleeping bags to dine.  

It was still quite early, but we were too cold to do anything outside of our sleeping bags, so we played gin rummy until it was too dark to see our cards.

Isle Royale, Day Five - 2026

 It was the coldest morning yet and we did not want to get out of our sleeping bags.  I had not worn enough clothing to bed, and I was pretty sure my toes were frozen solid.  We layered on all of our clothing to pack up and make breakfast. It is really hard to function with frozen fingers, and we alternated warming them and doing our daily tasks.  

At various times of the previous night, I heard the distant call of a bull moose around the lake and now and then the hoo-hoo-hoo-hooooo of an owl. I don't think I'll ever tire of sleeping next to Lake Superior.

Before leaving the shelter, I had to take note of some of the words left behind by other hikers.  Writing and/or carving on shelter walls is prohibited, but many hikers still leave their marks.

It took two good miles of steady hiking for me to warm up even the slightest bit. The sky was a bright blue, but the fog lingered for a long time, and I am quite sure the plants were not happy to be covered in frost.

Today we were headed back across the island to Moskey Basin, which meant we would cross over both the Minong Ridge and the Greenstone Ridge. Early in the day, we were mostly at lower elevations, which meant lots of water and water crossings. We were not a fan of these skinny footbridges we had to cross, but I guess it was better than wading through water!

We stopped for a mid-morning break at the West Chickenbone campsites and hung out by the water in the sunshine. Everyone here had already packed up and left for the day, so we had the place to ourselves. 

There were signs of moose everywhere and I really hoped we'd see another one!

Hiking up and over the Greenstone Ridge was a little difficult and my dad took several breaks.  His pack was wearing on him today.

The day had finally warmed up a bit, and we were settling into it.  This sure was a beautiful place, and although I knew there were at least a couple hundred people on the island, we rarely saw another soul outside of the campgrounds.

As we were hiking past Lake Richie, we decided to take a pack break.  Pack breaks are the best, and this was a particularly lovely spot to stop.  We were ahead of schedule and had plenty of time to dawdle.

We arrived at Moskey Basin via a brand-new footbridge and even got to thank a team of workers who were out there constructing another new one.  I am sure with the wear and tear the island gets from visitors as well as the extreme winters, the upkeep of footbridges is a full-time job.

We were happy that there was an open shelter for us, since no tent camping is allowed at Moskey Basin due to high wolf activity.  People, if you leave your food, trash and smellables out where wolves can get to them, they will get to them, and then they get used to having that access and it becomes a real problem.  There are currently four campsites and many backcountry campsites closed on the island due to a high increase in wolf incidents.  Nobody wants a wolf incident.  

Arriving midday meant we had a lot of spare time, and we found a nice spot out of the wind to lay on the rocks and soak in the sun. Dad even soaked his feet in Lake Superior! 

Back at the shelter, the wind was blowing straight in off the lake, so we decided to hang both of our tents as wind blockers, and they did a great job! We tucked in right behind our makeshift wall and were warm and cozy in our little ramshackle shelter. 

Isle Royale, Day Four - 2026

 It seemed like as soon as we fell asleep after our star gazing, I was awoken by the sounds of grunting not too far away, followed by a great crashing of trees.  I was AWAKE.  Were we going to have a moose in our campsite?  I called to my dad to wake him, and we sat and listened to the noises.  As it turns out, the moose was across the lake, the sound was just traveling extremely well.  At one point, it sounded as if the bull moose was sparring horns with another bull.  The grunting went on nearly all night.  Without the fear that I'd be trampled by a moose in the night, I eventually fell asleep amidst the noise.

It was Monday morning, and it was chilly.  Clear skies meant colder weather, but it also meant breathtaking sunrises, and we had a good one.

Today's plan was to hike nearly eleven miles to McCargoe Cove.  To get there, we'd first have to hike up and away from Hatchet Lake. We were in good spirits, and the trail was not too difficult.  By 10:30am, we had arrived at Todd Harbor.  This was another camping option, but we planned to just make a pitstop there before continuing on.

And then we were back among the gigantic thimbleberry bushes.  We were amazed daily at the height of these plants and often wondered what the trails looked like in springtime before everything was so mature.

From Todd Harbor to McCargoe Cove, we hiked along the Minong Ridge.  This ridge is not as high in elevation as the Greenstone, and there was so much fungus among us, as I like to say!

The trail was a bit rocky, but more "cruise-y" than anything, and we enjoyed the easier hiking.  The sun was shining but there was still a chill to the air.

The trail was not completely without difficulty, though, and we climbed higher along the ridge.  The reward for all of that climbing was an amazing view of the world below!

By mid-afternoon, we arrived at the McCargoe Cove campground.  I had read that there was a shelter here, but I wasn't really interested in staying in a shelter.  Then I realized there were six shelters.  Six!  And they were clean and nice and fully screened in.  I had never seen such a thing, having only experienced shelters on the AT and NCT that were often small, three-sided, and riddled with mice.  There was a shelter available with a lovely view of the harbor, and we claimed it.  No tent camping for us tonight, we were sleeping in style!

There were a few other people staying there in the shelters, but overall, it was quiet and peaceful.  While Dad went down to the lake to gather water, I stayed in the shelter to get cleaned up.  I glanced up to see a fox not too far away.  I got up to take a closer look, and the little creature trotted right up to the shelter!  He was not bothered at all by me, and we chatted a while before he took off down towards the lake.

We ate dinner outside of our shelter, but it was not warm in the shade of the trees!  We ate quickly and then I decided to make some apple cider to warm my insides.  The sun was still shining down on the dock, so I bundled up and sat out in the warmth until it dropped down below the tree line.

By 7:30pm, we were both too cold to not be in our sleeping bags anymore.  Preparing for sleep each night had been quite the ordeal for my dad.  Inside of our bags we were using liners to add some extra warmth.  He had the hardest time getting inside his liner and then inside his bag and getting everything zipped up and comfortable.  It usually took him a good twenty minutes to finish the whole process.  Obviously, I had to make fun of him every single night, and also obviously, I was highly annoying to him.