We awoke before sunrise, thanks to Dad's bladder. And if Dad wakes up, he's waking up everyone trying to get out of his sleeping bag. (If you know, you know. Haha!) It had been a quiet night, with just the sound of waves crashing on the Superior shoreline. I had nothing to cook for breakfast, so I stayed in my bag a little longer while my dad cooked outside.
We packed up our gear slowly, in no particular rush. The check-in for our departure was not until 2pm, so we had plenty of time. Finally, we were ready to go. As we stepped outside, it simultaneously started to rain! So, we decided to hunker down in the shelter a bit longer. It wasn't a heavy rain, but there was no point getting wet if we didn't have to.
An hour later, the rain had passed and it was time to say goodbye to our little shelter. We headed down to the docks, where they had metal cages designed to hang your packs safely away from critters and creatures while you waited for your boat. We hung our packs and decided to explore a bit.
In an effort to prevent my seasickness from returning, I decided not to eat anything after having breakfast. It was going to be a long day. Aside from food, I couldn't wait to take a shower and exfoliate. I'm here to tell you, after Day Six, everything just gets pretty unbearable, hygiene-wise.
We took a short hike north along the lakeshore, reading little signs here and there about the island's history.
Then, we hung out on the dock, waiting for the morning boat to arrive from Copper Harbor. This would be one of the final groups of visitors to come to the island, as everything was shutting down in just a few days. When the group disembarked, I was surprised to see 40 people had come over just for the day. I just couldn't comprehend taking a 3.75 hour boat ride to spend less than three hours on the island and then taking the 3.75 hour boat ride back! There was also a good group of backpackers excited and ready to start their adventures.
Eventually, it was our time to board the boat. Packs were loaded, the captain huddled us once again to go over some rules, and then we were onboard. Dad had some anti-nausea medication stashed in his pack and we each took a pill. I am not sure why he didn't have that available at the beginning of the trip! Hopefully the lake would be calmer today and the pill would help us have an uneventful trip home.
The boat was nearly full, and we found ourselves sitting with Jim, our campsite companion from the first day! We chatted with him the entire boat ride home. He held a plethora of knowledge about the island, having been there 23 times since 2007! He had some great stories to tell.
I am happy to report that Lake Superior was so kind to us. There was barely a ripple on the lake the entire ride home and we made excellent time. My stomach was calm and I arrived back in Copper Harbor safe and sound.
We made quick work of picking up our gear and getting out of there. We planned to drive all the way to our cabin, and that was more than six hours away! It would be a late night. As the sun went down, the full, harvest moon rose and lit up the sky. What a perfect ending to an amazing trip!
I am so thankful that my dad wanted to take this adventure together! At the age of 75, he truly did something epic! We had so many laughs and not one tear! Isle Royale is truly an amazing place and the memories we made will last a lifetime.
What an amazing adventure!
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