Isle Royale, Day Seven - 2026

 Once again, we were awake before the sunrise.  There was a chill in the air, and the sound of distant waves crashing onto the shore could be heard.  Today we'd be hiking the seven miles from Daisy Farm to Rock Harbor.  We planned to stay in a shelter there and just do a little day hiking the next day before leaving the island.  

The best part about it being Day Seven was that our food was nearly gone, making our packs much lighter than when we started!  I joked that my pack was "light and fluffy" as I threw it on my back for the day.

We'd be following the Lake Superior shoreline trail all day today.  I had heard this trail was a bit more difficult than some of the other interior trails, and that was correct information.  It was slow-going.  Tripper was living up to his name this morning, and his poles saved him many times. The sun was shining, though, and being so close to the lake meant that we'd get to see the famous Rock Harbor lighthouse, as well as the small boats heading out to their various destinations for work.

We hadn't had any wolf activity overnight, but we would be hiking right through a very prevalent area for them.  They had left their marks in several places.

Isle Royale has been the site of many mining operations through the years, and we passed through an area where there were warning signs of old mines.  We made sure to stay directly on the trail in this area!

After four challenging miles of ascents, descents, and so, so many rocks, we came to Three Mile campground.  We stopped on the dock there for a pack and snack break.  Clouds had rolled in and it was chilly there without the sun.  I hurried Dad along, much to his dismay, and we were off again.

Although the hike was difficult and technical, it was beautiful both along the shoreline and when the trail climbed high above it.  We stopped several times to take in the views.

After three more miles, we arrived in Rock Harbor and had our pick of shelters for the evening.  I didn't know how busy this area would be, as many people plan to stay here the night before leaving.  We chose a shelter facing the lake, and were happy to find clean, potable water just 50 yards from our shelter, provided by the park via a faucet.

This shelter was filled with messages from past hikers, and we loved walking around, reading about their journeys as well as little funny tidbits here and there.  These little baby feet had been carved into the wood as we entered the shelter!

Again, it was chilly in the shelter, and well, it was chilly in the sun, too.  But I bundled up and opted to sit in the sun for a tiny bit of warmth.  There were raspberry bushes outside, and my dad found a few berries left that were edible.  Then I chatted with a little squirrel about his day while he searched for tiny crumbs of food.

Within an hour of us arriving at the shelter, all of the other shelters had filled up!  The campground was now bustling with activity.  I was glad we had gotten an early start to the day!

The afternoon and evening played out much like the day before.  Dad had his afternoon coffee, and at dinnertime, we cooked our meals and ate them in our sleeping bags to keep warm.  After dinner, we played gin rummy once again, and I was dubbed "Champion of All World Champions" after beating my dad three games to two.  Victory!  And then it was too dark to see, so we crawled way down in our bags and drifted off to sleep one more time on Isle Royale.