Day 5 Lake Desor to Moskey Basin

Friday, May 19, 2017

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Started 06:49 AM, stopped 07:23 PM.

Ave mph was 1.71, excluding lunch.

Battery used:  5 percent

Fitbit: 56,635 steps, 26.8 mi, 4786 cal

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Walked 20.5 miles from Lake Desor to Moskey Basin. A new mileage record for me!  On the AT my longest was about 17 miles and that was with two peaks. I beat that Wednesday getting to Lake Desor in 18.2 miles. Surprisingly, I get a little better than 1.5 miles per hour on both the AT and here on the Isle. I guess its a trade-off of mountains (AT) versus bushwhacking, bog avoidance, rocks and roots (Isle Royale). 

The trail was rough as usual. The Greenstone Ridge was mostly blow down but some bogs. The portage trail down to Lake Ritchie and then to Moskey was mostly due to mud bogs. The first portage I passed was completely filled with blow down. It was a short steep path down to the lake. I didn't see any way of getting a canoe or kayak up that path.  If I was a paddler and hadn't been warned by the Rangers I would be pissed. Unlike last year, I saw no one with kayaks. Actually I didn't see anyone on the trail today. 

There was a bit of sun, but it never got very warm. With all the poor footing and wet socks, I got some hot spots on three toes. I stopped three times and used lots of Foot Goo. This never happened on the AT!  However, the hot spots never became blisters. I also got stabbed once while bushwhacking, enough to draw blood from a finger. Normally I would get stabbed where I am wearing clothes.  The strong Houdini wind shirt really saved my merino base layer while bushwhacking. 

I saw another woodpecker today. This one had a black body and a red head. 

I also saw another cow moose. I was half way across a plank walkway. These walkways are made of about 2"x10"x10 foot planks strung together over real bogs. I couldn't get off the walkway without getting VERY wet and muddy. The moose was crossing about 4 planks ahead. I stupidly said something comforting to her and she ran off.  I walk the walkways with my trekking poles in my hands and there wasn't time to get out my camera. 

I was a little worried that the Moskey shelters would be full. No one was camping at Lake Ritchie. Where was everybody?

With true dark falling about 10:00 pm I got there with plenty of light. Maybe three or four of the shelters were in use. Everyone was hanging wet tents. I got a good shelter, the one at the far end. 

I actually made dinner on the picnic table. It was getting cold but not too bad. Several ducks or loons were on the basin. I should have mentioned hearing loons every where. A couple of canoers crossed the Basin while I ate. 

The night was miserable. My left leg ached and I turned back and forth continuously. I usually do that a lot, but not this bad. I think I finally got a few hours sleep starting at 2:00 am. 

 

The End

Day 4 Lake Desor

Thursday, May 18, 2017

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No stats for today. 

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This may (I hope) turn out to be the worst day in my backpacking history. 

I awoke to the rain around 6:00. It was still going strong and everything was still wet. I ate part of a Clif Builder's bar and then put on minimal clothes and rain gear to hit the privy.  It was cold!

After getting back, I decided to get a premium (hourly) weather forecast on my inReach Explorer.  It said the rain wouldn't stop till 7:00 pm, that tomorrow (Friday) would be sunny, but that it would rain every day after on my trip. 

This was bad. I didn't want to start a day hiking in the rain with already wet clothes. And if I made it to Windigo, I would have long day hikes back to Rock Harbor the length of the island--most days likely in the rain. 

I decided to alter my plans. Wait the rain out here at Lake Desor today, then try to make it to McCargoe (18.2 mi) or Moskey Basin (20.5 mi), where there are shelters, during sunny, dry Friday. Before the next rain would hit. 

But the forecast was a little off. The rain was hard until 11:00 am, then it quit. I got out to take a leak and do some slight mods on the drainage. The water was getting near the tarp. 

Unfortunately, it was too late to head for either McCargoe or Moskey. Instead, I laid under the quilt and one at a time dried my merino shirt, my pants and my wind shirt with body heat. The rain coat and pants were on their own. 

The sun came out and the black top of the bivy actually got hot. The cuben tarp is milky white and let through a lot of sun. I felt like a fool laying there. 

I did find out that the Sansa music player has a very long battery life--as advertised.  

By nighttime I was bored stiff and tired from laying down all day. I set up the tarp low for the storm. Before evening it got cold again.  The way it stayed for the rest of the trip.

I didn't take any photos today.

Day 3 McCargoe to Lake Desor

Wednesday, May 17, 2017

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Started 07:25 AM, stopped 06:25 PM.

Ave mph was 1.65, including lunch.

Battery used:  6 percent

Fitbit: 50,064 steps, 23.61 mi, 4309 cal

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Walked 18.2 miles from McCargoe Cove to South Lake Desor campground.  Today I saw a woodpecker, a stork, a rabbit and squirrels. The stork was flying through a thicket of trees, impressive!  The woodpecker was a mix of mostly blues, and kept moving up the tree as I tried to take a photo.

The rain started again about 2:00 pm. The trail was again lousy with blow down, but now it had mud puddles and mud bogs or swamps. Since I'm using trail runners, I try to go around any water. [Note this is somewhat futile. My socks and shoes are wet the rest of the trip. But it does minimize mud!]. 

Avoiding the water requires more bushwhacking than the blow down!  Even immediately adjacent to the path, there is waist high brush. Sometimes leaves hide little water excursions from the main puddles, and this is what refreshes my shoe and sock dampness. Sometimes it seems my right sneaker soaks up the water even if it just senses a nearby puddle. 

All of the rocks, roots and bushwhacking is tough on the toes, ankles and knees. I don't think I've seen a flat stretch of trail for normal hiking longer than 100 yards. 

I met a couple coming from Windigo that seemed well equipped with rain gear. They said they flew in the day before and camped at Lake Desor. A solo hiker looked miserable. He had a poncho and no rain pants, and had most of his face covered. He said he was cold and wet and was going to try and get to a shelter. He had a long way to go in the rain if he went that far. 

The rain didn't stop. I set up the tarp in the rain. But there was some good ground cover. And it had drainage around it. I lived with what water I had, and got set up nicely. 

Everything I was wearing was wet. I think it was the hood on my base layer that was different. Water went down my neck, and it usually doesn't.  I was glad to have purchased and brought the extra ground cloth. I was able to lay out most of my wet stuff underneath my tarp. 

I put the pack up next to the tall pole, and it kept back splash off of me and my quilt/bivy. 

Cooking space was tight to avoid melting the cuben groundcloth. And I noticed afterwards that my stove's wind screen also acted as a rain screen!

Unfortunately I didn't bring extra shorts or warm bottoms. I had to work diligently to keep the wind from getting under my quilt. 

It rained hard all afternoon, evening and night. No lulls today. 

The End

Day 2 Lane Cove to McCargoe

Tuesday, May 16, 2017

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Started 07:21 AM, stopped 03:02 PM.

Ave mph was 1.56, excluding lunch.

Battery used:  4 percent

Fitbit: 34,760 steps, 16.49 mi, 3080 cal

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Walked 12 miles from Lane Cove to McCargoe Cove. I saw two rabbits and a cow moose and calf. The rabbits just sat on the trail until I got a couple of feet away. I saw the cow moose about 50 feet in front of me down the Greenstone trail. She was looking back over her shoulder at me. I stepped off the trail and pulled out my camera. She had taken a couple of steps away that had a couple of small trees reducing the view. As I took a couple of shots, I saw the top of the calf streaking down the hill. She took after it!

Bad trails today with all of the blow down. It got cold and windy after lunch. It began raining about 45 minutes before I got to McCargoe and essentially didn't stop till about 10:00 pm when the light disappeared. 

I went for water during a lull. My feet were only slightly damp till I slipped on a slick rock and dunked my foot in the lake. 

I am tired, unusually so. Maybe dehydrated, or my body is acclimating?

Since the Minong trail is washed out, I've been thinking about alternatives. I'll start tomorrow on the Minong but cut across to Hatchet Lake and the Greenstone Ridge. It will be 18.2 miles instead of 16 tomorrow, but should make the day after easier.

The shelter is clean, but no paper in the privy. I am prepared!

Looking back, this was my second warmest day on the trail. Lousy rain is an omen of things to come. It forced me to cook in the shelter. Today I could not squeeze the ghee out of the small bladder. It was 'frozen' solid, and it remained that way for the rest of the trip. 

Have to be extra careful with the alcohol, but no worry about fumes. 

 

The End

Day 1 Copper Harbor to Lane Cove

Before I get to the hiking I want to talk a little about getting to the Isle. As far as I know no restaurants are open at six. You park in the field about 7:00 am after a one minute drive. It was windy and icy out. The pack seemed heavy. I got a thimbleberry turnover at the bakery and checked in. This year the office opened on time. They only made us wait in the cold wind a short time before boarding. 

The 3.5 hour boat ride was nice on a fairly calm Lake Superior.  I brought and ate my lunch. 

After deboarding we got the Ranger talk. Quick. But he said lots of trees were down everywhere and the Minong Trail was washed out. The latter made me change my plans. On down trees he said go under or over and don't make new trails around blow down. 

That was the most stupid thing I've ever heard in a safety talk. Some you can go over or under. But most have too many, often very sharp limbs. You can get stabbed way too easily. 

Another thing that bothered me was the water in Rock Harbor was still off. They sent the first boat out to open the island in April. What is their priority in opening?

This meant I had to filter water before I could start walking, again!  Where are my doubled entrance/use fees going?

Monday, May 15, 2017

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Started 12:30 PM, stopped 03:45 PM.

Ave mph was 2.15, excluding lunch.

Battery used: 15 percent

Fitbit: 20,993 steps, 9.31 mi, 2495 cal

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Walked 7 miles from Rock Harbor to Lane Cove. Until I got to the trail from Mt Franklin down to Lane Cove, hiking was good. Then I started to hit the down trees. One walkway across a pond was partially submerged and my feet got soaked. Best weather of the week; sunny and almost warm. But the downed trees meant lots of bushwhacking.

I wanted the same campsite but had to do more bushwhacking to get to it!

I was also a little worried by the 'crowd'. I passed three groups on my way. The first was a solo guy who had set his stove up on the top of the ridge. He said he ate his big meal at lunch (2:00 today). The second was an older couple. I walked 3-4 feet behind the guy for about 5 minutes before he noticed me. I hope they could handle the blow down and underwater walkways. The third was a couple of guys in their twenties. They seemed a little faster than me. I caught up to them three times for their breaks with their packs off. The last time was on the Greenstone Ridge just before heading down the trail to Lane Cove. I said hi, went on past and sped up. I think I heard them coming into camp about an hour after I got there. 

This was the most normal camping evening of the trip. No rain and not too cold. 

By the way, May is supposed to be one of the driest months here. Forecast said nights in the low 40's and days in the upper 50's. I think this was the only day like that. All other nights and mornings were ice cold. Afternoons only got into the upper fifties maybe once after today. 

No rain tonight and the tarp was dry in the morning!

The End

Day -1 of Isle Royale Trip

This was my second, and hopefully last day driving to Copper Harbor. Using the WiFi in the room Google Maps said it would take me another 10.5 hours to get there. I was afraid the motel and restaurant would close early, say 7 or 8 pm since this was a Sunday.

I thought I had time so I ate at the hotel and got on the road by 6:30 am. Copper Harbor was in the Eastern time zone and I was starting from Central; an hour's loss. 

I went way faster than yesterday and worried about police. And there was construction everywhere. Even though it was Sunday with no construction workers in sight, the cars in front of me slowed down to the limit in every construction zone. It drove me nuts. 

Despite my speeding and no lunch, the construction slowed me down enough that I got to Copper Harbor by 6:15 pm. It took me almost 29 hours of driving to get there. 

The moral of the story is to take enough time not to rush. I'm taking three days to go home.  

The one restaurant in Copper Harbor (not much is open this time of year) was great. Pan fried white fish. The motel is roomy. But the wall heater barely sufficed. 

Day -2 of Isle Royale Trip

I started writing thes daily blogs on Day 6 when I had some free time at Rock Harbor. So you are going to get some hind sight.

This was a travel day from San Antonio to Des Moine. Google Maps said the overall trip was going to take 24.5 hours driving. My Navigon app predicted something like 27. When I got in the truck, my Garmin device said I would get there Monday morning and would miss my boat. I was unhappy and worried. I went fast. Had an Arby's quck lunch but skipped dinner. I drove 17 hours today. I stopped about 9:00 pm to get a room at a Super8, but no vacancies. I was pissed. I called my wife and asked her to get me a reservation up ahead. She was nice and did so. 

Unfortunately I brought my small, old, second iPhone with an ATT GoPhone chip. Its $2 per day for unlimited voice and text but no data. I couldn't do any online research or reservations. Something I won't do the same way again. 

Other than being thirsty, hungry, tired, and worried about making Copper Harbor before the restaurant and motel closed Sunday evening, everything was great!