Cross Country Trip – Day 63

21 May 2018

I set the alarm for 5:30 am but, of course, I was up before it went off. I needed to be at Isle Royale Seaplane base which was about a mile down the road from the Ramada Inn by 7:30 am. The first person to greet me was Ken, the pilot I talked to on Saturday. He was not flying (twisted ankle – seems to be a pattern here).  Instead, it was Tomás who actually lives in Naples. The company flies out of Naples in the winter and they’ve only been operational here for a week. Apparently there was ice at the landing site at Windigo last week. 

There were 3 other passengers, all female.  There were two significant other guys following them on the noon flight. One of the women is a high school teacher of special ed. All five are hiking the 30 mile  Feldtmann Lake Trail loop and camping out along the way. They were extremely nice and we all had great conversations. Their hike is the one I would have done except for scheduling problems and ankle problems. 

The take off and landing were perfectly smooth and Tomás was very informative along the way. He told us he started flying in 2012 so it’s surprising he’s flying commercial so quickly. He did an excellent job. The flight time was about 35 minutes. 

Tomás (on the right) at the dock at Isle Royale.

You check in with the ranger who was Valerie. Interestingly, the park service says their visitor center is not open until 25 May. Instead Valerie greeted us with a smile. I also found out you could have your propane gas shipped ahead.  That means I could be eating a hot meal tonight instead of granola.  

Valerie did a quick orientation and then we were off. I’m staying in shelter number 7. I was going to stay in shelter 3 and two hikers were just vacating it for me when I found I liked 7 better. 

Cabin Number 7 – Washington Creek Campground – Windigo, Isle Royale

The shelter is a three sided lean-to like structure with the fourth side screened in. My biggest worry was finding either a shelter or tent space at Washington Creek campsite. I didn’t need to worry. Valerie suggested to pitch the tent inside the shelter because of cold temperatures. It dropped below freezing last night and her biggest complaint from campers was the cold.  

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Tent inside the cabin – worked out great!

Once settled in, I decided to hike the Grace Creek Overlook Trail. The map sets it as 1.9 miles one way. At the overlook you get a nice view of Grace Creek below and Lake Superior on the horizon.  My gps clocked it at 4.2 and with hiking into and out of the campsite, I managed 5.2 miles. My ankle decided that was enough. 

Trail to Grace Creek Overlook – 4.2 miles round trip.
Grace Creek from Grace Creek Overlook – elevation 750 feet.
Lake Superior from Grace Creek Overlook – 750 feet above Superior.

The general store is semi-open. They have most anything you need food wise, but again, the park service said it wouldn’t be open until the 25th. 

I recovered enough by 3 pm to hike to the general store and purchase a can of  Pringles, a Snickers bar and a Pepsi. That invigorated me enough to hike the 1 mile nature trail. Exhaustingly, it’s 0.3 miles to the campsite, so every time you leave and comeback, you chalk up another 0.6 miles.  That adds up after a while. All total today was 7.4 miles. 

Nature Trail – 1.2 mile loop

On the hikes, and in the campsite is plenty of moose poop. I even saw young saplings where they had stripped the bark for food but no moose sightings. It’s calving time. It seems they all valve within a week or two of each other. Since the wolf population has nosedived on the island, the moose population has exploded. Last count was 2,400 meece. 

Author: searcyf@mac.com

After 34 years in the classroom and lab teaching biology, I'm ready to get back to traveling and camping and hiking. It's been too long of a break. I miss the outdoors and you can follow my wanderings on this blog.

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