Isle Royale National Park - A Must See

 

Anchored at Passage Island

Island time tells it all.

One does not need to have a boat to visit magical Isle Royale.  Tours depart daily from Grand Portage, MN, and from Houghton and Cooper Harbor, MI, and seaplanes are also an option.  There are choices as to where one wants to be dropped off, and also what kind of experience one is seeking.

Seeing wildlife, particularly a moose or wolf, is on everyone’s list.

When at Royale one can sleep on their own boat, a tent, lean-tos or the lodge or cabins that have plumbing.   There are multiple campsites and free docks throughout the park.  One can rent motor boats, canoes and kayaks.  Multiple-day canoe trips, backpacking trips and fishing trips are very popular.  There are also ranger talks and guided tours of lighthouses, fisheries and copper mines.  While the park is 99% wilderness, there are even three restaurants! 

Source: Wikipedia 

How is it that a 45-mile-long island, only 15 miles from Ontario, ends up being part of Michigan, at least 50 miles away?  For that we can start by thanking Ben Franklin, whose negotiations with Britain led to the 1783 Treaty of Paris that put the US boundary north of Isle Royale.  The island ended up in Michigan because it was the first territory bordering Lake Superior to be admitted as a state.

Often cited is the story that Franklin had heard about the copper deposits on the island, and he, more than anyone of his time, knew about the potential of copper in conducting electricity. 

We spent 5 days and nights circumnavigating Isle Royale.  Each night was in a different location, and most days included an additional stop.  Below is a pictorial record of our travels.

Isle Royale.  The yellow reflects our boat travel, blue our hikes and the numbers our day there.

Day 1 – Cruised 25 miles from Grand Portage, MN to Windigo, Isle Royale.  10 miles of hiking.

 

 

We did see otters at Windigo, but Dick took the picture of these otters on the marina dock in Grand Portage.  They seem to live in the marina, and are frequently playing on the docks or swimming around the boats.

Ron saw a fox, but that was it except for the common red squirrels. 

Day 2 – Cruised 35 miles to McCargoe Cove to hike to Minong Copper Mine where we were able to enter one of the mine shafts.  The mine was only marginally successful and operated from 1872 to 1884   It was located in an area where indigenous people had dug open-pit mines for copper.

After the hike, we cruised another 10 miles to Lane Cove to hike to the top of Mt. Franklin, named for you know who.

Day 3 – Cruised 10 miles to Duncan Bay.  Ron and I then hiked to Lookout Louise and Monument Rock, passing through the remains of the 2022 forest fire.  Rather than spend the night in the Bay we decided to go to Passage Island, 10 miles away.  The beautiful harbor on the island has a very narrow entrance.

Entering Duncan Bay.

Ron on top looking toward Monument Rock.  He would have climbed the
Monument had he had his shoes and rope!

Passage Island Light

 

Day 4 – Cruised 8 miles to Rock Harbor Marina and hiked the trail there multiple times, including dawn and dusk, in search of moose.  No luck there, but I did see a rabbit!

Rock Harbor Marina.  The largest ferry boat is in the top left.

 

Day 5 – Cruised 8 miles to Daisy Farm and dinghied across the channel to Edison Fishery, Rock Harbor Lighthouse and the Wolf-Moose Project headquarters.  We saw a wolf just before departing for Hay Bay!

This is the Edison Fishery, named for the family that lived and fished there seasonally  for years.  At
one time as many as 40 families had fisheries on the island.

The Park is in the process of restoring the Edison Fishery.

Wooden gravestone off path
To lighthouse.

Ron sharpened his jackknife.

Rock Harbor Lighthouse.  It was only operational when copper was mined, but it has been restored and includes a great museum focused on the 10 shipwrecks around Isle Royale.

The capstan was taken off one of the wrecks.  Ron was making sure that Dick didn’t get out of line.

Rolf and Candy Peterson have summered on Isle Royale for years and have been very active on observing
and researching the wolf-moose relationship.  Moose arrived here over 100 years ago by swimming from
Canada, only 15 miles away.  Wolves came across the ice as the strait used to freeze over.  The table
below shows the relationship since 1956.  

Because of inbreeding, the wolf population declined significantly from the early 2000s
and was down to 2 in 2018.  Without wolves as a predator, the moose population 
will explode and decimate the undergrowth, particularly balsam fur.  12 wolves from various
Parts of Canada were moved to the island in 2018.  Unfortunately, only the wolves from
Michipecoton Island were dominant, and the inbreeding issue remains.  Presently, there are
an estimated 37 wolves in three packs on the island.

The Peterson’s backyard.  The bigger the antler on the male, the more likely a female moose will
 be receptive to mating.  Loved the cartoon below.

Our wolf was 1000 feet or so from the Daisy Farm dock.  My phone camera isn’t the greatest, but the wolf looked awesome through the binoculars.

Hay Bay free dock.  A wonderful place for our last night.

Day 6 – After a morning kayak, we cruised 75 miles from Isle Royale to Grand Marias, MN.

One last kayak trip around Bay.  We will leave without seeing a moose. (The one pictured at the top of this blog was of a moose in Maine!)  Here, though, I was very surprised to see
two swans!  I have only seen them in Boston Commons or Central Park.

Goodbye, Isle Royale!