Indy Lady Hikers

self pic before we split up for 2 different hikes :)

We decided to revisit one of our favorite local spots for an overnight backpacking trip in October. We last visited the Peninsula Trail in 2008 and enjoyed camping along the shore of Lake Monroe (link here).

Heidi drove and picked up the Fishers gang (me, Durena, Pat, Linda). We stopped at Starbucks and then made our way south. We met Lisa and Stacey at Cracker Barrel in Edinburgh, ate a delicious breakfast, stuffed our pockets with packets of jam :) and continued driving until we reached the Blackwell Horseman Camp.We were wondering if this camp and/or parking lot for the trailhead would be affected by the government shut down, but there were no signs so we got unpacked, got our gear distributed and got ready to hike an easy 8 miles to the lake. Pat and Linda took one of the cars and drove to a different trailhead where they would have a shorter (3 miles) walk in.

It was a gorgeous fall day for hiking and we enjoyed the beauty of the woods. We passed a few horses, and had fun with the camera with Lisa's hiking stick/tripod!

group 2, self pic with hiking stick/tripod

We had a pretty decent map and we had hiked the route before. We came to one trail sign that didn't make sense according to the group consensus. We also saw the the sign was loose in the ground and we assumed it had been wrongly "adjusted" by someone. We adjusted it back and went on our way. We ended up at the end of a trail, behind some private homes and then knew that we had come the wrong way. We hiked back, put the sign back to the way we found it and continued on. Our afternoon was spent criss crossing an area that did not get us where we needed to be. Our easy 8 mile hike turned in to a frustrating 12 mile one!

Hey, let's try this way!

How about this way?

We finally made the correct turn and got to camp. Pat and Linda had enjoyed a beautiful afternoon at camp and had also cleaned up the site for us! There was a little light left in the day and we got camp chores underway (fire, water, tents, food, coffee)

Durena getting water from the lake

enjoying the campfire!

tents :)

beautiful sunset

We had a pleasant evening and a great meal! Everyone contributed a little something and we had s'mores for dessert. We slept well and had another fire at breakfast time. We decided to hike back the 3 mile route where one car was parked. When we arrived, there was a warning notice on the car, referencing the shutdown!

When we got to the second car, we found out that that area had been closed down while we were gone. We were so happy that neither car had been ticketed or towed!! Lessons for next time we hike this: get a better map and get a group consensus of our route before we start out (instead of when we're lost!)

Predawn Departure!

Jan, Lisa, Heidi, Pam, Pat, Durena, Valerie

Monday, August 1: We met early and drove to Copper Harbor, Michigan. It took us just over 12 hours, with a few stops along the way. We took 2 cars and kept in touch along the way. We met up for dinner about an hour south of Copper Harbor and then drove in together.

On our way through Wisconsin, we had a snack of bread and cheese on the tailgate

while we filled up the tank - keeping it classy!

We arrived and checked in to the Bella Vista Motel, right on the harbor in Copper Mountain, Michigan. Rooms were standard, 2 double beds and a bathroom, with a sliding door in the back that looked out over the harbor. There were two chairs outside the room and some chaises scattered about by the water. It was a beautiful scene and we enjoyed being out of the car and exploring along the harbor. We unpacked and repacked our backpacks. Pat helped Lisa reorganize her pack and lots of stuff went into the reject pile :)

view of harbor from motel room

exploring the harbor behind the motel

Tuesday, August 2: We got up at 6, showered and had coffee outside in the cute sitting area by the water. Durena and Heidi parked the cars in the ferry lot and the rest of us walked down to the harbor to board the ferry (8:00 reservation to Rock Harbor). After we boarded we snagged two booths and enjoyed a relatively smooth 3.5 hour ride across Lake Superior. We all chipped away at a giant cinnamon roll, purchased the day before.

Ferry from Copper Harbor to Rock Harbor

Ferry ride and Cinnamon Rolls

After we docked, Pat and Heidi went and 'saved' shelters. The rest of us listened to a "leave no trace" presentation and then Jan and I registered our groups. We then moved our backpacks from the dock to the shelters, dug out our raincoats and wandered around exploring. It started to rain as we hiked out to Scoville Point but it only drizzled and we kept going. We hiked for about 4 miles and it felt good to be moving after the long drive yesterday and the ferry ride this afternoon.

hiking to Scoville Point

We ate dinner at the grill at the Lodge (pizza, burger, fries, salad). Service was super slow but the food was pretty good. We made our way back to the shelters and got ready for bed.

first night in shelter :)

Wednesday, August 3: One of the two shelters we slept in had a picnic table inside so we all met and ate breakfast there together (and escaped the mosquitoes!) We packed up and started hiking by about 8:30.

first full day of hiking!

We had a pleasant, easy 7.3 mile walk to Daisy Farm. We followed the Rock Harbor Trail that runs next to Lake Superior. The first three miles is said to be one of the prettiest sections of trail on the island and we agree! At about mile 6 we passed remains of the Siskowit Mine, which was in operation from 1847 to 1855.

Rock Harbor Trail

After we arrived and chose our shelters for the night, we dropped our packs and walked down to the dock. We sat and visited, people watched, and got into the clear, freezing, cold lake water.

freezing Lake Superior!

We watched a park ranger dock and pass through people looking for someone named Emily. He headed up to the shelters and found Pat who then accompanied him back down to the water. He actually had a message from Emily and it was for me. Heidi and I accompanied him by boat back to the ranger office where I called home. A close friend of the family had passed away and Emily gave me the news. I was able to speak to Danny. It was very sad. Jake will always be in our hearts.

We spent a quiet evening at the shelter picnic table, making and eating dinner. We filtered water for the night and morning with Jan's new amazing water filter :) We took our chairs and coffee back down to the dock and watched the sunset.

Thursday, August 4
After breakfast and coffee as a group, we hiked up to the Greenstone Ridge junction, where we parted ways with Heidi, Jan and Pam who were hiking a shorter itinerary.

last morning all together

We continued another couple of miles and climbed up to a lookout spot where we could see Canada to the north. We took a few great pictures and returned to where Pat was waiting. She was not feeling well and decided to head back and join up with the group of 3 we left that morning. We switched around some gear and talked to the leader of a boy scout troop who were headed in the same direction and Pat (back to Daisy Farm). After some tearful goodbyes we parted company and continued walking.

Canada to the north!

We continued hiking through thick forests, bogs, open ridges and saw some beautiful interior lakes. We turned at the East Chickenbone Trail junction and headed to a beautiful campground at McCargoe Cove. We got to camp about 3:30 and thought we were going to have to set up the tents but after examining the campground map again we found there was still one shelter open! We unpacked our gear and headed down to the cove, had a swim and filled up the water bags. Headed back to the shelter, got dressed, made dinner and took our coffee back down to the lake. There was a blazing campfire and we joined in and shared our s'mores, yum! Before we headed back to the shelter for the night we sat and listened to a pair of loons on the lake, so peaceful. Hiked 8.7 miles today.

Friday, August 5
Today we hiked from McCargoe Cove to Hatchet Lake (10.5 miles, 7 hours). It was a beautiful day and hike. We were on the north side of Isle Royale, along the Minong Ridge. We took our time, stopping often, and had fun exploring an old mine. We turned on the Greenstone Trail and followed the Hatchet Lake Trail to the campsite. We set up tents at tent site #3 and set about organizing and preparing for dinner. It was the quietest night so far, never saw anyone else at the campsites. We chose not to have a swim today (leeches!) but spent time at the lake and thought we spotted a moose across the water!

group campsite #3 for the three of us!

Lisa on water duty

Moose spotting across the lake!

our own privy!

Saturday, August 6
We hiked from Hatchet Lake to South Lake Desor campsite, just over 8 miles. We followed the Greenstone Trail, mostly inland and took our breaks along the ridge and through deciduous forests. We enjoyed another exquisite day, cool temperatures with plenty of sunshine. We got to camp, set up tents (group site #1) and went for a swim. We voted this our favorite beach (sandy) and enjoyed the afternoon on and in the water. We made good use of Li

sa's hiking stick that had a tripod on top and took some great group shots along the way. Our mistake came when we stuck the pole in the sand of the lake to take a picture of us on a log. The pole shifted and the camera took a dive. Good thing we had a backup camera!! We enjoyed dinner, down time, raspberry cobbler and a campfire. A gentle rain started as we retired to our tents for the night, what a peaceful sound that is!

nice breaks along the ridge!

beautiful clean water

great sandy beach, our favorite!

last group self pic with camera #1 :)

favorite camp site!

trail to lake

campfire :)

Sunday, August 7
We saved our longest day for our last and planned on getting an early start. Overslept til almost 7:30, whoops! The tents were damp from the overnight rain but we stuffed them in sacks, ate breakfast and broke camp. The weather cleared and it was another beautiful day of hiking. We hiked through a birch forest, ate lunch at a fire tower, took plenty of breaks and arrived at our shelter in Windigo 11 miles later in just over 7 hours. We claimed shelter #3 at Washington Creek campground. It was in a great location, looking out over water. We pulled out all the wet gear and draped it over trees and bushes, made some coffee and headed to Windigo, just a little further down the trail. Back to a sort of civilization :) We took showers (coin operated), did our laundry, visited the little store and purchased pizza, diet coke and apple pie! We ate out on the patio and watched a seaplane take off from the water. Sat around, relaxed and congratulated ourselves on a successful traverse of the island!

packs off for a break and a wipedown!

lunch break at the fire tower

we loved the hiking stick tripod!!

front porch of shelter #3 at Washington Park Campground

lunch on the patio at the camp store

hanging out, waiting for laundry to finish

boy, was she happy to find a cold diet coke!

sittin' on the dock of a bay, wasting time :)

seaplane!

Monday, August 8: We had reservations on the ferry from Windigo to Rock Island Harbor that left at 10:30 and arrived at 3:00. We took our time getting up and had breakfast on the deck at the camp store. The ferry ride was pretty smooth and uneventful. After we docked, we claimed a shelter, had dinner at the grill, spent time in the visitor center giftshop and attended a ranger talk about geology.

ferry boat from Windigo to Rock Island

dinner at the grill at Rock Island

Tuesday, August 9
After breakfast we rented a canoe and crossed Tobin Harbor. We beached the canoe and hiked up to Lookout Louise. We found moose tracks at Hidden Lake but only spotted a turtle sunning on a rock. We boarded the ferry back to Copper Harbor at 2:45 (arrived at 6). It was a rough crossing and lots of people stood outside leaning over the railing :( We got to the car and drove 3 hours to the Holiday Inn Express in Iron Mt. Michigan. Took it easy, got a pizza, slept well and got up and finished driving home the next day.