Isle Royale, Part Five
Last days on Isle Royale
The next morning was cool -- 48 degrees when we were packing up to leave Lake Richie. It was overcast all day, but never rained. This was to our advantage, since this was the longest day of hiking we had planned, some twelve miles in all. We took a wrong turn at Moskey Basin, but soon found the right trail and were heading up the coastline of Rock Harbor.
We made excellent time. Traveling over territory you've hiked before makes everything go faster. At one point, I showed Kaila Moskey Basin from several miles on up the coast and she was surprised at how fast we were going. In all, we did twelve miles in about nine hours.
Dave kept saying how "pristine" everything was. Of course, he also kept saying, "I wonder if we could make a Yamaha that would carry our gear for us?" and "We need some picnic tables and running water up here." Sorry, man. There's a basic trade-off: the farther out in the wilderness you go the groovier it gets, but there's a price to be paid. Once you've built roads and trucked in everything you want, the magic goes out of the place.
Our last day we were up and at 'em early, and arrived back at the Visitors Center shortly after ten o'clock. We had a lot of time to mess around and eat lunch. The ferry wasn't due to leave until 2:45 p.m. I took a shower -- the best six dollars I ever spent in my life. We shopped for souvenirs.
After another smooth and easy passage on the Isle Royale Queen IV, we went back to Fort Wilkins, where everybody else took showers. We went shopping for supplies. That evening, we had smoked lake trout, boiled potatoes, corn on the cob, lots of butter, fresh tomatoes, cheese curds, apples, and soda pop.
After Thorns and Roses (evening devotions), Ben and Kaleb presented several awards, followed by a prayer of thanksgiving. I was moved that the youth expected us to pray in that way and wanted me to lead them. We got something good going on here.
The next morning was cool -- 48 degrees when we were packing up to leave Lake Richie. It was overcast all day, but never rained. This was to our advantage, since this was the longest day of hiking we had planned, some twelve miles in all. We took a wrong turn at Moskey Basin, but soon found the right trail and were heading up the coastline of Rock Harbor.
We made excellent time. Traveling over territory you've hiked before makes everything go faster. At one point, I showed Kaila Moskey Basin from several miles on up the coast and she was surprised at how fast we were going. In all, we did twelve miles in about nine hours.
Dave kept saying how "pristine" everything was. Of course, he also kept saying, "I wonder if we could make a Yamaha that would carry our gear for us?" and "We need some picnic tables and running water up here." Sorry, man. There's a basic trade-off: the farther out in the wilderness you go the groovier it gets, but there's a price to be paid. Once you've built roads and trucked in everything you want, the magic goes out of the place.
Our last day we were up and at 'em early, and arrived back at the Visitors Center shortly after ten o'clock. We had a lot of time to mess around and eat lunch. The ferry wasn't due to leave until 2:45 p.m. I took a shower -- the best six dollars I ever spent in my life. We shopped for souvenirs.
After another smooth and easy passage on the Isle Royale Queen IV, we went back to Fort Wilkins, where everybody else took showers. We went shopping for supplies. That evening, we had smoked lake trout, boiled potatoes, corn on the cob, lots of butter, fresh tomatoes, cheese curds, apples, and soda pop.
After Thorns and Roses (evening devotions), Ben and Kaleb presented several awards, followed by a prayer of thanksgiving. I was moved that the youth expected us to pray in that way and wanted me to lead them. We got something good going on here.
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Bridge to Nowhere Wrong turn at Moskey Basin |
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Obstacles Lots of downed timber across the trails |
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Threemile Camp Last night |
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Would you like to swing on a star Or just go backpacking? |
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Squirrel Sorry, no leftovers |
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Westering Moon early morning over Threemile |
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The fog rolls in Barrier islands to Rock Harbor |
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Words fail me Really they do, sometimes |
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Have cards, will travel Rock Harbor Lodge, waiting for the ferry |