Copper Harbor

Day 1 - Isle Royal Queen 2 - Our ride to Isle Royale. It is a 3-3.5 hour ride from Copper Harbor to Rock Harbor.

Copper Harbor

Day 1 - Leaving Dock at Copper Harbor - Pulling away from the dock, we officially began our Isle Royale Trip.

Copper Harbor

Day 1 - Bella Vista Hotel, Copper Harbor - Base Camp for our Isle Royal Trip as viewed from the boat dock. The previous night we were treated to a beautiful display of Northern Lights over Lake Superior.

Isle Royale Queen II

Day 1 - Copper Harbor Light - Heading out onto the open waters of Lake Superior we passed the Copper Harbor Lighthouse.

Isle Royale Queen II

Day 1 - Copper Harbor, MI

Isle Royale Queen II

Day 1 - The Keweenaw as it looks about a half hour out from the docks.

Isle Royale Queen II

Day 1 - Fog on the big lake hid the island from view for quite a while. This was the first view we had of Isle Royale about 2.5 hours into the trip.

Isle Royale Queen II

Day 1 - The fog finally thinned out as we got within a half hour of the island.

Isle Royale Queen II

Day 1 - We passed Raspberry Island to our right as we entered Rock Harbor.

Rock Harbor

Day 1 - The rustic but expensive ($300/night) Rock Harbor Lodge as seen entering Rock Harbor.

Rock Harbor

Day 1 - Approaching the National Park dock at Rock Harbor.

Rock Harbor

Day 1 - On Isle Royale at last, this shot is looking west down Rock Harbor from the boat dock.

Rock Harbor

Day 1 - It was hard to believe I was actually here.

Rock Harbor

Day 1 - Rock Harbor was much more cosmopolitan than I expected. Private boats, tourists in straw hats and hawaiian shirts, and souvenier shops didn't feel too much like a wilderness.

Isle Royale Hiking Route Map - Day 1

A depiction of the first day of my backpacking trip to Isle Royale National Park, taking me from Rock Harbor to Lane Cove Camp, depicted a la Google Earth...

Isle Royale Hiking Route Map - Day 1

A depiction of the first day of my backpacking trip to Isle Royale National Park, taking me from Rock Harbor to Lane Cove Camp...

Rock Harbor Trailhead

Day 1 - After some last minute preparations, we set out. The trail from the dock area to the Tobin Harbor Trail is very wide and well-graded.

Tobin Harbor Trail

Day 1 - Looking up Tobin Harbor with the Greenstone Ridge rising in the distance.

Tobin Harbor Trail

Day 1 - For the first 3 miles out of Rock Harbor we followed the Tobin Harbor Trail along Tobin Harbor.

Mount Franklin Trail

Day 1 - At the head of Tobin Harbor we turned north on the Mt. Franklin Trail to ascend the Greenstone Ridge. We soon crossed Tobin Creek on this footbridge, typical of many on Isle Royale.

Mount Franklin Trail

Day 1 - Just before making the final climb up to the ridge you pass this swampy area. We came to realize that on Isle Royale there were two types of terrain...exposed rock and swamp...

Mount Franklin Trail

Day 1 - The Greenstone Ridge runs the length of Isle Royale. This was the first of four times we would ascend it this week.

Mount Franklin

Day 1 - Mt. Franklin - 1074 feet

Mount Franklin

Day 1 - The Mt. Franklin Trail does not pass directly over Mt. Franklin. We made the side trip .3 miles down the Greenstone Ridge Trail to see the views in case they were not as good the next day. It was hazy so many of the photos I took are not worth seeing. This one however shows our destination the first day-Lane Cove.

Lane Cove Trail

Day 1 - Lane Cove Trail drops VERY quickly off the Greenstone Ridge. It heads north for 2.4 miles to Lane Cove Campground passing over and through a number of ridges and swamps along the way. This would be one of the swamps.

Lane Cove Trail

Day 1 - We saw quite a few beaver dams along the Lane Cove Trail. This is one of the larger ones.

Lane Cove Trail

Day 1 - You don't get a view of Lane Cove until you are literally on the shoreline. Our first nights camp was just into the woods on the right.

Lane Cove Trail

Day 1 - The head of Lane Cove where our campsite was located was very shallow and sandy.

Lane Cove Camp

Day 1 - Lane Cove was my least favorite camp. On paper it looked ideal. We thought it would be all but deserted due to its out-of-the-way location but we found it full except for the one tiny remaining site we claimed. It was also by far the buggiest site we had. Later we would find out Lane Cove has a reputation as the buggiest campground on the island. Just FYI.

Isle Royale Hiking Route Map - Day 2

A depiction of the second day of my backpacking trip to Isle Royale National Park, taking me from Lane Cove Camp to Daisy Farm Camp, depicted a la Google Earth...

Isle Royale Hiking Route Map - Day 2

A depiction of the second day of my backpacking trip to Isle Royale National Park, taking me from Lane Cove Camp to Daisy Farm Camp...

Lane Cove Trail

Day 2 - This photo doesn't really do justice to how steep a climb this was. Just trust me it was STEEP! Lane Cove Trail

Lane Cove-Greenstone Ridge Trail Junction

Day 2 - Lane Cove-Greenstone Ridge Junction

Mount Franklin

Day 2 - Photo-op on Mt. Franklin

Mount Franklin

Day 2 - It was even clearer this day on Mt. Franklin. The high ridge on the horizon is the Sleeping Giant near Thunder Bay, Ontario 30 miles away.

Greenstone Ridge Trail

Day 2 - The wilderness of Isle Royale stretches out in front of us along this section of the Greenstone between Mts. Franklin and Ojibway.

Greenstone Ridge Trail

Day 2 - The Greenstone Ridge between Mt. Franklin and Mt. Ojibway alternates between open, rocky fields and low shrubs. It is a gorgeous hike. This is a view of the north shore of the island not far from Mt. Franklin.

Greenstone Ridge Trail

Day 2 - Looking back at Lane Cove from the Greenstone Ridge.

Greenstone Ridge Trail

Day 2 - Our first view of Mt. Ojibway, our lunch stop on the Second Day. It was quite warm this day on the ridge and being exposed to the sun all the way really drained us.

Greenstone Ridge Trail

Day 2 - A beautiful view of Sleeping Giant through the Birches just beneath Mt. Ojibway.

Mount Ojibway -- 1,136'

Day 2 - We were quite ready for a break once we reached Mt. Ojibway. It was a perfect place for lunch.

Mount Ojibway -- 1,136'

Day 2 - Mt. Ojibway Summit - 1133 feet

Mount Ojibway -- 1,136'

Day 2 - Mt. Ojibway (view N) - The city of Thunder Bay, Ontario was clearly visible in the distance to the naked eye. The camera however failed to show it through the haze. Sleeping Giant is o the right.

Mount Ojibway -- 1,136'

Day 2 - Mt. Ojibway (view SE) - This view shows our destination for Day Two. Rock Harbor is mostly hidden from view but the white dot in the center is the Rock Harbor Lighthouse which lies directly across the harbor from camp at Daisy Farm Campground.

Mount Ojibway -- 1,136'

Day 2 - Mt. Ojibway (view SW) - Sargent Lake is the lake visible here. Much of the lake is hidden by the surrounding ridges.

Mount Ojibway -- 1,136'

Day 2 - Mt. Ojibway (view SSW) - Lakes Ojibway (near) and Benson (far) are visible in this view of Isle Royale's interior from Mt. Ojibway.

Mount Ojibway -- 1,136'

Day 2 - The view from the tower on Mt. Ojibway looking back up the ridge we just travelled, towards Mt. Franklin (not visible).

Mount Ojibway -- 1,136'

Day 2 - Looking down to those hot, heavy packs...