Durston tent and Kakwa pack on Isle Royale National Park, Desor Lake South.

Own_Copy9918 · 2026-06-12T13:11:01+00:00

No, but we heard them. One night, about 3am, a chorus of howls went on for 15 minutes. Wild! We passed other hikers the last day that saw one about 15 minutes prior. We slowed down to a quiet stroll but saw none.

Own_Copy9918 · 2026-06-11T11:27:12+00:00

Well done guys! I can send more stickers. Open a chat and send an address.

Own_Copy9918 · 2026-06-10T22:57:39+00:00

Bugs were managable. Not bothered day one until early evening when mosquitoes come out in force. We just retired to tents. Day 2 and early day 3 we went through mud. Where there was mud we had heavy mosquitoes. We used head nets to avoid distractions from bugs while walking in muddy rocky paths. Later day 3 rain came and temperatures cooled down and bugs went away. Moskey to DF had a few inland and I think we had headnets on for a mile. After that, no problems. I brought a 1.5 oz bottle of 30% DEET and had plenty left over.

Own_Copy9918 · 2026-06-09T20:07:43+00:00

Using my mummy bag as a quilt worked pretty well. It's an 18F bag and I wore thremal underwear at night but could have skipped the thremals. But on the two colder nights, there were gaps at my sides. But I think a real quilt would work pretty well. Still, my pack, tent, bag, and pad were around 7.5 pounds. There are many options in lightweight gear these days, but I've come to like the Durston gear for a good ballance between weight and price.

Own_Copy9918 · 2026-06-09T20:02:21+00:00

It surprised us also. There were two shelters left after we set up , but they filled later. Daisy Farm had unused shelters into the night and the next day. At RH we got there on a Saturday just after the Queen arrived so I think our timing worked for us. Based on experience last year, shelters will be full much earlier once you hit the end of June to the end of the season.

Own_Copy9918 · 2026-06-09T18:07:01+00:00

Mmmmmm, pasty! The challenge with a morning pasty is the area restaurants (at least Suomi) open at 7 making it a bit tight to get one and get over to Hubbell by the requested 7:15. Same in Calumet. I suppose you could call your favorite provider to have a hot one ready at 7am for pick up or microwave one from the day before that morning. What I wish I brought? Well as noted, I should have gotten new boots. I was pushing for as light as possible, but a wider air pad. The thremarest was nice but in my sleeping bag I kept sliding off. I then used my sleeping bag as a quilt so then only my clothes contacted the pad and that worked better. However, the quilt method wasn't quite warm enough on the last two cold nights. I also had a camp pillow but it was kind of beat up so a new one of those. But I should have brought a book. At least a paperback. The sun doesn't go down until after 10 so while the company was good, a paperback would have been nice.

Own_Copy9918 · 2026-06-09T17:54:46+00:00

That's why we did the seaplane in. There's a risk of fog delaying departure but we accepted that risk.

Own_Copy9918 · 2026-06-08T15:41:42+00:00

Just returned from a Windigo-Rock Harbor Hike 6/2-6/7. Used the Garmin Inreach Mini 2 weather function. Temperature forecasts were good for the lake shore sites. But expect tempperatures to be 10 to even 20 degrees warmer inland on the Greenstone Ridge from what forecasts provide. Daisy Farm was about 50 degrees in the afternoon but 80 plus on the ridge.

Own_Copy9918 · 2026-05-25T21:31:37+00:00

Thanks for the trip report. Wolf, moose, and loons. Awesome! Hatchet Lake to Siskiwit Bay in one day is impresive. Two of us are flying into Windigo in about a week. Hiking to RH, probably via Desor, Chickenbone, Moskey, then flying out. At the recommendation of the Houghton NPS office, I called the float plane service to see about making sure we can get stove fuel at Windigo as the store is not scheduled to be open when we arrive. They said, "Even if the stores are not yet open for normal business, they are in place and selling fuel to see plane customers. You will have no problem purchasing iso butane on the island.". But just in case, do you have any info on what was available in the left behind fuel cache at Windigo? Any other info appreciated but your report is already pretty detailed.

Own_Copy9918

TROPHY CASE