Hike from Rock Harbor to Daisy Farm Day 1

The Chill of a Northern June

Before leaving for my trip to Isle Royale,  the temperatures in the Chicago area were hovering around 93 degrees. I frequently checked the temperatures in Thunder Bay, and northern Minnesota before leaving. The weather seemed to be far warmer than it was last year, and I mistakenly believed the temperatures on the island would be warmer as well.

Upon arrival on the island, I immediate noticed the drop in temperature. The temperature on the island seemed cool enough to convince me to buy a sweatshirt and hat from the general store at Rock Harbor.

The available sweatshirt wasn’t as warm as I would have liked, but I was unable to purchase a warmer sweatshirt from the gift shop, as it was closed this early in the season. Last year, at the same time it was open. Assumptions should never be made, especially on Isle Royale. I was to learn this lesson many times over on my trip, as the island is unpredictable.

The Tobin Harbor Trail

I chose an easy trail to begin my hike, as I was getting a late start. Last year, a ranger recommended the Rock Harbor trail to Three Mile Campground. After all, it is only three miles. The part he left out, was that Isle Royale Miles are far more difficult than a lap around a track. The Tobin Harbor Trail is far easier, especially convenient when getting a late start.

The Ranger III ship docks at Rock Harbor at 3:00PM, and my dawdling at Rock Harbor burned more time. My dawdling didn’t concern me, as I was planning on spending the night at 3 mile campground.

I was delighted to spot an Isle Royale squirrel feeding voraciously on the Tobin Harbor Trail. The squirrels on Isle Royale are a subspecies existing only on the island. They are small, red squirrels, with white rings around their eyes.

I couldn’t get a clear photograph of this creature last year, and this little squirrel didn’t seem too skittish. The floor of the path was littered with the scales of pine cones, torn to bits by these frenzied feeders.

Every now and then, while walking on the Tobin Harbor Trail, while admiring this rugged wilderness environment, I would feel waves of astonishment that any creature could survive, let alone flourish in such a place.

At Peace in the Wilderness

Every now and then I would stop walking on the trail, in amazement at the absolute silence. At times it was so quiet, not even the slightest breath of wind could be heard. It was as if I had gone completely deaf, and welcomed the escape from the racket of civilization.

I listened carefully for the smallest sound, but there was nothing my feeble ears could detect. Compared to the silence of the woods, I was astounded at the loud, crashing animal I was. I was quite sure, every creature on the island could hear me from miles away.

Along the edge of the trail, new growth forest was flourishing. It was odd seeing the weathered, lichen covered forest dominating the landscape along with the struggling trail side sprouts. I could imagine, had the trail been abandoned, it would disappear in no time at all. In fact, I overheard a ranger talking about mysterious trails that must have been used once upon a time, but were now succumbing to the power of nature.

Isle Royale Mosquitoes Vs. Suburban Mosquitoes

Last year, I didn’t notice any problems with insects early in June. Walking along Tobin Harbor Trail, there didn’t seem to be any problem until there was. Out of the blue a cloud of mosquitoes descended upon me, biting my ankles through my socks. I desperately searched my pack for the mosquito repellent, quite rattled that they were active so early in the year. Last year there was no need for insect repellent early in June.

It only took a few dabs of repellent and the mosquitoes left me alone. In the suburbs of Chicago, the mosquitoes go for the places without repellent, the scalp and the palms of hands. With more people, suburban mosquitoes are the martial artists of the blood sucking creatures.

Darkness Falling

Walking along the Rock Harbor Trail, I noticed daylight was fading, and I had no idea how much farther I had to walk to reach Daisy Farm campground. I picked up my pace dramatically, as the sun fell lower in the sky. I managed to reach Daisy Farm at last light, and put on my headlamp as it was dark in the shelter.

Daisy Farm Campground

I found an open shelter, which was number thirteen. I wondered if people deliberately skipped this shelter out of superstition, but I felt lucky to have found the shelter before dark. I skipped dinner and crashed. The soles of my feet were painful, which made sleep a task. It was quite cold that night, and I was up with the moon and a sliver of light in the eastern sky.

Morning on Daisy Farm

My first task was to bend my water filtering apparatus into usable shape and head down to the lake to filter my day’s supply of water. There was one other person up early on the beach with the same purpose. The beach at Daisy Farm is partly covered in rocks, creating an awkward walking surface. I tried stepping out onto slick rocks to find an area with less floating debris in the water, and my feet were stinging unbearably from the cold lake. I scanned the shore looking for a convenient place to gather water, and headed over to the sandy part of the beach by the dock.

Wolf Tracks at Daisy Farm

As the morning grew lighter, I was delighted to find wolf tracks in the sand. I was hoping to spot wolf tracks before my trip, and was snapping photographs of the prints like my life depended upon it.

I spotted plenty of wolf scat along the Rock Harbor and Tobin Harbor trails, but it looked old. While scat is proof  undeniable of wolves presence on the island, it doesn’t hold the same excitement for me as tracks. It is after all, scat. And old scat at that. Fresh scat would indeed have me looking around, as if the wolves were waiting for me to spot them.

Daisy Farm is not my favorite campground, as it is more crowded than others. A motor boat was settled at the dock, which was responsible for the soapy water (gray water) contaminating the water by the beach.