Getting There

Getting to the Island is not, um, convenient. My hiking buddies & I live in Minneapolis. Wherever you live, there are really two ways to get there, both using ferrys. We opted for the drive to Grand Marais, up near Canada on the North Shore of the Lake. Since Kevin & Eric grew up in Duluth we had a cheap (read free) place to stay there. This, of course, required an early wake-up in the morning, but somehow we still had time to stop in Two Harbors for breakfast (there are several diner/cafes, the two I've been to are both good).

The drive to Grand Marais takes several hours, and the ferry only goes to the island every other day, so you want to make sure you don't miss your departure. The ferryboat ride takes a couple hours; essentially all day, if you include the late departure.

One thing I'd do differently is change where we got off the boat. The boat first sails for the closest end of the island, the small community of ??. The ride there is only a couple hours. We didn't get off the boat until a couple hours later, at McCargoe Cove. I will admit though, that the ride does pass some spectacular terrain. The trip 'inland' to the dock is awesome as well. The cove actually cuts a ways into the island, the trees seem enless before the dock finally appears. A ranger was waiting for us, to issue our backcountry permit & welcome us to the island.

From the landing, its a short walk to Chickenbone Lake. I believe we camped at East Chickenbone. This walk was my first backpacking experience. While short, its definately a new feeling! The guys I was with treated me pretty good, I pretty much only carried my own gear and a portion of the food. Kindof a wuss of me wasn't it? They each carried a stove and one of em had the tent too. Since the walk was short (around a mile I think), we just hung around until time for food. We'd all bought & brought hammocks, so I say 'hang around' literally.

On Day two, we hiked a good portion of length of the Island. Essentially, our first hike was to ascend to the Greenstone Trail. The Greenstone Trail is the moss & lichen encrusted backbone of the Isle. Once you get to the ridgeline, there's not much elevation change, which is kinda nice on the legs.

We met a couple hikers on the trail, but it wasn't crowded by any means. I remember at one point we met a dude doctoring his feet - new hiking boots & long days with a pack do not mix! Another guy was lunching on some Tabouli. This middle-eastern dish is worth considering for a hiker - you buy it dried, in which state it weighs nearly nothing. After a bit of a soak in cold water, its ready to eat. Great on crackers or pita bread. I've since made it at home, with some fresh tomatoes added. Pretty good stuff!

We lunched at the weather tower. This NPS-maintained site is the highest point on the island. Apparently its possible to get inside if you're on a ranger-guided hike. Since we were not, we couldn't get onto the platform, only to the stairs that get you there. This was enough altitude however, to see the 'mainland' in the form of Sleeping Giant Provincial Park.

After lunch we hiked a bit farther before stopping for one last rest prior to the descent to Lane Cove. A couple folks we met at the weather tower took a photo:

I have one strong, whoops two memories of Lane Cove. Mosquitoes and a pair of Moose. First, the descent to the area is a bit of a hill. Basically, the trail switchbacks for a while down from the ridge. Doesn't seem too bad going down, but hoo boy, coming up in the morning? Brutal. Before getting from the bottom of the hill to the campsites, the trail crosses a bunch of smaller hills and depressions. Many of the low spots were flooded, due to beaver activity. All the ponds have bridges though, so its not a problem to cross them. At one point, we nearly ran into a mother moose & calf. The were just a shade off the trail, and kinda hard to see. As far as the mosquitoes go, they were brutal. If memory serves, they forced us to turn in pretty early, but were out in force again the next morning. Suffice it to say that our veggie omelettes had a lot of extra protien in them.

Our last day hiking involved backtracking out, to cross the Greenstone trail and travel along the opposite shoreline to Daisy Farms, the site of our last night on the island. The climb up is brutal.

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