I started writing this sitting on the floor of our Copper Harbor hotel room, the wifi was basically a joke and didn't work much at all except for some random locations (like there on the floor) but the picture upload is what did it in and I'm finishing this post at home...on my nice cushy couch with my favorite dog sleeping on my leg. Anyways, I plan to do a post for each day of our trip and here is the first one:
Our original plan was to make the 10+ hour drive to Copper
Harbor on Saturday, camp somewhere, then take the ferry on Sunday. I found out
the ferry wasn’t running that day so we drove up Friday after work, got to
Copper Harbor around 2am, slept in our tiny car, then got on the Saturday
ferry. Nothing like a little sleep
deprivation to start off a great hike!
 |
| on the ferry |
The ferry is set up sort of like a restaurant, with tables
for four around the edge and tables for six down the middle.
There are also places to sit in the front and
back of the boat too.
We took one of the
side booths and two young guys from Chicago sat across from us.
They were hiking with their mom who had a
plan to visit all 58 national parks. I think that is a great idea and if I had
more time and money, would love to create a bucket list like that (side note I think I've only visited 3 national parks).
We docked at Rock Harbor a little after noon and had to
listen to a short speech from a ranger about the seven principals of leave no trace and then register in the office. We finally hit the trail around
1:30 and decided to start off our 6.9 mile hike to Lane Cove by taking the Tobin
Harbor trail to the Mt. Franklin trail that went up the ridge to the trail that
would take us down into Lane cove. It
was a beautiful hike to start stretching our legs on! I was impressed with how thick the vegetation
was and the beautiful multi-color moss and lichen that seemed to grow
everywhere. The trail wasn’t easy by any
means and had rocks and roots along the whole way but it was relatively flat,
in comparison to the rest of the island.
We stopped for a late lunch where the Tobin Harbor trail met
the Mt. Franklin trail because there really was no other clearing
available.
It was exciting to try out
our homemade alcohol stove on the trail for the first time and it worked like a
charm!
After lunch we headed up the
ridge and I still think it was one of the more difficult parts of our trip
because it was such a steep elevation, in direct sunlight, and mostly rocky
ledges and stones to step on. Plus it was the first day so my body was still adjusting to the weight of my pack,
I got to the top quite tired and sweaty but
there was a lovely log to rest on in the shade.
 |
| view from Mt. Franklin |
We took a quick snack break and donned our gear to head down the last
leg of the trail to our campsite.
Now
this was tricky trail! The way to Lane Cove consisted of steep trail switchbacks,
occasional flat woodsy sections, and even some boardwalks over low waters.
I felt like we had just
defeated the purpose of climbing the ridge to come all the way back down but it
was absolutely gorgeous! I really thrive on the moments of tough trail when all I can think is, "keep breathing and put one foot in front of the other" until I reach the end. I always know the end of the trail is one step closer no matter how tired, sore, or hard the terrain is and all I have to do it keep going. I was totally beat by the time we made it to the campground and I was so proud of myself for accomplishing that terrain, it's sort of like when I finish a kick-ass workout back home...but better. Out in the wilderness its not just about the physical work out but also the mental skill, the effect of the raw beautiful environment around me and the fact its down to survival if I don't finish the hike.
Lane Cove isn’t a popular campground because it’s a dead
end trail and doesn’t have shelters and that’s exactly why we picked to go
there first.
However our quest for
solitude wasn’t really met because this is the island’s busy season and there
were plenty of hikers everywhere and all but one site at Lane Cove was already
taken.
The one left was okay and had a
pretty view of the end of the cove and we immediately took off our boots and
walked into the chilly water.
Hubby pitched the tent and I made dinner.
I took a risk and bought canned shrimp for a
new recipe for sesame shrimp noodles and we ate it the first night because it
was the heaviest meal. If you were wondering if canned shrimp is gross, you are
right! I was hoping they’d be like the tiny shrimp in Chinese fried rice but
they weren’t, they were quite dry and smelly.
Lesson learned and I won't be packing those again! After dinner, we went to bed early and crammed
into our tiny kid tent for the night.
Thankfully it was the only time we had to use it because we had shelters
the rest of the trip.
The next
day, things got a little more intense for me as we hiked out of Lane Cove and
I’ll explain what happened in my next post.
After seeing my feet, one of the girls offered something even better than advice, she gave me duct tape! She said it might help to stick moleskin to duct tape and cover my whole heel like a giant bandaid. She gave me two strips to use and rolled up some more for me to use later. I am still forever grateful for her assistance because I don't how I would of finished the trip without her help and she probably didn't even realize how much her help meant to me. Thank you kind Grad student!! I had been pretty disappointed about how "crowded" Isle Royale was but I realized then how it wasn't so bad when you are in need of assistance. Every hiker we passed was incredibly friendly and helpful, the kind of people who backpack are just that way. We all share the same love of the hike and helping each other along the way is just what you do.
.jpg)
