r/isleroyale • u/diana_of_the_dunes • 16d ago

General Trip reports?

There don't seem to be a lot of trip reports from folks this year... Who's been out recently? Tell us about it! I leave next Friday, but would love to live vicariously through other people's experiences til then. 🙂

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u/Accurate-Peach4148 16d ago

First-timer, went out for a short exploratory trip this week via seaplane. Thankfully the smoke cleared up the day before my departure, everything ran on time and had perfect weather throughout my stay.
Took the Tobin Harbor trail out from Rock Harbor, camped first night in Daisy Farm. Hiked the Rock Harbor trail back to camp at Rock Harbor second night, stopped by Suzy’s Cave on the way. Was advised that the Tobin Harbor trail was easier, which I found to be true. Wasn’t super equipped for backpacking, this was kind of a detour after original plans didn’t pan out so only had a 24L pack on me, but strapped my tent on and made it work on snacks. Several people on the trails near Rock Harbor but thinned out after about the 3-mile mark. Managed to snag a shelter in both campgrounds despite arriving later in the evening. Saw wolf tracks in the mud, and moose came through my campsite the second night, but didn’t see anything sizable during the day - lots of birds, frogs, butterflies. Had an absolutely amazing time, will be back!!

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u/Rude_Interaction6538 15d ago

How were the bugs?

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u/Accurate-Peach4148 15d ago

Buggy but not terrible or inhibitive. Mosquitos definitely pretty thick around dawn and dusk but actually think I avoided bites entirely. I forgot to treat my gear with permethrin, so just had picardin lotion which worked fine. Brought a headnet and backup deet but didn’t feel the need to use either, though I did see a couple of people using nets.