Hiking in Isle Royale National Park with Dave, Denise, Steve, and Jeff - May 2002

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This was our first (and probably last) hiking trip in 2002. This was our first "group hike". We were joined by Steve, Jeff, Denise, and Dave. This being the first multi-day backcountry experience for 3 of them. Jeff, Steve, Julie and I left on Thursday from Chicago, and drove the 8+ hours to the northern tip of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Friday morning we boarded a ferry out of Copper Harbor destined for Isle Royale, a 4 1/2 hour trip. The lake was very choppy and a good percentage of the boat seemed to be leaning over the railings at some point during the trip. We were later told the nickname of the boat to which it lived up to - The Barf Barge. We had a great time during our four days (Fri-Mon) of hiking and were blessed by fairly good weather every day. It was a bit cool at night and we did get rained on one night, but most of the time it was clear to partly cloudy and generally great backpacking weather. We hiked moderate days of approximately 8, 10.5, 10.5, and 5 miles. Along the way we spotted quite a few moose, a fox, a bald eagle, and evidence of wolves, but never the real thing.

After returning to Copper Harbor from the island (on a much smoother ferry ride fortunately) on Monday night, the Rover decided to die as we were checking in to the Eagle Lodge. The inn-keeper, Doug, took care of us well and set up a tow truck and an appointment at Mort's Garage to get it looked at first thing in the morning. We took advantage of our time stuck in the the country's newest National Park, Keweenaw National Historical Park (which encompasses the entire area of Calumet, MI, in which we were stranded), by spending an afternoon walking around the historic town and taking in a round of golf at the local course the next morning. We finally made it back to Chicago at Midnight Wednesday.

		Description: Our Eagle Lodge cabin that we stayed in the night before heading to Isle Royale	Description: Inside the cabin	Description: View of Lake Superior from our cabin looking east
		Description: View of Lake Superior from our cabin looking west	Description: Steve heading out to the beach	Description: Aboard the "Barf Barge" on our way to Isle Royale
		Description: Hiking to "Daisy Farm" on day 1	Description: Steve and Dave taking in the view	Description: Taking a break on the trail (from left to right: Julie, Steve, Jeff, Dave, and Denise)
		Description: Moose skeleton on the beach	Description: Moose near our Daisy Farm campsite	Description: Flowers along the trail
		Description: The whole gang after our first day of hiking: Steve, Denise, Matt, Julie, Dave, Jeff	Description: You won't see this on Discovery	Description: Moose near Daisy Farm
		Description: Moon rising over the dock at Daisy Farm	Description: Our homes after the first day of hiking	Description: Wild strawberries along the trail
		Description: More flowers along the trail	Description: Jeff, Dave, Steve, and Denise take a hiking break on day 2	Description: A strange plant along the trail
		Description: Julie, Steve, and Jeff	Description: Dave and Denise	Description: Denise and Dave (Jeff and Steve following)
		Description: Night 2 campsite at Chickenbone Lake (East)	Description: Jeff, Steve, Dave	Description: Watching the sun set over Chickenbone Lake
		Description: Sunset - Day 2	Description: Campsite at Chickenbone Lake	Description: Jeff and Steve getting ready to make breakfast on Day 3
		Description: Julie works on packing for the day while the oatmeal cooks	Description: Us :-)	Description: Denise and Dave
		Description: Dave and Denise	Description: Dave and Denise	Description: Sunning on a Rock along the Greenstone Ridge - Day 3
		Description: Denise, Dave and Steve taking in the view from the Ridge	Description:	Description: Day 3 Hiking
		Description: Hiking on the Greenstone Ridge	Description: Almost stepped on this little guy as we hiked	Description: Hiking toward the observation tower at Mt Ojibway
		Description: Moose near Mt. Ojibway	Description: Observation Tower at Mt. Ojibway	Description:
		Description: Looking north across the lake at Canada	Description:	Description: Taking in the view from the Greenstone Ridge during a break late on day 3
		Description: Dave, Denise, Jeff, and Steve	Description: Julie hiking on the boards above some of the marshy areas along the trail	Description: Dave hanging his food for the night at "Three Mile"
		Description: Our campsite at "Three Mile" at the end of day 3	Description: The tail end of a fox using the trail near our camp	Description: Dave and Jeff hiking at dusk - Day 3
		Description: Steve pumping water on Day 4	Description: Denise and Dave cooking breakfast alongside Lake Superior on our last day on the trail	Description:
		Description:	Description: Waiting for the ferry to take us back to the Upper Peninsula	Description: Our ride to the mainland
		Description: Loading up canoes and kayaks on top of the ferry	Description: The lighthouse near Copper Harbor - we were told it is the oldest lighthouse on Lake Superior.	Description: The whole group after four days of hiking and two trips on the Barf Barge
		Description: We stayed at the Eagle Lodge again the night after returning from the Island	Description: The Rover decided it had finally had enough and decided not to start. Julie and I extended our vacation by a day as a new starter was flown in from Chicago.	Description: We made the most of the extra day by playing a round at the Calumet Golf Club while we waited for the Rover
		Description: Rentals. Yeah Baby!	Description:	Description: Julie sporting her nice orange rental bag
		Description: Super-Mechanic Mort after fixing the Rover	Description: Sodie's! Wisconsin cheese curds and custard.