I walked down to the lake to get some water and to check the weather before we left.
Then, we started making breakfast. You can see my huge bear (red squirrel?) canister on the table.
Soon enough, we got on the trail. It was warm and very humid, with low clouds and fog. There were no real views until about noon. We were on the Greenstone Ridge trail by then, but initially, we walked through forest and bogs.
Fortunately, the park service does a great job laying down boards to walk on in the wet and boggy areas. Here are some photos: A beautiful pitcher plant (they are carnivorous - insects are attracted to the "pitchers," fall in, and get slowly digested.)
Crossing a board trail through a bog...
A different type of pitcher plant...
A northern bog with coniferous edge...
I was disappointed how little color we saw, but at least at this point, there was something other than green.
Some of my group saw beaver. I didn't, but saw plenty of evidence, such as this beaver pond.
Rick and Lisa climb towards the Greenstone. It was not real steep, but the heavy packs - most of were carrying 40+ pounds - made it feel difficult, as did the unusually warm and humid day.
The Greenstone Ridge Trail is the classic Isle Royale trail. It runs along the spine of the island for more than 40 miles. The weather began to clear when we got up there, even though we were only on the trail for a few miles this day, and not again for the rest of our hike.
It was on this trail when I had my cool experience of the day. I was hiking in the fourth position, three ahead of me, two at least 10 minutes back, when I heard the "crack" of a branch being broken. Only one animal - other than humans - on this island can do that: moose! I stopped and slowly advanced. I could see a tree moving in the woods as the large bull polished his antlers. I watched him for a good 10 minutes. When Rick and Lisa arrived, I asked them to be quiet, and we all got a good look. We slowly walked about 100 feet up the trail so that we could try for a different angle, and as we did, the moose moved into a small gap and stared at us from about 100 feet away. I raised my camera, took aim, zoomed in, and - got a battery dead message! Arrghh!!! Fortunately, Rick snapped this photo with his mobile phone. We got to watch this magnificent animal for about 20 minutes total. I wished that we could show Candy Peterson the picture (we had attended her talk on moose and wolves last night at Daisy Farm).
Zoomed in....
Yes! First moose! We would see a few more, but these largest of deer are shy and do not wish to be seen. But there was other wildlife, or evidence of, such as this beaver dam and pond.
The beaver are making a home for themselves that they cannot survive without, but in the process, they create habitat for other wildlife, such as this pair of sandhill cranes.
By the time we arrived at beautiful McCargoe Cove, everyone was tired and hot. Temperatures were in the 80's. We were lucky to get the last shelter, but might have been better off with a tent on such a hot night. It was warm enough that several of the group jumped into the chilly waters. I did not, but I did soak my feet, which felt great.
McCargoe Cove is a long bay, part of mighty Lake Superior. There was a dock there that many of us hung out on, chatting and later on, looking at the night sky, which is spectacular up here. We never did see the northern lights, though - a goal we all had.
I lay on the dock for a long time as the night closed in. I brought my little pillow down, and considered sleeping on the dock, even though it was so warm out that mosquitoes were biting. Eventually, I trudged up the hill into the crowded and warm shelter, and tried - without much success - to get some sleep.
Prior Story - Hike to Daisy Farm
Next Story - Hike to Chippewa Harbor
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