Isle Royale 2002 Trail Journals

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8-15-02
7:00 AM

We took the ferry out yesterday from Grand Portage all the way to Rock Harbor - 8 hours or so. We didn't get to Rock Harbor until 4:00, but decided to at least hike to Three Mile (3 miles away). After setting up camp, we decided to eat. Andy lit the stove, and as usual, it seemed to flame up more than normal. I never deal with it, and pretty much try to stay as far away as I can. Well, I turned around to see how it was going, and the whole damn thing was in flames, bottle and all, and Andy's trying to dump water on it & disconnect it. Luckily, he was able to get the bottle away & it all went out. Unfortunately, we are now without a stove. Some Boy Scouts camped by us let us use theirs last night.

This morning Andy left at about 6:30 to head back to Rock Harbor. Hopefully he can get a replacement part, otherwise maybe cans of sterno. There was a certain stove we wanted that they probably don't have, so we didn't really want to buy any old thing.

So, Andy will be putting on an extra 6 miles. I'm supposed to have everything packed up by the time he gets back (hopefully around 9 or 9:30). There's a dock at this site - I should have told him to ask if any of the boats were going that way - he could've hitched a ride...

Thursday night, 8-15-02

Well, the morning turned into a nightmare - well, maybe my nightmare. Andy was gone, and shortly after I quit writing in here, I decided to get the stuff together. I was able to get most of the stuff inside ready, but as soon as I was out, it started to sprinkle. There was the dilemma - should I take the tent down, or shouldn't I? Well, I decided to, got all the stuff out (in the packs), took the stakes out & the poles, and the thunder & lightning began. Lightning is pretty much my biggest fear in the outdoors. What could I do, except hurry the hell up? I got the packs to the bottom of the trail, but the tent was a goner. I folded it up in the tarp and left it. I ran down the trail and was lucky enough to find an open shelter. I proceeded to go back & forth until I got everything to the shelter.

About 1/2 hour later, Andy showed up. They had no replacement parts at the store, so he got Magic Heat sterno stuff. After an hour or so, we got the hell out of there and headed for Daisy Farm. The trail was pretty rocky - huge stone ridges that were slippery in the rain. We made it to Daisy Farm, and there was a nice shelter to rest & eat lunch with a bunch of other tenters. We headed out again and made it to Moskey Basin around 4:00? All the shelters were taken, but the rain did clear up for blue sky, and the dock area here is gorgeous, with huge rock ridges for enjoying the sun. Hopefully the weather will hold out.

By the way - Andy gave Magic Heat a "10" - well, a "9". It took a few tries before he realized it was lit...

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