By John Keefover of Keefography
Isle Royale National Park
Backpacking Trip Report May 24 - June 1st 2021
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DAY 6 - MAY 29 2021
South Lake Desor to Siskiwit Bay: 9.9 miles
It was much warmer sleeping here last night at this inland lake compared to along the shores of Lake Superior yesterday. Every once in awhile I’d somehow find one of my girlfriend’s hairs in my sleeping bag or on my clothes. It made me think of how she’s doing back home with our cat. This is my longest backpacking trip, even with it getting shortened by a day due to the fog delay, so I’m sure she’s thinking of me as well. I’ll see them soon enough though.
We all got up shortly after sunrise feeling good, though we were all nursing blisters by now. Ate a quick breakfast before packing up and heading to the next destination in 9.9 miles: Siskiwit Bay. First we had to climb Mount Desor though, which is the highest point of the island at 1,394 feet and coming from the lake level at 854 feet. The trail was actually a nice gradual climb and it was a beautiful day out. I decided to jump in the lead and just blasted on ahead of the guys. The trail seemed to go on forever. Seemed like we had to be so close to the top of Mount Desor. Eventually though we came to the junction to Island Mine Campground instead. We went over and past the highest point of the island without even realizing it! There was no elevation marker or a view as it just went through the woods. That sure was a fast 5 miles to the junction though!
Making our way through the heavily forested area of Mount Desor.
We turned off the Greenstone headed for Siskiwit Bay. First we had to go through the Island Mine Campground. Everyone we talked to in this area seemed to be coming from or heading to Island Mine so we figured it must’ve been an awesome place but no, not really... at least for me and these guys I’m with we’d much rather be camping on a lake. The stream was just barely a trickle here too and can see it being dried up pretty soon later in the season. Regardless we stopped there for lunch since we missed our original lunch spot at Mount Desor.
While looking at the map we saw there was an old historic well and the Island Mine, but again these were not marked on the trail. The well was obvious right off the trail but the mine had a little spur with crushed ore piles that hinted must be the old mine area. Sure enough back a bit was an old hole that was now filled in and some really cool, old steam powered machinery. After researching it when we got back it was a hoist engine circa 1874 that was abandoned not long after when the price of copper fell and a series of fires ravaged the surrounding area.
Chad looking at the map for where the marked Island Mine and Historic Well locations are at.
Descending down from Island Mine on Oak Ridge got my knee hurting. I didn’t feel any specific pull or tear but for the rest of the trip, and after a bit it hurt walking downhill or on steps especially. I’m not sure if I was overdoing it when I was in the lead on Mount Desor or if I was just favoring that leg when I had blisters on the other foot and overcompensated. Took some aspirin on the trail to hopefully alleviate the pain. Luckily we were pretty much at lake level now and in the lowlands of the Western region of the island. Not as much elevation changes here as there is in the eastern part of the park on the ridges.
Soon the trail opened up to the beautiful shoreline of Siskiwit Bay on Lake Superior! It was a nice way to end the day of hiking along the lake. It reminded me of the lake walk section of the Superior Hiking Trail with the pebble beach rocks. The trail often times cut into overgrown marshes to cross river mouths and go around a large point. On the other side of the point was another cove and we could see the dock of the Siskiwit Bay Campground just along the curve of the beach. On the shores of this second cove the beach was all sand and felt much better on the knees. It was fascinating seeing all of the fresh tracks in the sand. Moose, wolf, fox, rabbit, birds and our own behind us. After crossing a big slanted bridge we finally reached the campground.
Siskiwit Bay from the lake walk section of trail going to the campground.
They had just built a big brand new dock here and we could see some coolers out on it. Assumed it must belong to some fishermen and they were out on their boat, because no one is hiking around with that! The campground map showed two shelters. One of them had cots in it- definitely fishermen. We were a little worried now weren’t going to get the other one, but it was actually open. We finally got a shelter for the first time in our trip! If you haven’t been or seen the shelters they are pretty big wooden structures with a roof awning and a screened side to keep out bugs and provide a nice breeze. There was plenty of space for us 4 with our sleeping pads and bags, backpacks and miscellaneous stuff and places to hang your clothes so they can dry out.
We chilled inside the shelter for awhile relaxing our back against the wall behind us as we sat on our sleeping pads. The boys played some cribbage as I sat there writing all this down catching up on the day. Even though we hiked 10 miles we got here early and it was a good rest day. It’s nice not having to worry about setting up or tearing down your tent inside the shelter. Should make for a much faster morning out of here. We headed out to the beach to make dinner, soak up the sun and chill in the cold waters.
While we were out there the fishermen came back in their boat and another one shortly after. We all shared our stories and different perspectives of experiencing the island. One of the guys mentioned they had a bunch of beer with them in the cooler so Ben offered him $20 for 4 beers. He went to the boat and came back with beer but wouldn’t take the money. It was a great night all around with good company. We were the only group of hikers here at this campground sharing it with the two groups of fishermen. They were saying how a lot of hikers look and talk down to them in their boats so they were appreciative of our welcoming attitudes. We were very thankful for the beer! To out of state people I guess I can see how boats could possibly be a disturbance to a wilderness experience but as people who grew up in Minnesota we’ve all shared our fair amount of time out on the water.
Sunset over the Siskiwit Bay dock with some friendly fishermen.
It was getting late now. In fact this was the latest we’ve been up this whole trip at around midnight. We all said good night and headed back to the shelter. I’m going to skip sunrise in the morning and just enjoy sleeping in at the shelter!
Trip Report from backpacking the 42 mile long Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore Trail. It follows sandy beaches and dramatic cliffs along Lake Superior in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.