By John Keefover of Keefography
Isle Royale National Park
Backpacking Trip Report May 24 - June 1st 2021
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DAY 8 - MAY 31 2021
Feldtmann Lake to Washington Creek: 9.1 miles
It’s our last full day on the island and I ended up sleeping in until 8 AM. I was planning on getting up to photograph the sunrise and look for moose but when I got up at 4:30 it was very windy and dark from the passing storm still. Now though was completely different. It was once again a beautiful sunshiny day! We have one more night left to go but so far we’ve had absolutely perfect weather this whole trip. The storm last night mostly missed us so we’ve had no real rain, the days were gorgeous and although the nights were cold we just layered up and appreciated the fact there were no bugs!
We all got the best night’s sleep of the trip here at Feldtmann Lake. While we were eating breakfast and packing up we saw 3 more moose swimming off in the waters along the shore again. Definitely recommend site #1 at Feldtmann if you can snag it because it’s right next to where the moose like to wander in the water. We were at site #3 and before we left camp we checked out site #5. The group that was staying there just went off on a day hike and they were the Bone Collectors working with the Park Service. They had told us about the moose skulls they had brought back to camp so we checked them out. It was pretty interesting to see! They were surprisingly very clean, picked over by animals, time and the scientists studying them.
Moose skulls found by Bone Collectors working with the National Park Service.
We continued on towards Windigo Harbor. There’s really not a whole lot to note of this section of trail. Did come across a rabbit eating a bunch of grass right next to the trail who ignored us in favor of its food. There aren’t really any landmarks for quite some time so the miles just kept on going and going. Ended up stopping for lunch at the top of a ridge overlooking the trail with a swamp below. It was cool looking off into the distance from here. You could clearly see the massive cliffs we were on above Feldtmann Lake as well as the fire tower we had climbed before that. Basically everything you could see and then some we hiked! Around 70 miles now. While we were eating we finally noticed a moose walking around in the swampy area below us! We watched it for awhile until we finished eating. Shortly after our lunch spot was an actual marked overlook at Grace Creek Overlook where there was a family watching the moose with binoculars. They were out on the island with their kids for just a quick overnighter with the ferry schedule.
A rabbit pays us no mind while snacking on some grass.
Onward we went to Windigo Harbor. We followed along the shoreline until we reached the docks. A Park Ranger let us know the store was open so we dropped our packs and headed there first thing. We grabbed as many snacks and cold beers as we could. We might even have to go back for more later before they close! Down at the Washington Creek campground we saw a tent and hammock set up right away and figured we must’ve missed out on the shelters for the night. We split up and checked all of the shelters. Sure enough they were all taken... that is until a family let us know they were actually packing up now and about to leave! Great timing. We thanked them and told them no rush, we were just grateful to have a shelter for the night for an easy pack up in the morning. The shelters are right on the water here at Washington Creek which is known for its moose viewing, in fact the family said one just walked by before we got there!
Crossing one of the many boardwalks to Windigo Harbor.
I left the guys at the shelter and went for a walk on my own. I scouted out the group camp sites further down the creek where they had some pretty good potential moose viewing locations on bends in the river and further away from the crowds. I returned to camp where we drank our ice cold beers, shared snacks, played cribbage and celebrated our travels across the island! We shared our personal favorite parts of the trip while we reviewed the map, totaling our mileage to around 80 miles with spur trails and photography stops, averaging just over 10 miles a day. At first our packs were around 45 pounds with water, food and fuel and now were down to around 30 or so after eating all of our food supplies. This trip actually convinced me to upgrade my gear to an ultralight kit especially since I’m carrying all this camera equipment around with me too. If you’d like to see what my kit looks like now check out my lighterpack here: https://lighterpack.com/r/h4rp88. That’s much different than the gear I brought to the island though!
While we were reminiscing around the picnic table a moose popped out of the woods on the other side of the creek from us! Me and Ben grabbed our cameras quick before it disappeared back into the trees. After that we drank the rest of our beers, devoured the snacks and headed back to the store for more! There were a few other people there now and they said the store closes soon so we ran on in. The beer cooler was just about empty now so we grabbed what was left. I was really surprised with just how cheap the beers were out there too! At that point I would’ve gladly paid stadium prices for a cold beer but they had PBRs for like $2 and craft beers from Keweenaw Brewing Company for $3 if I remember correctly.
A moose emerged from the woods into Washington Creek across from our shelter.
We headed down to the dock with our new resupply of beer and food. We ended up chatting with a family that was fishing there and were also grabbing last minute goodies from the store before they closed. While we were talking they offered to take us out for a ride in their boat! We took them up on that to get a different perspective of the island. The first stop was to the shipwreck site of “America” which you could see the outline of in the shallow, calm, and crystal clear waters.
The shipwreck of “America” stands out in the shallow waters near Windigo Harbor from.
Then we kicked it into gear and off we went across the harbor. Brandon, the fisherman driving the boat, pointed over to the right towards Beaver Island where he and his family are staying in the shelter at the campground there. Then he ended up bringing us right up and around the Rock of Ages Lighthouse which was impressive to see up close. It’s really far out there too! From the boat you could see the date engraved at the top of the heavy door: 1907. I later read that the construction wasn’t completed until 1908 though.
Rock of Ages Lighthouse up close from a friendly fisherman’s boat.
My camera batteries died shortly after getting some shots of the lighthouse which was actually kind of nice because it meant I could just sit back and enjoy the ride more! That’s the thing about these trips is even though I’m having a great time and technically on vacation, I’m still working on photos and this here blog! It was around sunset when they brought us back to the dock. We said our good byes and each went back to our different campsites. What a great way to end the trip! Though it wasn’t quite over yet. Looking forward to flying out on the seaplane tomorrow morning and hoping we don’t have another weather delay.
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.