Isle Royale with a Backpack

First view of Isle Royale

Hi All.  Derek and I just got finished with what will most likely be the most rugged and physically challenging part of my trip, backpacking in Isle Royale National Park.  Isle Royale is the largest island on the largest freshwater lake in the world, Lake Superior.  While part of Michigan, the island sits close to the Canadian border and can only be reached by seaplane of ferry.  Thus, there are no cars on the island (or really most modern conveniences of any kind).

On the Trail

Our "home" at Moskey Basin

Derek and I left early on the morning of the 26th on the ferry and arrived at Rock Harbor, one of two ports on the island with any semblance of civilization (like running water).  After that we hiked for 4 days, 3 nights along the southern shore of the island.  We spent the first night at the islands largest camp, Daisy Farm.  The second night though, was my favorite.  We hiked out to Moskey Basin and managed to get one of the built wooden shelters right on the water with a solid rock "patio".  It was one of the prettiest sites I had been to, and since it was a short hike from Daisy Farm the night before, we had lots of time to enjoy it.  We even got to see a river otter, lots of seabirds, and treated to a wold howl that night.

Our Furry Friends

Made it!

After our night there, we hiked 8 miles back towards the harbor and crashed for the night at Three Mile.  We managed to gain a couple furry hiking buddies who followed us for a few minutes.  Three Mile was close to the harbor, making for a short hike the next morning.  We relaxed at the Harbor for a few hours, enjoying the running water (but not willing to pay the $6! for a 5 minute shower) and shade.  All in all, we hiked 24 miles, each with 40 lbs. on our backs.  Not bad (Derek managed to get 60 miles of backpacking in this month with his Philmont trip).

The Ferry back

Now, I am going to drop Derek off at the Detroit airport, where he gets to "relax" a bit before heading off to his Freshman year at Cal Poly.  I get to continue my journey, with a few nights near Cuyahoga Valley NP in Ohio, hopefully connecting with family in Vermont, and then on to Acadia NP in Maine for the Geographical halfway point.  I am past the 50 day mark, and while the trip has been fun and a once in a lifetime experience, I am definitely starting to feel the length of it.

Quick Update: Voyageurs

Just a quick update for everyone.  Derek and I spent the last few days in Voyageurs NP in Northern Minnesota.  It is very different then the Plains we had been in for the last week; Aspen and pine, streams, and tons of lakes made for a much more lush and green landscape.  We had two full days that we spent in the park (actually more in the area of the park, as the vast majority of actual park land can only be reached by boat).  The first day we spent hiking in the forests and exploring the land along the shore of Kabetogama Lake.  The second day we rented a couple kayaks and kayaked up the Ash River to a waterfall.  We were all on our own on the river and the trip proved challenging but doable.

We are now on our way to Isle Royale, which is in the middle of Lake Superior.  We are taking the Ferry from Copper Harbor, MI early tomorrow morning, and will be backpacking around the island for three nights.  It should be a lot of fun at one of the nations most isolated parks.

The Great Plains

Hey Everyone.  Sorry I haven't updated in awhile.  I have spent the last week exploring the Great Plains.

The Badlands

After Wind Cave (see the last post), I headed to Badlands National Park, also in South Dakota.  This is one of the more well known parks because of its rather unique landscape.  The way that water carves the sandstone rock leaves behind unique striated crevices and spires.  The result is an expanse of open grassland broken by sandy ridges and plateaus.  It was one of the cooler places I have visited; you just get the urge to explore the maze like canyons for hours.  one cool hike I went on led up a wooden ladder to a cliff overlooking the plains.  And the sunsets over the plains were amazing.  Every evening the sun would turn bright red before disappearing behind a low layer of clouds.

High Plains Homestead

After a couple of nights spend in Badlands, I headed down to Nebraska, where I stayed one night at the High Plains Homestead.  I had taken a trip here around 8 or 9 years ago, and want to visit again if only for memories sake.  The highlight of the area are the fossils present in the badlands around the homestead.  I took a short hike, and was able to find a few cool bone pieces and an almost perfect snail shell.  After my night here, I head to Chadron where I joined forces with my brother, Derek, who flew into the small airport there.

Snail Fossil

The Little Missouri River

Together, we spent a layover night in Badlands again (and did a bit more exploring).   Then, it was up to North Dakota to visit Theodore Roosevelt National Park, named after the former president who used to live there in his young years.  The landscape there was similar to that of Badlands, but with less color variation and more vegetation.  It was still pretty though, especially around the area of the Little Missouri River.  Lots of wildlife here as well.  Among other things, we got to see a hawk become very "close" with an unfortunate Prairie Dog and a late night visit in our Campsite from a big Bison.  Over all, it is great to have Derek here for company (and to help with driving) and the last few states have been just as fun as the rest of my trips.

Petrified Forest

We are now heading out of the Plains and into Lake country.  We will spend a few nights in Voyageurs for some kayaking before heading to Michigan and ferrying over to Isle Royale for 3 nights of backpacking.

Quick update: Wind Cave

Just a quick update since I have internet.  I have added pics to the Yellowstone/ Grand Teton section, so check them out.  The last couple of days I have been in Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota.  Compared to the last few parks I had been to, this one was small, tucked away in the Black Hills.  As you imagine, it's main attraction is a huge expanse of caves underground, but in the short time I was there, I was able to see tons of wildlife as well: Bison, pronghorn, deer, elk and tons of prairie dogs.

A small glimpse of the caverns

The big guys of the plains...

I also took a couple different tours of the cave, which is different from other similar caves.  Instead of the dripping water and stalactite formations that you expect to see in a cave, it is unique in having a rare formation called Box Rock, which is only formed in old underground lakes.  It was a cool couple of tours along paths created in the 30's, and different then any of the other parks I had visited.  I wish I had been able to get better pictures though!

...and the little ones.

I'm now heading over to Badlands for a few days until my brother joins me!  Should be fun.

Yellowstone and Grand Teton

Sorry I haven't updated in a while.  I didn't get decent wifi in between the last few parks, so this one will be a double header.  I spent the last week and a half in two of the nations most well known parks, Yellowstone, and Grand Teton.  Both offered an amazing wildlife viewing, and the geysers and hot springs in Yellowstone are some of the best in the world.  Not to mention the views of the Teton Mountain Range are spectacular.

Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and Lower Falls

Old Faithful being faithful

Bison playing in the mud

I started my time in Yellowstone up near the Mammoth Basin before moving farther south, closer to the main attractions of the park.  My days were spent mostly exploring the hot spring Basins and looking for wildlife.  By the afternoons, the park was hot and crowded, so most of my activities were done in the morning.  Everyone knows about Old Faithful, but I didn't realize that the Hot Springs and geysers were spread out nearly all over the park.  There are over 10,000 geothermal sites!  Between a whole day exploring the Old Faithful area and another in some of the small geyser basins, I got to see my fair share of hot water.  In addition, a few mornings I went out in search of wildlife, and was very successful.  There are more big animals in Yellowstone then you can imagine, and they are so used to people they often are right along the road.  I got to see Moose, Deer, Elk, Pronghorn and Bison all over the place.  The Bison especially, as in the plains they would cause mile long traffic jams when they decided to hang out in the road.  A couple of coyotes, hawks, and marmots made for a wide variety to.  No luck on finding bears or wolves, which would have been really cool, but that just means I have to come back someday.

Rainbow Hotspring

Cathedral Group of the Teton Range

In Grand Teton, which was a bit cooler and a lot less crowded, I was able to get out and do more exploring, both hiking and driving.  I spent one day doing a long hike along the shores of Jackson Lake with the Teton's towering in the back, and another driving along the Snake River on a tiny one lane dirt road.  I got to see a lot of the same wildlife here as in Yellowstone: moose, elk, deer, pronghorn.  However, here they were much less used to people and were always weary of my presence.  It was nice to see them in a more "natural" state, not so used to human traffic.

Huron Lake

I am now on my way to two parks right near each other in South Dakota: Wind Cave and Badlands.  Wind Cave, as you can imagine, has a large network of caverns, while Badlands highlights some of the most interesting landscape in the country.  After that Derek joins me and we head along the northern border of the US heading east.  But I can tell you more about that in my next update.  Until then!

Jackson Lake and The Grand Tetons

Rainy Days

Well, my good weather was bound to give out, and that it did while I was in Glacier.  Luckily I knew it was coming, so I was still able to do some of the things I wanted.

A View of the McDonald Valley.  My camp is down there!

Bob Posing

     As I expected Glacier has some of the best scenic views in the country, more so than any of the other parks I have been to so far.  Unfortunately, everyone else  seems to agree.  All the campgrounds filled up by late afternoon each day, meaning I always had to secure a spot before doing anything else.  So, for the first couple nights I bounced around and did a little bit of exploring around the Lake McDonald (West Side) of the park.  In the Apgar Campground, where I spend one night, I did manage to make a friend who was actually a little obnoxious as he wouldn't stop asking for food.

The North Fork Road

     The highlight of my trip was my second day in the park where I took the North Fork Road to a more isolated part of the park.  The road itself was purposely kept as an unpaved, single lane dirt road to discourage visitors and keep the area "rustic".  Well, I wasn't discouraged, and it turned out to offer some amazing views.  I camped at Bowman Lake, which had an unreal view of the lakes with the peaks behind it.  With the good weather added on to the views and fewer people, this was the best day I had in Glacier.

Lake Bowman

The Continental Divide

     Knowing a storm was coming and not wanting to move down to the middle of the park to stay at Avalanche for the final two days.  All day the dark clouds threatened, but I took the chance and went up to Logan's Pass.  The road up there is a marvel in itself; with a shear rock wall on one side and a cliff on the other, the road barely fit two cars it seemed.  Not to mention the views on the way up, especially of Heaven's Peak, were spectacular.  At the top, standing at the Continental Divide, I had a moment of profundity:  the raindrops that would soon be falling within feet of each there would end up in two different oceans thousands of miles away.

Heaven's Peak

The rain did create some cool mist in the peaks.

     With that I headed back to camp to wait for the storm to break.  Which it did around 10:30 pm.  And it rained continuously for 24 HOURS, when it finally took a short break before picking up again.  So, pretty much grounded for the day, I caught up on reading and tried to stay dry as best I could.  Saturday morning I took advantage of a lull in the rain to pack camp (not that it mattered as everything was already soaked).  Tomorrow it is off to Yellowstone and Grand Teton, where I may not get rid of the crowds but at least will be drier (*knock on wood*).