IRNP JOURNAL - Day 1 07/03/2009

Friday - Duncan Bay Narrows

We awoke at 5:30am, showered, and then made one last gear check. We filled up on the self serve homemade waffles and then checked out of the hotel. We headed to the gas station for some ice and then headed down the hill to the NPS HQ. We were to be there by 7:30 so they could load our boat. We were greeted by the familiar faces of the crew of the Ranger III, including Ranger Paul and Scott Bowman. They gently off loaded the boat. While they were unloading it from the trailer, an NPS employee was taking photos. He said it may be used on the NPS website, replacing the old photo from the 70’s that is currently on it. Sweet!

The Ranger is riding light this year, our smallest group so far, with only 27 total passengers. I overheard someone say that not one passenger would be staying at the Rock Harbor Lodge. According to Scott, park attendance is way down, due in part to gas prices, economic woes, and a cold spring. We learned the weather had been miserable for a while but were happy to hear that long term forecasts were calling for mid 60’s all week with little rain expected! We picked the right week again!

We pulled away from the dock at 9am sharp. Once we pulled out of the harbor and into Lake Superior, thick fog enveloped us. Looks like we get another smooth ride across the lake! The fog was patchy  for the first hour, with Gitchi-gummi showing its impressive sea-like qualities, then shrinking up to maybe a 100 acre lake as the fog got thicker.

The Ranger made its customary first stop at Mott Island for a supply drop. Funny thing is it seemed like I saw more beer being off loaded than anything else. We got off the ship and headed over to the International Biosphere Reserve sign to snap a group photo. We then quickly got back on the Ranger for the short ride over to Rock Harbor. After arriving at RH, the crew off-loaded our boat, leaving it at the gas dock.

We filled up the tank (for the bargain price of only $5.39/Gallon) with 21 gallons of last years gas! The total with tip was $120.00. I had some flooding issues with the engine but eventually got it started. I did the same thing last year!

We made a quick stop at Brian Merritt’s cabin in Tobin Harbor to drop off some extra weight (BEER!) Brian is a friend we met on IRNP in 2007. His family has a life-lease on Isle Royale. We stayed at his cabin for a few nights during our trip last year. He was supposed to arrive on the Ranger with us this year but had to cancel at the last minute due to the sickness of his mother, Mary. Mary was on the island with her husband Dick when she became ill and they had just left the island.

Our destination for the first two nights would be the Duncan Bay Narrows Lakeside Camp. As we approached we spotted 2 eagles in the sky! What a welcome! The camp was empty when we arrived and we set up in shelter #1. We unloaded most of the gear, set up camp, and then readied the fishing poles to try our luck at trolling for whatever was hungry! Official bets were made for the week, with $10.00 going to first fish and $20.00 for biggest fish in weight.

We headed out towards the west end of Duncan Bay, trolling the shoreline the entire way there. We were going to stop at the Duncan Bay CG but there was another boat tied up at the dock. We idled past it to the very back of the bay where I killed the big engine, dropped the trolling motor, and we then began casting the area for northern pike. After 45 minutes of casting and no takers, we decided to head back to our shelter so I could prepare dinner. On the way back in I noticed the GPS/depthfinder was not working. I guess we will try in the morning to see what could be causing the problem.

Once at camp I cooked up some filet mignon, and garlic mashed potatoes while we all snacked on some pepperjack cheese. I am always the official cook for the entire trip, which means Ray, Paul and Dad get clean up duty for the entire trip. Not a bad trade off at all! While they performed clean up duties, I gathered some firewood and started a fire in the grill provided. I picked a great time to start the fire, as the skeeters were just starting to come out in force! The smoke kept them at bay while we enjoyed the fire.

While standing around the fire, Paul or Ray spotted a moose a good distance away, swimming across Duncan Bay. I couldn’t actually tell it was a moose beside just seeing a brown mass of something floating, but I had to be, as it made it across pretty quick. We then headed into the shelter and played a game of euchre, where my dad and I got our butts kicked. After the card game I sat on the end of the dock and wrote in my journal while listening to the call of a group of 4 loons.

It has been a great start to our trip so far and I can tell my Dad is enjoying himself. The weather was clear and the winds were calm all day and by the looks of the red sky, tomorrow looks like another good day. We were all in bed by 11:30pm.