Isle Royale National Park: IRNP JOURNAL

Sunday - Washington Creek

Paul and I awoke at 6:45AM, had a quick bowl of cereal, and then packed up our gear for our trip to the west side of the island. We made reservations on the Voyager III a couple of months ago. In our 4 previous trips to IRP we had never been to the west side of the island, so we came up with the idea to stay at Washington Creek for a night. We would have Ray and Dad drop us off at Rock Harbor to take the Voyager III to Windigo and then take the Voyager III back to McCargoe Cove the next day. Ray and Dad, who will stay at Birch Island tonight, would pick us up at McCargoe Cove.

After loading our gear, I awoke Ray and Dad. They would ferry us over to Rock Harbor so we could get on the Voyager III, which was to leave at 9AM. They were going to return to the shelter after dropping us off, and then pack up. I think Ray was itching to get first cast at the pike in Brady Cove because their original plan was to stay at Belle Isle but they said they were going to Birch Island instead.

Upon arriving at the Rock Harbor dock, Ray refueled the boat (22gals. $120.00) while Paul and I grabbed a snickers and a coke. We then got in line for the ride to Windigo. The Voyager left on time. There was approximately 20 people onboard. We made a quick stop at Mott Island, where they made a mail drop, then a stop at Chippewa Harbor and Malone Bay, picking up a few more riders at each stop. We then headed out around the head and into Washington Harbor. The ride was smooth.

We arrived at Windigo around 2PM and immediately headed out to Washington Creek to snag a shelter. There was no need for rushing as there were only 3 out of 10 shelters occupied. We took shelter # 1 with a nice wide view of the creek right in front of the shelter. We then went to the Windigo visitor center where we met Ranger Val. I snapped some photos of the exhibits inside the VC. Ranger Val informed us that John Vucetich was to be tonight’s speaker 8PM inside the visitor center. We would come back at 8!

We stayed around the Windigo area, hiking the short 1 mile nature path and checking out the Moose Exclosure. It was very interesting to see how the vegetation was noticeably thicker when the moose aren’t able to get inside. Following the trail we wound up at the Windigo store where we grabbed a couple of sodas. We then headed back to the shelter where I prepared a quick dinner of beef stew. After dinner we went down to the main dock at Windigo and jumped in the lake a few times. I should say I jumped twice and was puched in once. The water was amazingly chilly but very refreshing. After that we went to the shelter to chill out a bit before the 8pm presentation.

We made it to the visitor center at exactly 8pm, and there were about thirty people on hand. John’s wife, Leah, was running the projector. I set up my camcorder and tripod next to her and proceeded to capture the entire one hour presentation. John spoke passionately about the challenges facing the wolves and moose of IRNP. After the presentation, Paul and I hung around until most of the crowd had left and chatted it up with John and Leah. Paul got them to sign John’s book, or maybe it was the winter study report, I’m not sure. You could definitely see in their faces and by the way they spoke, the passion that they share for the island and the wolf-moose study. They stay on the island from April to August and generally stay in western end at Windigo. What a life!

Paul and I headed back to the shelter around 9:30pm. We were just winding down for the night and I was chilling on the picnic table in front of the shelter when out of the corner of my eye a spot a fox near the shelter. I told Paul to grab the camera. The fox walked right next to the picnic table I was sitting on and just sniffed around and proceeded to go around the other side of the shelter. Paul and were right behind, Paul with camera in hand, and I with my camcorder. The fox stayed around the boardwalk of the trail connecting the shelter. He was hoping around and pouncing on something. We couldn’t tell what he was eating but it suspect it was either frogs or some other insects. He then walked right next to me on the boardwalk, sat down and then proceeded to scratch himself. Then he was back to snacking in the woods and eventually he disappeared. We then headed back to the shelter and called it a night at around 10:30pm.

After packing up the gear at Duncan Bay Narrows, Ray and Dad arrived at Birch Island round 11AM. There was a sailboat tied to the dock but nobody was occupying the lone shelter so they claimed it. A park ranger named Dan Maturen was also staying at the tent site just a short way up the hill. He had a few days off and was planning on doing some fishing and leaving the next day. Ray and Dad did a little fishing for some northern pike and managed to catch several smaller fish.