Isle Royale National Park

The Brothers Grimm gave wolves a very unfair portrayal; unless you are a young or feeble moose, you're in no danger from them. Although they've gotten a little less furtive lately as they look harder for moose whose numbers have gone down substantially, they're still very good at avoiding humans, and even mere sightings are still infrequent. On the other hand, moose can be very dangerous if provoked there's a reason wolves only go after the weak ones, and do so in packs, especially if you get between a mother and her calf, or if you confront a bull during mating season. But otherwise they're nothing to be afraid of, and will probably regard you the same way.

The greatest danger is your own foolishness: pushing yourself too hard, or ignoring basic principles of wilderness health and safety e.g. keeping dry, water sanitation, floatation devices on the water. Canoeing, kayaking, or swimming in Lake Superior can be particularly hazardous due to the potential roughness of the water it's more like a freshwater sea than a mere lake and the hypothermia-inducing temperature just below the surface year-round.

The water from Lake Superior is safe enough when filtered, but some streams and inland lake sources are not as wholesome. Good filtration not iodine tablets is a must and some water from marshlands may need to be pre-filtered to prevent clogging. The taller ridges can reach 80+ degrees on a warm summer's day, and there are no water sources up there. Plan ahead and bring plenty of water, as the ridge trails are a strenuous hike. Nothing is worse than being exhausted and out of water 1000 feet above Lake Superior!

If you're injured, there's limited medical assistance available on the island, and it's going to have a difficult time getting to you in the backcountry. There are ranger stations at Snug Harbor, Windigo, Malone Bay on the south shore, and Amygdaloid Island off the northeast shore, and a ranger resident at Daisy Farm, any of which can radio for help and arrange for helicopter transport to the mainland at your expense for professional medical care.

Surprisingly, there is a theft problem at Isle Royale campgrounds, and the culprits inevitably escape prosecution on the grounds that they are not human. Foxes are the worst culprits, potentially stealing anything left unattended, including boots, socks, and even cameras. Squirrels – especially those who've had a previous taste of the exotic foods humans eat – will brazenly steal food from your hand when your head is turned not much caring if they bite you in the process, or chew through your backpack if they catch a whiff of such ambrosia inside. Double-plastic-bagging and vigilance are advised. This is important both for your own well-being and that of the animals; camp foxes quickly become dependent on human food and stop hunting, which is both nutritionally bad for them and leaves them to starve when the humans all go away for the long winter.

contact

The phone numbers included here are useful for planning your trip, not for calling from Isle Royale, where phone service is almost non-existent. At Snug Harbor there's a cellular pay phone on an amplified antenna for "Yeah, Mom, I made it back to the ranger station" calls credit cards only; $5 for the first two minutes. Mobile phones won't work unless you're on a ridge or a part of the island close to Thunder Bay, Ontario, where maybe you'll get a weak signal. You can bring your phone along "for emergencies", but the odds of it working when you want it to are slim enough to make it just a half pound of dead weight in your pack. Don't even think about trying to blog your trip.

fees/permits

A fee of $4 per calendar day on the island is charged for visitors 12 years and older, and to save time upon arrival is collected en route by the services providing transportation to and from the island. Park visitors are required to file a plan with the rangers indicating the campgrounds they expect to use each night. This serves to make sure campers' plans are consistent with party-size and duration-of-stay limits on campgrounds and reality, and to help the park service estimate campground usage. They don't care if you change your mind along the way they expect that to happen, and only ask that campers let them know where you actually stayed before leaving. Special permits and reservations are required for groups of 7-10, for off-trail hikers, and for canoeists camping outside of designated campgrounds. Because noise levels go up exponentially as the size of camping parties increase, groups of more than 10 must split up and hike/camp separately. Fishing in Lake Superior and connected waters requires a paid license from the state; inland lakes have no licensing requirement. Hunting is not permitted.