The trip started off badly; our plans hadn't worked out. We were supposed to have traveled to McCargoe Cove on the Voyageur II. When I found out there had been a glitch with the ferry reservations, I almost cancelled, but didn't. Then we were supposed to leave Grand Portage, MN, on Saturday, August 17th. But that day the ferry crossing was cancelled due to predicted 35-40 knot winds on Lake Superior. So on Sunday, we returned to Grand Portage and unloaded our kayaks and gear at the ferry landing. The ferry's ETD was scheduled for 11:30-12:00 because there were reports of 17' swells out on the lake earlier in the morning.

The ferry was crowded with a 2-day backlog of campers and day visitors as it left the dock around noon. During the roller-coaster ride to Isle Royale a few passengers got sick. We arrived at the Windigo dock on the western end of the island around 2:30.

   Because it was so late when we arrived, our group of 6 decided to camp for the night at Washington Creek campground near the Windigo station. We selected a campsite with a shelter, then set up 2 tents--one for my husband and me, one for another couple. After we had gotten the tents and sleeping gear all ready for the night, Ranger Jim paddled by in his canoe. Although it was his day off and he was not in uniform, he told us we would have to take the tents down or move to a primitive campsite without a shelter. He tried to explain the IRNP camping regulations to our group, but we never did get them straight with regard to group camping permits.

As my husband and I preferred to sleep in our tent over a communal shelter, we moved to one of the primitive campsites, although we were not sure we were legal vis-á-vis the group permit. However, we were not confronted by any more regulation-spewing rangers that day. In fact, that night our camping neighbors built an illegal campfire and set off illegal sparklers. I am not sure what they were celebrating, but nobody official called them to task for it. Perhaps they were off-duty rangers celebrating being off-duty.

We had our first close encounter with a moose that evening on a walk to Windigo when we passed a young cow moose grazing beside the path. She did not seem to be bothered by our presence, but we nevertheless kept our distance. Ranger Jim later told us that moose like to come to Windigo because there are lots of people there; the moose know the IRNP wolves do not like to be near people.

The next morning my husband and I were walking to Windigo to find a cart for transporting our gear to the pier, when we saw what appeared to be the same moose. This time she was completely blocking the path, so we retreated, not wanting to irritate an animal bigger than we are.

Back at the campsite our neighbor of the illegal fireworks pointed out to us a cow moose and her calf feeding in Washington Creek. A bit later we again struck out for Windigo and found our moose had moved on.

We broke camp and loaded up the kayaks. We had decided to set out for Huginnin Cove on the north shore of Isle Royale where there is a primitive campground. We estimated our paddling distance to be 8-9 miles, which proved accurate. On the way we passed over the site where the steamship America went down, and saw her bow not far below the water's surface.

   On the north side of the island the water got rough, so I was relieved when we reached Huginnin Cove. We set up camp at the easternmost campsite and decided to remain there for 2 nights. Next day we planned to hike the East and West Huginnin Cove Trails loop.

   After breakfast next morning we set out on our hike along the East Huginnin Cove Trail. This is a 3.3-mile trail that merges with the Minong Ridge Trail for an additional 0.6 miles. I wanted to stop at Windigo to get my National Parks Passport stamped and buy postcards. The others decided this might be a good idea as we were all running low on water.

The path back to Windigo was an additional 0.9 miles (1.8 miles round trip). We returned to Huginnin Cove on the 3.1-mile West Huginnin Cove trail. Several members of our group spotted a moose on the return trip. By the time we reached the campsite, we had walked a total of around 9 miles for the day.

   That evening we took a 5-mile paddle along the island's north shore to the east of Huginnin Cove. The water was much calmer than it had been on the previous day. The main features of interest we saw along this shore were some sea caves. These had been carved out of limestone, monuments to the power of the Lake Superior surf. We got back to Huginnin Cove just after the sun had sunk below the horizon.

   Wednesday morning we struck camp and headed for a campsite on Grace Island. This was about a 5-mile paddle southwest from Huginnin Cove. We reached our campsite around lunchtime. We did not set up tents as the site had a shelter.

   After lunch 3 of us took a 5-mile paddle around Washington Island to our south and west. There are private residences on the east end of this island and on nearby Barnum Island. These belong to fishing families who lived there before most of Isle Royale became a national park. In addition to the U.S. flag, these people fly the flag of their ancestral home--Denmark, Norway, Sweden--so we were able to tell where they originally came from. Rock of Ages Lighthouse is 2-1/2 miles off the western end of Washington Island, but I had no desire to paddle there as I had gone past it on the ferry the previous year and did not find it particularly attractive. A stark-white tower perched atop a bleak, black rock, it reminded me of a prison.

Thursday, August 22nd was our last full day in IRNP. Our group paddled south to Rainbow Cove, left our boats on the beach, and took the 0.8-mile hike to Feldtmann Lake, one of the interior lakes. There is a campground on the shores of this lake, but we saw nobody at the campground apart from several rangers who were taking a loon survey for a study about human impact on this bird population. They told us there are several hundred loons that reside on the island. We took a dip in Feldtmann Lake and found its water was considerably warmer than the water of Lake Superior.

   I found Rainbow Cove to be a beautiful area of blue water and pebbly beach and wished we had more time on the island so we could camp there, but we had ferry reservations back to Grand Portage the following day. Reluctantly I left Rainbow Cove and paddled back to our Grace Island campsite.

After moonrise the rest of the group went for a full-moon paddle, but my husband and I opted to crawl into our sleeping bags instead. Being a southern gal of thin blood, I was cold. The sleeping bag felt warm and wonderful; I was asleep before the others returned.

Next morning 4 of us arose at 5:30 and paddled across Grace Harbor, hoping for one last moose sighting in the marshy area across from Grace Island. We did not see any moose that morning, so we returned to our campsite, ate breakfast, packed up, then paddled back to Windigo around 11:00, a 4-mile trip.

Our ferry Wenonah beat us to the dock. We sat at a picnic table and ate a mishmash of leftovers for lunch, then carried our boats and gear onto the dock for loading. The ferry departed around 3:00. The return voyage was much smoother than our outward voyage had been. We docked at Grand Portage around 5:30.

Tony Bennett may have left his heart in San Francisco, but I left mine on Isle Royale. Someday I hope to return, pick up my heart, and further explore the waters and footpaths of this beautiful national park.