I certainly could have continued sleeping, but my ferry was leaving at 8:30 and I was supposed to be there an hour prior to departure. It was also leaving from the other side of the bay, which was about an hour's walk away.

Miscalculating how long it would take to pack up my gear, which now included a week's worth of groceries, I was left to scurry away from the campground and north towards the ferry dock. Since I'm used to the government ferries of Newfoundland and their strict deadlines, I was racing to make it by 7:30, carrying grocery bags in each hand while my heavy pack had me leaning forward.

Sweating and labouring while concerned about time, I hoped that a fellow passenger would be driving by and pick me up. After about 25 minutes of this, just as I had settled on being late, a pickup truck pulled over and announced that I must be heading for "the island". Throwing my pack into the truck bed, I laid back against the seat and relaxed as I was now going to casually make it to the boat. In fact, I knew I wouldn't have any problem with the 7:30 cut-off time since the person who picked me up was the ship captain!

Pulling up to the lot, it looked like there were going to be a lot of cancelled passages judging by the low number of people present. In just the next few minutes though, the parking lot swelled to about 30 or 40 vehicles with plenty of people in tilley hats and field pants, soon standing around and weighing down the worn dock. It got to the point where I was looking at all the people, then looking at the boat; wondering whether everyone had reservations. Space was going to be tight on the ol' Sea Hunter III.

Soon enough a small group of staff boarded and someone with a clipboard called out last names and the number of people, with almost everyone being in a group. I was waiting for the hilarity of the solo "Kolnik...ONE!" announcement, but they tactfully only said my last name.

I was correct in my assessment of limited space and the number of people on the boat. All of the small interior space was taken and the outside was an exercise in people turning their knees, so that you could scoot by to get to some tiny bit of available space.

I lucked out in that I ended up on the windless side. This was especially fortunate considering that I didn't think to take my sweater out of my pack prior to handing my 70L pack up to be put down in the hold. It was still a little chilly with only a windbreaker, but thankfully there was complimentary coffee which I savoured for the warmth. I also hadn't had a coffee yet this morning, so it was thoroughly enjoyed for its morning pick-me-up.

While the north side of the boat provided warmth and a view towards the Sleeping Giant, it also meant that I wouldn't see the lighthouse that was going to be the whole focus of this week. The route of the Sea Hunter III was also almost entirely west to east, so I couldn't see very much of the upcoming isle because we faced the Canadian shore instead.

For all of the anticipation of visiting this insular National Park, it was strange to not have the effect of a long approach towards a slab of land out on the water.

My crossing wasn't the dramatic 6 hour crossing that you get from Houghton up through Lake Superior, but rather 2 hours where we only spent about 60% of the time dashing across the meanest of the Great Lakes.

The time passed quickly. Before long, we were within the isles of outer Isle Royale, then checking out The SS America shipwreck, then heading down Washington Harbor and into Windigo.

Landing amongst the docks, rangers, headquarters and general store of Windigo, the passengers were given instructions to split into day visitors and overnight visitors, to each get a separate briefing about the policies of Isle Royale. I was about to go into the overnight group as I saw two people talking to the ship captain and confusedly looking around. I was here to meet some people and knew I would be meeting them at the dock, so there were thoughts that maybe I didn't belong in the briefing.

Sure enough, I could see the ship captain struggling to remember something, while looking and gesturing around. Approaching, I heard my last name and was whisked away from the other passengers and the debriefing. Apparently the weather was great and we were going out in boat immediately.

After just the time it took to go up the hill and drop off my pack and hurriedly grab some snacks, I followed Dave & Heather back down to a smaller dock and a waiting boat.

I was back on the water so fast my head spun. The only difference was that we cut underneath Beaver Island, which sits right in the middle of Washington Harbor. From there we went through a narrow channel which I thought was all new, since I only saw the north side from the ferry.

The new parts would come with reaching the mixing pot of Washington Harbor and Lake Superior, where about a dozen islands abut this end of the main island of Isle Royale.

Amidst all of my neck craning and desire to explore these islands, I was also about to escape the interior waters of Isle Royale and head out towards the main lighthouse target of this whole endeavour - not on a ferry this time, but rather a 4-seat, roughly 15-foot National Parks boat. I went into this thinking there would be some orientation or introduction, but no. In record time I was about to head out into daunting, open Lake Superior.

And just as soon as I started to feel the gravity of going out there, we moved past Washington Island, the last major island, and discovered the lop on the inland sea, leading us to immediately curve the boat's path and head back towards Windigo.

The sea was too rough today. We would have to wait until tomorrow.

Arriving back at our cabin in a much calmer atmosphere, I had thoughts of self-preservation towards a long day tomorrow, but it was a glorious day on Isle Royale. A bit of a stroll was in order.

Two major ridges span across Isle Royale and these ridges now hold long trails for working your way across or reaching branches towards other destinations. Undertaking either of these trails from end to end is a serious undertaking, so I had some desire just to walk a bit out on the Minong Ridge Trail, just until it was time to go back for dinner.

I haven't spoke much about Isle Royale itself to this point, so I'll do that here.

Isle Royale is the largest island in Lake Superior and second only to Manitoulin Island in the entire Great Lakes system. Isle Royale National Park includes over 450 smaller islands, many of them named, as well as all land within 4.5 miles of any Isle Royale island and Isle Royale itself. As for Isle Royale itself, it is 72km (45mi) in length and 14km (9mi) wide at its widest. Using the park's trail system, you can hike nearly the entire length of the island.

It is believed that many copper artifacts from native peoples were made with copper from either Isle Royale or the Upper Peninsula's Keweenaw Peninsula. This is supported by the fact that hundreds of pits existed on the island before western methods of copper extraction came along.

Western methods, prospectors and miners came after 1843, once the Chippewa gave up their claim to Isle Royale - but although the U.P. flourished with copper mining, it would only exist on Isle Royale for 12 sad years interspersed with a few peaks. Mining activity would revive from 1873 to 1881, as well as 1889 to 1893, but it would end after that.

Following the copper industry dying out, the Isle Royale Land Corporation started to see people interested in recreation, and subsequently acted to support this land use shift. Land was filling up and population numbers were growing in nearby Illinois, Wisconsin and of course Michigan, while people were also making a lot of money in the major cities. These people had money to spend and a desire to get away from it all.

As early as 1890, the Hiram R. Dixon steamship stopped here while travelling between Port Arthur (Thunder Bay) and Duluth. People would have stayed at a camp/hotel on one of the islands at the mouth of Washington Harbor, while the Isle Royale Land Corp started work on their resort in the Rock Harbor area (where Michigan's Ranger III and the Isle Royale Queen IV land nowadays).

Resorts started to pop up in several places on Isle Royale. At Washington Harbor, you had one on Washington Island tailored to people from Duluth, consisting of a hotel with some cottages. Another resort was constructed at the base of Washington Harbor, near the modern-day area of Windigo, for other Duluthians who wanted a more exclusive resort.

In addition to these resorts, you had smaller parcels being sold to individuals who wanted to build personal summer cottages. These were so popular that the Isle Royale Land Corp surveyed additional islands that they'd never surveyed before. These islands in Washington & Tobin Harbor were snapped up quick once available, the islands appealing to people even more than the main island of Isle Royale.

With people enjoying the natural splendor of Isle Royale, the idea of designating it a national park started to gain traction. Many scientific-minded people were invited to the island, who would then also advocate for the creation of Isle Royale National Park. In addition, President Roosevelt had his Civilian Conservation Corps fight fires, build trails, shelters and park facilities here.

It would take six years to draw up agreements with the various land owners of the island. Summer cottagers were bought outright if desired, but many chose a life lease, where they took less money but were able to keep their cottages for the duration of their lives, plus their child's life (if they had a child).

Isle Royale would become a national park on August 27, 1946.

Isle Royale is the least visited national park in the lower 48, and overall only ranks behind 3 bush plane-accessible parks in Alaska. (Even places like Alaska's remote Wrangell-St. Elias National Park that is only reachable by gravel road, see more visitors annually).

So why was I here? Well there's the simple explanation that Michigan is one of those places where I want to see everywhere. I was once excited about a bus ride because it meant I would see Benton Harbor. I can't wait to make it to the Manitou Islands one day. I really want to spend more time in Kalamazoo. The list goes on & on.

I hadn't really heard of or noticed Isle Royale as a child, teenager or young adult though. It's 13 hours to Thunder Bay from Windsor, and while it's only 9 hours from Windsor to Houghton, this is still far enough away that I didn't pay much attention to things in Northern Michigan or Minnesota.

Ultimately, Isle Royale was brought to my attention by my friend Nailhed. After his fantastic 11-part Isle Royale post, I immediately added Isle Royale to the 'bucket list' of destinations. Even as he suffered through rain for most of his trip, I was still sold on visiting. This also has to do with Nailhed's ability to paint a picture and sell a place, but there's other places on his website that don't excite me like this remote national park in Lake Superior.

One note abut Nailhed's trip is that in silly fashion, he came here in June when the mosquitoes were out and the thimbleberries weren't. Now I'd read about these thimbleberries in 10 separate online reviews of Isle Royale, but not being much of a forager, it went in one ear & out the other. (I also don't know why I was reading online reviews of a remote national park.)

I was wrong though. On my first day and on my first trail, the thimbleberries increased as I left Windigo behind, and with only a short amount of time to hike this evening, I supplemented my limited water with these sweet berries. Pretty much everywhere I stopped, there were some delicious thimbleberries to pick and enjoy with the scenery.

As for the scenery, although my pictures don't show it, the Minong Ridge held true to its name. The land dipped away from the ridge towards the northwest, providing a pleasant view over the surrounding forest. Bending down to pluck more thimbleberries, their name was evident as the raspberry-like berry came off a central core, providing a thimble of interconnected goodness.

(I thought it was silly how many people mentioned the thimbleberries in their reviews of Isle Royale, but I've now mentioned them to everyone I've told about Isle Royale.)

I was enjoying this Minong Ridge Trail. I understand that it stretches 12.4 mi (20km) from here before you can stop again at Lake Desor Campground, and it's arguably Michigan's toughest hiking trail, but on this fine, relaxed evening it was reminding me of wandering through easily-traversed, tall-treed forests in Emeryville and Stoney Point in southern Ontario.

The trail was also making me dream of future trips to Isle Royale and coming here for more of a backpacking trip. Isle Royale is the most revisited of all national parks in the American system and I was seeing why. I had a week ahead of me & I couldn't help but plot even more plans upon this isle.

Another thing that made me dream of hypothetical trips to Isle Royale were these 3-sided shelters on the way back to town, almost in Windigo.

How sweet would these be if you lived in Thunder Bay or Duluth and could come here with relative ease? I understand they're for shelter and hikers, but if you came here during the first or last week of the season (Isle Royale is closed for the winter), the island would be awfully quiet and you could just take your time moving along.

As I don't plan on living in Duluth or Thunder Bay in the immediate future, I dreamt of break days on long hikes, or days where I hiked early in the morning and then had a shelter for the rest of the day. I have no problem with backpacking and a tent, but I'm also a fan of a basic structure like this. Then again, maybe it's just the idea of having a tiny lakeside cabin in the Upper Peninsula.

Following dinner, it was an exquisite evening, so I went down to the dock for sunset, thinking about taking pictures but finding myself lounging about by the harbor more than anything. I thought of how Nailhed came to Isle Royale and barely saw the sun through his rainy and foggy adventure, so I was soaking this up, fearful of four weather making an appearance.

Tomorrow they were calling for another nice day though, and the plan was to get out in the boat.

Continue to Part 3...