Isle Royale - Day 10

The sandy shore of Feltmann Lake, Isle Royale

Key statistics:
Total miles hiked: 67.7
Total miles Paddled: 0
Total moose seen: 11
​Total foxes seen: 4
Total days with no cell service: 9

Finally back on the trail, we got an early start out of Windigo hoping to take our time and get our heavy packs on their way. 

​We had heard so much hype about the Feldman moose that stroll through camp and frolic on the beach that we were excited to see this phenomenon for ourselves if we could be so lucky. The fern and wildflowers were really starting to come on strong as we enjoyed the Canadian dogwoods blanketing the forest floor beneath our feet. It was a cool crisp morning, but with little wind, the mosquitos found us quickly and dogged us most of the morning. Conscious to pace ourselves better in week 2, we set a timer to walk for 50 minutes and then rest, but the mosquitoes made tolerating the rest periods difficult. We could have set our clocks to the passing of the sea plane headed out of Windigo. The hum of the engine called out its return every 2 hours and replaced the mosquito hum with that of its engines. The Grace Overlook let us once again view Lake Superior and its deep blue waters. The various shades of green from the varieties of pines and deciduous trees caught the sunlight and gave depth and dimension to the ridges and valleys of Isle Royale.

We continued on in this fashion for around three hours before the terrain changed to more open, grassy fields, something we had not experienced yet on the island. It looked almost like Indiana with the sunlight breaking through and providing growth to the understory. Upon arrival at Feldman, we encountered two moose, one on either side of the trail. They seemed continent to let us pass without disturbing them much and after watching them eat for a while, we tiptoed on down the path.

The sites at the lake are all tent sites, and are in close proximity to one another right up on the lake shore. The sand beach looks out down a long stretch of lake. We found numerous types of ducks, cranes, and birds enjoying the safety of the shallow lake. From a distance, we could see a moose wading deep in the water, submerging his head for a bit and then floating over a few feet to start his feast again. He inevitably rounded the corner and was out of sight, but fortunately, we caught his afternoon snack just in time before he was gone again. The winds from the lake rattled our tent as we wound down another day of hiking on the island.
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One of those "famous" Feltmann Lake moose, Isle Royale

Rainbow Cove made for a delightful siesta along Lake Superior shores. With sore feet, we hobbled the .8 of a mile on the grassy trail from Feldman Lake to Rainbow Cove and were delighted to emerge from the woods to see an enormous arched beach with a red rock pebbled slope. The rocks began as baseball sized stones and gradually shrank down to tiny soft gravel. To the right we were surprised to see the Rock of the Ages lighthouse on its lonely rock, completely exposed to the lake. The shore was aptly named for its enormous semicircle arch that spanned all the eye could see.
LaKe Superior agates and rocks of all shapes and colors were fun to find as we watched the sea planes coming and going around the western tip of the island. Gentle waves lapped the shores and we let the heat of the sun warm us up.

Grace Creek overlook, Feltmann Lake Trail, Isle Royale

Rainbow Cove, Isle Royale