Lake Superior Service, Isle Royale National Park, Michigan

The Trip

Join us on the "Eye of the Wolf," Isle Royale National Park, located in western Lake Superior. Isle Royale has the fewest visitors of any national park in the nation.

Considered to be an International Biosphere Reserve, Isle Royale is probably best known for its moose and wolf population and the ongoing research to study them. The annual study conducted in January and February began in 1959 and as recently 2018 the wolf population is at its lowest level since the study began. With the drop in wolf population, the moose increased and researchers became concerned that so many moose would decimate the forest that they feed on. We have been lucky enough on previous trips to see moose and hear wolves howling, but it is never a given.

Because of its surface relief and geographic location, Isle Royale supports a diverse flora. Most of the island is forested. Along the cool, moist shoreline you will see trees such as the jack pine and quaking aspen. Common trees on the interior and higher parts of the island include northern red oak, white pine, and big tooth aspen. You will also see smaller plants such as the thimbleberry, which is the most common ground cover on the island, and the tart berries along with wild blueberries should be ready for picking while we are there. Many other wildflowers (including 32 varieties of wild orchids) and raspberries are usually plentiful.

The Project

We will work alongside and under the direction of the National Park Service trail crew. Our assignment will be to work on the trail system of the park which may require some hiking to reach our daily work sites. The work could include cutting back trees, brushing, and scraping/painting. You'll take pride in seeing the dramatic improvement in the trails following the completion of our work.

Our first day will be Tuesday. We will meet early in the morning in Houghton, MI at the Ranger III ferry dock for departure to the island. The ferry trip is approximately 6 hours. Storms can alter our schedule and delay the boat's departure or return. The group will disembark at park headquarters on Mott Island and park service personnel will shuttle us by boat to our campsite.

We will spend the next six days at our worksite. Five of those days will be work days and one will be a free day for participants to explore the island around our worksite. Our days will start around 8 a.m. with breakfast. Then we’ll pack lunches to take with us to eat on the trail. Dinners will be in camp every evening.

There will be a “free” day for hiking, canoeing, and exploring the island. We will try to schedule this mid-way in the work week, but this is dependent on our work site. We will also have a half-day excursion to visit the Rock Harbor Lighthouse and the fishing museum and, if our schedules align, to visit Rolf and Candy Peterson at their summer cabin to learn about the wolf and moose research Rolf has been conducting on Isle Royale for decades. The timing of this outing will depend on the location of our work site and the staff available to take us there by boat.

On Tuesday (day 8), park staff will transport us to Rock Harbor where we will spend our last night camped at a group site.

On our final day, Wednesday (day 9), we will depart for the mainland from Rock Harbor at 9 a.m. We should be back in Houghton around 3 p.m. Please note: On previous trips, storms have delayed our return to the mainland, so travel plans need to be flexible.

Getting There

Houghton is approximately 350 miles from Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN; 200 miles from Green Bay, WI or Duluth, MN; and 400 miles from Chicago. There is a small airport (Houghton County Memorial Airport) located in Hancock, MI, which is about five miles from our departure location. Houghton and Hancock are sister cities, connected by a lift bridge. There is an air shuttle service to Hancock from Chicago O'Hare twice daily. There is also a bus service to Houghton. There is taxicab transportation from the Houghton County Airport or the bus drop-off location. We will also share participant info to explore carpooling opportunities.

Please do not make non-refundable travel arrangements until notified to do so by the trip leader.

Accommodations and Food

All meals while camped at our work site will be provided. Participants are responsible for bringing their lunch and any snacks they might desire for the six-hour ferry trip to Isle Royale. There are multiple grocery stores and take-out options in Houghton. For our last breakfast and dinner on the island, we will take advantage of the food options at the Rock Harbor Lodge which are not included in the cost of the trip. All meals are vegetarian-friendly. We will be camping at primitive campsites. Privy toilets are located in the campground.

Trip Difficulty

The trail work will be moderately strenuous and hiking to our work location daily can add to the physical requirements of the trip. You must be in good physical condition for this trip. The minimum age for the trip is 16. No special skills are required and the safe use of all tools will be demonstrated and discussed. The ability to work with fellow Sierra Club members and the Park Service trail crew is a must. We will need to transport all of our gear personal and group gear -- to our campsite from the dock.

We will hike to our work sites daily and we may need to carry our tools in and out as well. Hikes to work could be two miles or more. Trail conditions vary greatly and could be smooth, rocky, root-encrusted, or hilly. Daytime temperatures could reach 80 and nighttime temps could be in the 50s, or even cooler at times. We hope for great weather at this time of year, but we need to be prepared for rainy and cool conditions. We will work, rain or shine. Bugs are always a potential problem, but they are usually on the decline by this time of year.

Equipment and Clothing

A detailed equipment list will be sent to all registered participants. Leather work gloves, a day pack, and waterproof boots that are well worn and broken in are a must. Cotton clothing is not recommended.

All group commissary and cooking gear will be provided. Participants will need their non-disposable eating utensils (cup, bowl, plate, fork, knife, and spoon), a small tent, sleeping bag, pad, and good rain gear (not a poncho). A backpack is not required for this trip. A duffel bag will work, but keep in mind that you will need to carry all your gear from the dock to our campsite, so a backpack may work best.

References

The following materials are available from the Isle Royale Natural History Association at 800-678-6925 or www.irnha.org.

Books:

• Peterson, Rolf, The Wolves of Isle Royale, a Broken Balance.
• Peterson, Candy, A View from the Wolf’s Eye.
• DuFresne, Jim, Isle Royale National Park, Foot Trails, and Water Routes.
• Huber, N.K., The Geological Story of Isle Royale.
• Foerster, Vic, Naked in the Stream: Isle Royale Stories.

Websites:

• The park website is loaded with information, including maps and the park newspaper: http://www.nps.gov/isro
• Isle Royale and Keweenaw Parks Association: https://www.irkpa.org/
• Research about the long-running wolf-moose study: http://www.isleroyalewolf.org

Maps:

• If you want to carry a map or become more familiar with the island, the only map you need is The National Geographic Trails Illustrated Map of Isle Royale, available from many sources.

Conservation

Isle Royale is quite isolated, but it is still exposed to many environmental dangers, including climate change, invasive species, and pollutants. Global climate change may already be impacting both the moose and wolf populations on the island significantly. This is because even a slight increase in temperature can negatively affect moose, and warming winters have reduced (and even almost eliminated) ice bridges that used to form from Lake Superior's northern shore to the island. These bridges allowed new wolves to reach the island.

Much of the island is considered “protected wilderness” and intervention from man is dramatically limited. We will make every effort to meet with Rolf Peterson, who did much of the scientific research relating to the moose and wolves, but we do not know yet if our schedules will coincide. We will also explore historical mineral extraction and the impact it has had on the island, going back to early Native Americans mining for copper on Isle Royale.

Since its founding in 1892, The Sierra Club has worked to preserve and restore the natural environment we all share on this planet. Thousands of grassroots-level volunteers spearhead our efforts to conserve and sustain resources, both in our backyards and on a global scale. Through direct experience in the outdoors, Sierra Club outings enable participants to better understand, advocate, and participate in the environmental conservation goals of the Club.

Service outings, in particular, stand out as one of the Sierra Club’s most important “boots on the ground” conservation efforts. The work done by service trip participants in our nation’s public lands is a way of practicing conservation in the most direct way possible, whether it’s improving access while preserving wilderness values, restoring wildlife habitat, or repairing human-caused damage to a natural area. Service trips are a great way to pitch in and do something tangible to make the world a better place; they’re a way to go beyond just talking about conservation; a way to get out there and experience conservation with your whole being. Sierra Club National Outings is an equal opportunity provider and when applicable will operate under permits obtained from U.S. federal land agencies.

Leave No Trace principles will guide our stay in Isle Royale. For more information: LNT.

Sierra Club National Outings is an equal opportunity provider and when applicable will operate under permits obtained from U.S. federal land agencies.