Bog along Daisy Farm Trail

Darkness greets me as I wake on my first morning on Isle Royale. Darkness, and an intense urge to pee.

A quick glance at my watch indicates 6:30 AM. This surprises me, as I expect it to be lighter by this time in the morning. The lack of light is not due to a thick forest canopy either, as shelter #5 is located near the edge of the open meadow at Daisy Farm Campground.

Nature’s calling puts an end to my early morning pondering. I untangle myself from my sleeping bag, dress quickly and swiftly exit the shelter, taking great care not to let the spring-loaded door slam shut and wake the entire campground.

Section Stats:
Date: August 30, 2011
Length: 1.9 miles (1.9 total miles)
Difficulty: Moderate (due to climbing)

After taking the time to satisfy the urge that woke me, I shamble down to the dock on my still slumbering legs. The eastern sky is glowing crimson, the sun just starting to rise beyond the horizon. Finally the reason for the early morning darkness dawns on me, the island is much further west than my usual stomping grounds in New York, so therefore the sun rises later.

The brightening eastern sky reminds me of the old saying “Red sky at night, sailor’s delight. Red sky at morning, sailor takes warning.” If true, this bodes ill for the day weather-wise. Good thing I am no sailor. And I rarely heed such old sayings, anyways.

When I return to my shelter (map point IR-004), breakfast and packing are on the top of my agenda. Getting on the trail early is a necessity on Isle Royale, since the campground capacity is limited. More importantly, shelters are in very limited supply, although there are several at McCargoe Cove, my final destination for the day.

Unfortunately, red squirrels interrupt my breakfast numerous times to beg for their livelihood. A particular small red squirrel even climbs up the shelter’s screen, hanging there in frustration due to my stingy ways. Once again I fail to seize an opportunity when it presents itself; the little squirrel jumps off before I am able to extract my camera from its bag.

In addition to the visiting squirrels, I am serenaded by several different birds during breakfast. The staccato call of a pileated woodpecker rings throughout the entire area, disturbing the tranquil early morning. By the time the woodpecker finally stops its call, a common loon yodels from Rock Harbor, perhaps in response. How can anyone sleep through all this racket?

After finishing breakfast and packing up my Pinnacle backpack, I hike down to the dock for a last look at Rock Harbor. Numerous small boats are present along the dock now, apparently Daisy Farm is a popular early morning destination for the boating sect.

Finally I start my day’s hike around 8:45 AM, not as early as I would like, but what the heck, this IS my vacation after all. If I cannot take my time getting going in the morning during my vacation then when can I? At this point, there is probably little chance of getting a shelter at McCargoe Cove, but that is why my tarp is at the bottom of my backpack.

The day’s hike begins on the Daisy Farm Trail, as it gradually climbs towards the Greenstone Ridge. The Greenstone Ridge is the highest of the ridges making up Isle Royale, running practically the entire 45 mile length of the island. The Greenstone Ridge Trail runs along the ridge for most of the islands length, and is one of the most popular trails on the island. My plans include only hiking a 4 mile stretch to the southwest today, although I will be using it extensively upon my return trip during the second half of my trip.

Rock Harbor shoreline at Daisy Farm

View toward Moskey Basin

The trail immediately climbs along the southern side of Benson Creek, and away from Rock Harbor and the Daisy Farm Campground. This is the same Benson Creek whose dried-out remains ran behind shelter 5 where I stayed last night. Along the ascending trail, the stream bed is chock-full of vegetation and shrubbery.

Willows along the stream are alight with the morning sunshine, revealing numerous small birds, flirting from branch to branch in search of their morning meal. Cursing my atrophied fall warbler identification skills, I swing my Leica compact binoculars to and fro, in a desperate attempt to identify each one’s species. Luckily, black-capped chickadees, brown creepers and red-breasted nuthatches are mixed in with the more challenging warblers, thus making me feel less of an inept birder.

Forest along Daisy Farm Trail

The forest on the opposite side of the trail from the stream has a sparse canopy, revealing much open, blue sky. The trees are mostly aspen with a few spruce mixed in for good measure. The open canopy allows for much understory trees, the species mix approximately the same as the larger trees overtopping them. An occasional area of open rock is the only ground not covered with herbaceous vegetation, and most of the rock has a layer of a variety of lichen covering it.

I briefly left the trail and enter the woods to perform some personal hygiene (i.e. to brush my teeth). Evidence of careless teeth-brushing was rampant around my campsite back at Daisy Farm Campground, practically leaving a circle of white around the campsite’s perimeter. Brushing off the trail and away from the campground is my way of trying to reduce my own impact in a highly used area.

Soon after returning to the trail, I arrive at an intersection (map point IR-005), where the Rock Harbor Trail continues southwest, while the Daisy Farm Trail meanders west toward the Greenstone Ridge. I continue straight ahead, leaving the Rock Harbor Trail behind.

Bridge across Benson Creek

After the intersection, the trail immediately crosses Benson Creek on a plank bridge, and then begins to climb steadily. The trail quickly becomes a well-worn, dirt-filled path climbing uphill through the forest. Occasionally, the trail leaves the open forest and enters a dark, dense, coniferous forest, only to exit back into a sparse aspen forest soon afterwards.

Open areas appear frequently along the trail in the sparse aspen forest, covered with some combination of low shrubs, high grasses, open rock, or ornate and delicate lichens. These areas stand in stark contrast with the surrounding forest of spruce, aspen and birch trees.

A harsh call rings overhead, surprising me. Looking overhead, I catch a glimpse of a hawk before it vanishes back into the forest. My initial thoughts are an accipiter (e.g. a Cooper’s or sharp-shinned hawk) but after some reflection, I thought its form is closer to a falcon. Could it have been a peregrine falcon? Or maybe, a merlin. Apparently, my hawk identification skills are just as lacking as my fall warbler ones.

Rock outcroppings along Daisy Farm Trail

Shortly after the trail levels off from its climb, it leads to a narrow wooden boardwalk winding through a spruce forest. Brown creepers are common through here, climbing their way up the trunk of a black spruce before flying down to the bottom of another tree to start the climb all over again.

Shortly the boardwalk through the forest gives way to an expansive open bog. Low shrubs and herbaceous vegetation dominate, with black spruce standing along the border, with an occasional tamarack mixed in. The dense shrubbery consists mostly of bog laurel and Labrador tea, apparently just as common on Isle Royale bogs as it is in Adirondack ones. A few flowering pitcher plants can be seen from the boardwalk, their crimson flowers towering above the low shrubs.

Many dead spruce snags stand to the southwest, surrounded by taller shrubs, suggesting a pool of open water. Off to the northeast a short distance lays Lake Ojibway, out of sight due to the black spruce trees present in that direction.

Boardwalk along Daisy Farm Trail

The extensive open, azure sky over the bog fills me with a feeling of exposure and vulnerability. These feelings add to the difficulty of staying on the boardwalk, and more than once I nearly walk off the edge while viewing the scenery surrounding me. After a few near-misses, my pace slows, with the hope that moving carefully across the boardwalk reduces the risk of my landing knee-deep among the shrubby vegetation.

I nearly lose my balance when a large hawk flies through the bog at about chest level, right across the boardwalk. Before there is a chance to access my compact binoculars, the hawk is long gone. Given the size, shape and speed, a Cooper’s Hawk is the most likely species.

The blue, cloudless sky with a nice steady breeze makes the boardwalk a pleasant portion of the trail. Under other circumstances the bog could have been a disaster, with a wet and slippery boardwalk and a plague of biting flies. Luckily, the weather is ideal today. At least, so far.

The boardwalk ends at the foot of a steep ridge, requiring a short climb to the ridge’s top while my legs are still a little shaky from the increased effort required to cross the narrow planks through the bog. The ridge top is largely open, and when I turn around I can still see the boardwalk crossing the bog way down below.

Boardwalk through bog on Daisy Farm Trail

Looking back on bog on Daisy Farm Trail

After cresting the ridge, the trail soon skirts around the edge of an algae-filled pond (map point IR-006) with a border dominated with grasses, sedges and other herbaceous vegetation. Although the open water is far from extensive, the anticipation of seeing a moose grows within me and I ready my binoculars by removing them from their case as a precaution.

The trail heads right along the wetland’s edge, the knee-high vegetation obscuring it most of the way. Much of the vegetation remains shaded by the surrounding trees, the dew fresh enough to wet my hiking pants below the knee.

Soon the trail climbs up along the opposite bank of the wetland to drier ground, revealing a view of the much larger pond on the opposite side of a large rock outcropping. Numerous stumps stick up from the murky water, suggesting its shallow depth and its history of beaver activity.

Pond along Daisy Farm Trail

Pond along Daisy Farm Trail

The pond appears to be ideal habitat for a wildlife sighting. So I stand scanning the pond with my binoculars, convinced a moose MUST be near the ponds shoreline. Unfortunately, all I find are more stumps.

The trail climbs the ridge along the pond’s northern shoreline, soon entering a closed canopy hardwood forest. The forest is dense, with medium-sized sugar maples and paper birches overtopping their progeny forming an almost impenetrable tangle in the understory. It is difficult to find a square foot of open forest floor the vegetation is so dense. The trail is obviously wetter under normal conditions as a series of boardwalks wind their way through the forest in this section.

Views from Greenstone Ridge on Daisy Farm Trail

View from Greenstone Ridge on Daisy Farm Trail

Soon the slope levels off and the forest is replaced with open rock and sparse, knee-high grass. The grass is mostly brown, evidence of the lack of any recent precipitation. Large, scattered aspens line the open areas, and occasionally a cairn marks the trail location.

Within a short distance the trail renters a hardwood forest at its terminus with the Greenstone Ridge Trail (map point IR-007) . An extensive rest break is a necessity now that the majority of my climbing for the day is behind me. From here there is a 4-mile stretch along the Greenstone Ridge to the southwest toward East Chickenbone Trail, which I plan on taking to McCargoe Cove for the night.

Daisy Farm/Greenstone Ridge Trails' intersection

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