Ojibway fire tower

It is surprising how Daisy Farm Campground feels like home; especially given I stayed here only a single night. It must be due to the length of time passed, and all the events that took place since then. The feeling is quite enjoyable, since most of my Isle Royale trip entails constant bombardment of new places and experiences on a constant basis. The life of a hobo is a tough one.

Before departing from Daisy Farm, I make sure to visit one of the many toilets; this is the last opportunity until reaching Rock Harbor, and I am not about to let it to go by without taking advantage of it first. Conveniently, one is located amongst the village of shelters, just as I start north along the Mount Ojibway Trail. The campground appears deserted; not a single person is up and about despite the mid-morning hour.

With my mid-morning business complete, I regain the Mount Ojibway Trail and start hiking north toward the Greenstone Ridge. The trail immediately begins climbing, even before leaving the Daisy Farm Campground. According to the map, there is little respite from the climbing, until I reach the fire tower at the top of the Ridge. Thankfully, the climbing ends there; the remainder of the day’s hiking is roughly level or a steep descent.

The climb continues steadily, but never too steeply. The surrounding forest remains somewhat open, apparently impacted by some storm event, with many trees down on the ground. Some scattered tall quaking aspen and paper birch remain though, with many young red spruce/balsam fir creating an understory. These forest conditions continue all the way up the top of Ransom Hill, where the trail levels off.

Section Stats:
Date: September 10, 2011
Length: 1.7 miles (5.6 total daily miles; 112.9 total trip miles)
Difficulty: Moderate (due to climbing)

From the top of Ransom Hill, the Ojibway fire tower becomes visible up on the Greenstone Ridge in the distance. The tower stands as a tiny structure, just above the surrounding trees on the top of the towering ridge before me. Red and yellow leaves predominate on the scrubby woody vegetation surrounding the fire tower, whether from heat stress or the coming of autumn, I do not know.

Then it dawns on me. Are you telling me I have that far to travel?!? With that much elevation gain? To make matters worse, the trail descends rapidly down to a stream first, making the climb even more arduous. Good thing I got an early start, and I am not doing this at mid-day.

Before taking the steep descent off Ransom Hill, I drop my backpack and pull out my tripodto take advantage of the view of the Greenstone Ridge before me. As I put my camera to work, a red-tailed hawk flies far overhead, apparently using the thermals between the Greenstone Ridge and Ransom Hill to gain elevation. The hawk is in the dark phase plumage, not the light phase usually seen in my usual stomping grounds of central and northern New York. Unfortunately, the raptor is too far overhead to get any good photographs, so I have to be content with watching it through my binoculars.

After descending from Ransom Hill through a paper birch forest, the trail crosses a narrow bridge over Tobin Creek (point #124). High sedges and/or grasses choke the creek, with very little open water visible. Suddenly, in a flurry of wings and feathers, an American woodcock takes off, and flies away to the south, scaring the bejeezus out me. The resulting commotion, combined with my awkward attempt to access my binoculars, nearly sends me off the edge of the bridge and into the surrounding vegetation.

Ojibway fire tower from Ransom Hill

Ojibway fire tower from Ransom Hill

Soon after leaving the wet area, the trail climbs up to another ridgeline before descending to planking over another wet area, an extension of the Lake Ojibway, located a short distance west. The wet area lasts briefly, with the climb up to Greenstone Ridge immediately following. The ascent is steep in places and as it nears the top, the forest thins out and provides views of the tower ahead, as well as the entire island to the south behind me. The leaves on the small trees surrounding me are all red, yellows and oranges, unlike most of the rest of the Island.

When I finally arrive at the Ojibway fire tower, I find I am not alone. A woman is already there taking a rest from her climb up from Daisy Farm. I spend a good deal of time chatting with her, finding out she is on a 2-week trip of which today is the second day. She shares with me a plethora of information, possibly too much. I am surprised to find out she is over 60 years old, and although she complains of many aches and pain, she appears to be still going strong. She admits she cannot hike as long as she used to with it taking her two days to get to Daisy Farm from Rock Harbor.

Lake Ojibway and Moskey Basin

Sargent Lake

View north from Ojibway fire tower

View south along Greenstone Ridge

Another middle-aged man arrives hiking up the Mount Ojibway Trail, while I am busy talking to the other hiker. He keeps his distance, staying on the opposite side of the tower, obviously not desiring to engage in any of the idle chitchat.

I finally part company after a lengthy conversation when I decide to ascend the fire tower as far as I am able. With my binoculars and camera around my neck, I make the slow but steady climb up the metal stairs, as the ground slowly slips farther away. As I climb and the wind blows at my clothing, I feel my entire body tense up, my knuckles becoming white, as I hold on tight to the railing.

When I approach the locked door into the tower, I turn away from my feet to look around at the beautiful view of the northeastern portion of the Island. When I perceive myself steady enough to remove my hands from the railing, I start taking pictures of the surrounding area. To the north, there are multiple open ridges, separated by forested low areas, with Lake Superior in the far distance. Through the unfortunate haze, I can just barely make out the Canadian shoreline.

View northeast toward Mount Franklin

View northeast along Greenstone Ridge Trail

The southern view looks back onto where I came from earlier this morning. Lake Ojibway spreads out just below at the base of the Greenstone Ridge. This is my first view of the lake, since it is wedged between the Daisy Farm Trail, which I hiked on my second day when I ascended to the Greenstone Ridge the initial time, and the Mount Ojibway Trail, that I hiked just moments ago to get to the fire tower. Beyond the lake is Moskey Basin, where I left early this morning, and farther in the distance, Lake Superior is just visible through the morning haze.

Rolling hills stretch as far as the eye can see along the Greenstone Ridge to the southwest, with haze hanging in the lower areas. Glimpses of Sargent Lake and either Angleworm or Benson Lake, border the ridge on the north and south, respectively. Somewhere in the far distance lies Windigo, where I spent my day off at the midpoint of my two-week trip. It is hard to believe I came all the way from this direction just a few short days ago.

View from Mount Ojibway

View northeast from Ojibway fire tower

The northeast reveals a gradual ascent along the Greenstone Ridge to a high point, with Mount Franklin apparently behind it and out of sight. A solitary conifer tree stands erect at this high point, a sentry watching the passage of hikers along the trail for many years. Open, rocky ridges appear frequent to the northeast, giving me hope many outstanding views for my ultimate stretch of the Greenstone Ridge Trail.

When I cannot take the wind pulling on me any longer, I descend the tower’s staircase back to the solid ground of the Greenstone Ridge. The other middle-aged mal e hiker takes my place in the tower, as he ascends shortly after my descent.

It is already shortly past noon, so I shove down a quick snack, and pick up my backpack, preparing for my final leg of the Greenstone Ridge Trail. With a final good-bye to the older hiker, I leave the Mount Ojibway fire tower behind, feeling a tad melancholy as my final miles upon Isle Royale dwindles with each passing step.

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