Day 13: July 17th, 2012

Ate a fast breakfast, and started on our super intense hike!! It was really wet outside as we started out- apparently there was a thunderstorm last night, but I didn't even hear it. I was that tired, I suppose! We've been doing a lot more physical activity than I'm used to (aka, when I'm home I barely move), so I'm tuckered out by the time we lay down.

The hike today was really difficult for me, though. The trail had lots of crazy ups and downs, and for me it was difficult. It made it harder that our packs were heavier than they had been before, since we had to carry personal gear and sampling gear- up until now, we hike with sampling gear only, since we leave our personal gear back at our camp when we actually go to a lake. I'm so glad that I've got a hiking backpack rather than a normal one though- this isn't the kind of weight that you could carry on your shoulders because it'd kill your back and neck. Our Eagle Creek backpacks held so much, but it didn't feel like as much because if the pack is fitted correctly, it rests on your hips, so you can handle carrying more weight. I love this backpack. I wish I could use it for school, although I know that given the opportunity to pack that much for the day, I would bring things I didn't need. :P Maybe I can unzip the day pack sometimes and use that one! It's so useful to be able to do that. And contrary to what I was expecting, it's easy to get the day pack back on! I figured it would be a nightmare to do, but the zippers all seem to be really sturdy!

The hikes are always worth it for the fantastic views!

Look at how much can strap onto the packs, too! That's especially useful with awkwardly shaped things, like the PVC quadrat or flippers. Those don't fit inside of a pack so well.

Saw tons of wolf tracks on the trail, and they looked really fresh! The wolves just wanted to make sure that we knew the way to McArgo Cove. There were carnivorous plants too! On the island, there are native pitcher plants and sundews, which are sort of similar to venus flytraps.

Pitcher plants!! :D So interesting.

We stopped at Chickenbone Lake for lunch, and after that only had two more miles to go... It was basically a lot of really steep downhill hiking, which we could all tell would be terrible in reverse in a few days, hahaha.

We SteriPen'd more water at Chickenbone Lake! I mixed in a raspberry drink packet, and it was delicious!!

Once we got to McArgo, around 4 pm, we got one of the last two shelters!! We had literally just sat down at the picnic table in front of one, when a boy scout troop came by and asked if the shelter was taken. Phew! They got the one next to us though. We saw them out at the dock later, when Angela, Sarah, and Charlotte jumped into the water to cool off! I stayed up on the dock basking in the sun, because I heard rumors of leeches... (Sure enough, one got on one of the younger boy scouts! He certainly wasn't happy. But our gals were too quick for them I suppose!) There were tons of boy scouts on the island!! Which of course is really great- it's good to be out learning about nature and camping. But where are all of the girl scouts?!? Gotta get more ladies camping. Maybe my troop should do a reunion there someday (What do you think, ladies?) Really, Isle Royale is a beautiful place. I'm certainly hoping to come back after this summer!!

I was a bit chilly before going to bed, so I put on my clean pair of Bridgedale socks. They're good for wicking away perspiration when you hike, but when your feet are out of your hiking boots, they can also keep them toasty warm! :)