Plan On Your Hike Taking Longer than Expected

I could pay for one or two trips to Isle Royale, if I had a dollar for every instance that a first time Isle Royale hiker said "it took me longer than I expected to hike to (fill in the blank)". That doesn't necessarily mean that Isle Royale trails are "difficult".  It means that (for many people) their hiking pace is slower on Isle Royale than in other locations. Thus, when you are planning an Isle Royale backpacking or hiking trip, it is important to anticipate having a much slower hiking pace than originally planned ... and to adjust things (like your schedule and water supply) accordingly.

SURVEY RESULTS
In a 2021 survey of past Isle Royale visitors, conducted by Liz Dengate, 61% of the respondents reported that they covered under 2 miles per hour during their Isle Royale hikes (with 57% of the respondents reporting that they covered between 1 and 2 miles per hour).  Another 29.5% said that they covered 2 to 3 miles per hour. There were just 8.5 percent of the respondents who reported covering over 3 miles per hour while on Isle Royale.

WHY ARE THE TRAILS SLOW?

Take a look at these photos of Isle Royale trails....
(You can click to enlarge the photos)

Let me be clear, not all sections of all Isle Royale trails look like the places shown in these photos. HOWEVER, there are enough segments of trail that DO look something like what is depicted in these photos. It is sections of trail (like the sections in the photos) which will slow down your hiking pace. These segments of trail are not necessarily difficult.  Yet, it is nearly impossible to hike through such sections very quickly.

Imagine hiking through areas (such as these) during a rainstorm or when these surfaces are wet. Wet  conditions will usually slow down your pace even more.

EYEGLASSES
It has been my personal experience, that wearing eyeglasses (especially bifocals, trifocals, and other multi-focal lenses -- and/or wearing eyeglasses with prisms) will oftentimes slow down your hiking pace.  It is one thing to walk on a smooth sidewalk (and/or walk on a level trail) while wearing bifocals or prisms. It is a totally different thing to try to hike quickly (across trails like those in the photos) while wearing bifocals, trifocals, progressive lenses, or lenses with prisms.  When you wear eyeglasses, you tend to spend quite a bit more time looking down at your feet and down at the trail -- making certain where you will place each footstep.  As you examine just a SINGLE FOOTSTEP, you might not even notice that you are looking down at your feet and hiking more slowly. However, over a period of many miles (or many hours)--and after taking tens of thousands of slightly slower footsteps-- the CUMULATIVE EFFECT of taking slightly slower steps begins to become very apparent. Eyeglasses can slow your pace.

TREKKING POLES AND WALKING STICKS
Using trekking poles (or a hiking stick) --or using no poles or sticks--is a very personal and individualized decision. However, I invite you to look at the above photos once again. I think most people can see the value of having trekking poles or a hiking stick (to help you maintain your balance) on the uneven terrain that is shown in the photos.

THE TRAILS ARE PROBABLY LONGER THAN YOUR MAP SAYS
Many people report that they believe the distances on the maps (and on mileage charts) are not accurate. We don't know if this is true or not. However, many people report that their GPS devices often report longer distances than are stated on the map.  You will hear similar reports from people wearing pedometers or from experienced hikers who are timing their pace or using a pace count. It is entirely possible that the trail you THINK is 10 miles long--might be closer to 12 miles long.

THE IMPLICATIONS OF THIS FOR YOUR HIKE

• It is going to take you longer to reach your destination.  Therefore, you better plan on starting your hike earlier in the day or plan on arriving at camp later in the day OR you might want to chose to hike a shorter distance. From personal experience, I can tell you that it is not fun (and probably not 100% safe) to reach your destination after sundown.
  
  
• You will probably need to carry more water. Water is hard to obtain along many of the trails on Isle Royale.  If you are on the trail for longer than planned (or perhaps for more miles than planned) you will probably want (or need) to drink more water than planned. This means that you will probably need to start your day carrying more water than originally planned.
  
  
• You might need to rethink your planned itinerary (especially on Day #1). Due to a slower hiking pace (and due to the trails possibly being longer than stated on the map) you might not be able to easily cover as much distance as you hoped to cover on your first day.  You might WANT to cover 11 miles on the same day that you arrive on on the Island. However, due to getting a midday start on Day # 1, hiking 6 or 7 miles might be more realistic than hiking 11 miles (unless you want to get to your campground much later than originally planned).
  
  I have seen MANY persons arrive in Rock Harbor with hopes of hiking to Moskey Basin on Day # 1--but only getting as far as Daisy Farm (or getting to Moskey Basin much later in the day than planned). It is even worse with people who arrive in Windigo and who hope to hike to N. Lake Desor (via the Minong Ridge Trail) on that same day. Many hikers finally arrive at N. Desor very late in the day (or even in the dark) --tired, thirsty, and still having to set up camp, cook a meal, and get water in the dark. They should really have planned to spend Night # 1 in Windigo (Washington Creek Campground) and started their hike early the next morning.
  
  
  
• YOU MIGHT NOT BE (AS EASILY) ABLE TO HIKE AS LONG OF A TOTAL ROUTE AS YOU HOPED. Imagine if you are hiking only 1.0 to 1.5 miles per hour (which is a VERY common pace on some sections of the Minong Ridge Trail). You might need as much as 12 HOURS to cover a 12+ mile section of trail.  You could start your hiking day at 7:00 a.m. and not reach camp until 7:00 p.m. As frustrating as it seems, you may need to plan on hiking shorter daily distances--which means that your overall total mileage for the trip will be much less.  Please remember, only slightly more than a third of the hikers surveyed reported hiking faster than 2 mph. Just over 8% of the hikers reported hiking 3 mph or faster.

PLAN ON DELAYS
There are many reasons why you might experience delays on your Isle Royale trip. Thus, when planning your trip, you really ought to include a day (or two) in your schedule where nothing is planned--in case you need that day in order to address a delay.

• Boats and seaplanes (especially seaplanes) can be delayed by a few hours-- or by a day or more.  What is your plan if your boat or plane arrives a few hours--or a day (or more)--late? How will you adjust your route to account for the fact that you just lost a half-day (or lost a day or two) of hiking time? You really need to leave some "wiggle room" in your schedule to allow for such a possibility. 
  
  You probably shouldn't have any major plans on your schedule for the first day or two after your planned arrival back home. If you REALLY have to be at work, at court, at a wedding, at a funeral, or start school on a certain date--what are you going to do if your boat or plane departs from the island a day or two late? You have to be prepared for possible delays in leaving the Island.
  
  
• Weather delays happen. It is dangerous (or potentially fatal) to hike during lightning storms and/or in torrential rains. Bad weather can delay your hike by an hour or two--or (sometimes) by a whole day. It is helpful to be prepared for such a possibility. Weather delays have happened to me a few times. You may have a PLAN to hike 14 miles on a certain day. However, the weather might decide that you are going nowhere that day (or only hiking half the planned distance).  Your itinerary really needs to be flexible enough to allow for such a possibility.
  
  
• Illness or injury delays happen. In 2021, I had plans for a 16-day (150+ mile) Isle Royale backpacking trip. Early on Day # 2, I began experiencing severe vomiting and diarrhea --and probably a fever. (I apparently caught some stomach "bug" while still on the mainland). I had plans to hike 13.5  miles that day. It took an entire LONG day just to cover less than 7 miles and arrive at a campground near dusk. The illness continued into the third day of my trip.  Thus, I traveled nowhere.  I was dehydrated and weak--and still battling the effects of "the bug" for a couple more days.  I didn't start to feel near 100% until Day # 8.  Thus, I was forced to severely adjust my 150 mile hiking trip (over 16 days) down to hiking roughly 40+ miles in 16 days.
  
  
• Gear failures happen.  I have seen (at least) two people have shoulder straps totally detach from their pack. I saw a fox run off with a guy's trail runner. Thus, the guy had to do half of his trip in flip-flops. Water filters and stoves can break or malfunction.  Gear failures may not end your hike. However, they can certainly slow down your pace (at least while you work on repairing the broken gear).
  
  CONCLUSION
  For a variety of reasons, it will probably take you longer to hike your planned distances than was originally anticipated. You may also experience some major delays during your trip. Thus, it is important to build plenty of flexibility into your trip schedule. Expect delays to happen. Expect it to take you longer than anticipated to hike your planned distances.  Expect the actual mileage to be longer than what is listed on the map or on a mileage chart.  Then, plan your trip accordingy. You will probably have a much more pleasant Isle Royale experience if you try to cover shorter daily distances and if you develop a "less ambituous" overall plan for your Isle Royale backpacking or hiking trip.
  
  Have a great trip!