DRINKING WATER ISSUES
Consuming sufficient amounts of safe-to-drink water is probably the most important aspect of a successful Isle Royale trip.
There are only two areas on Isle Royale where Park visitors can get safe drinking water from faucets ... Windigo and Rock Harbor.
In all other places on Isle Royale, all water needs to be boiled before drinking it--OR all water needs to be filtered through a well-functioning water filter (0.4 microns or finer) AND (per National Park Service and CDC recommendations) the filtered water should then ALSO be TREATED with a CHEMICAL TREATMENT (tablets or bleach) or undergo a UV TREATMENT (using a UV purifier like a Steripen).
NOTE: Instead of both filtering and treating the water, you can also use special water filters that are specifically rated to remove viruses and not just remove bacteria.
Some people will STRONGLY disagree with the official recommendation to also TREAT the water after filtering it. However, "filter AND treat" is the official NPS and CDC recommendation--so that is the recommendation that I will always share. (I had a water borne illness in The Boundary Waters over 40 years ago--and it was definitely not fun. So, I try to not take any chances with waterborne illnesses).
ALMOST EVERYTHING THAT YOU REALLY NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE DRINKING WATER SITUATION ON ISLE ROYALE CAN BE FOUND AT THIS LINK: https://www.nps.gov/isro/planyourvisit/drinking-water.htm
Pay close attention to the section regarding "Cyanobacteria Harmful Algal Bloom". There is NOTHING that you can do to make the water from a blue-green algal bloom lake safe to drink. Boiling, filtering, and/or treating the water (even if you do all three) cannot make that water safe to drink.
Here is an additional link to a National Park Service page that discusses safety issues regarding drinking water: Clean Drinking Water
There are only two areas on Isle Royale where Park visitors can get safe drinking water from faucets ... Windigo and Rock Harbor.
In all other places on Isle Royale, all water needs to be boiled before drinking it--OR all water needs to be filtered through a well-functioning water filter (0.4 microns or finer) AND (per National Park Service and CDC recommendations) the filtered water should then ALSO be TREATED with a CHEMICAL TREATMENT (tablets or bleach) or undergo a UV TREATMENT (using a UV purifier like a Steripen).
NOTE: Instead of both filtering and treating the water, you can also use special water filters that are specifically rated to remove viruses and not just remove bacteria.
Some people will STRONGLY disagree with the official recommendation to also TREAT the water after filtering it. However, "filter AND treat" is the official NPS and CDC recommendation--so that is the recommendation that I will always share. (I had a water borne illness in The Boundary Waters over 40 years ago--and it was definitely not fun. So, I try to not take any chances with waterborne illnesses).
ALMOST EVERYTHING THAT YOU REALLY NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE DRINKING WATER SITUATION ON ISLE ROYALE CAN BE FOUND AT THIS LINK: https://www.nps.gov/isro/planyourvisit/drinking-water.htm
Pay close attention to the section regarding "Cyanobacteria Harmful Algal Bloom". There is NOTHING that you can do to make the water from a blue-green algal bloom lake safe to drink. Boiling, filtering, and/or treating the water (even if you do all three) cannot make that water safe to drink.
Here is an additional link to a National Park Service page that discusses safety issues regarding drinking water: Clean Drinking Water
SOME OF MY PERSONAL THOUGHTS
REGARDING ISLE ROYALE DRINKING WATER
DIFFICULTY FINDING (OR REACHING) MORE WATER
When hiking or backpacking on Isle Royale, it is often difficult (and frequently IMPOSSIBLE) to find and gain access to filterable and drinkable water at anyplace other than the official campgrounds. So, when you leave your campsite in the morning, you better take enough drinking water with you to last you until you are at your final destination for the day.
On the map, it may LOOK like a potential water source (including Lake Superior) is located right next to the trail (or located not very far from the trail). Yet, in reality, your ability to actually get to that water source is blocked by a steep cliff, a swamp, extremely thick ground cover--or by some other difficult (or impossible) to overcome obstacle.
On the map, it may look like you are going to encounter a creek, a swamp, a bog, a pond--or some other source of potential water. However, tn the real world, you may discover:
1) The map is incorrect and the water source isn't there.
2) The creek has dried up (or is just "occasional") or the pond or swamp has become filled in. Perhaps, a mile upstream, some beavers have dammed up the creek and it is no longer flowing in the area of the trail.
3) You may take one look at (and/or take one whiff) of a beaver pond, bog, or swamp and immediately decide that there is no way in heck that you are going to even try to filter (and drink) THAT water (or the water source may even have a toxic blue-green algal bloom going on).
4) When you get to the junction of a main trail--and the trail to a campground--you may realize that the round trip hike from the main trail to the campground (to filter some water) is between 0.6 miles to 1.2 miles--and you are tired, injured, or feeling unwell and you don't feel like doing that long hike to get more water. So, you decide to skip that opportunity and just keep walking.
For a variety of reasons, you may not be able to (or may not want to) find any water that you can filter for drinking (before you reach your final destination for the day). Thus, it is important that (when you leave camp in the morning) you have enough water with you to last you until the end of your hiking day. If, near the trail, you DO find some water that you can filter and drink, consider it a pleasant bonus.
HYDRATION ISSUES
I cannot stress enough--the need to drink plenty of fluids and to stay fully hydrated.
Isle Royale can be very humid. The trails (especially the trails on open, rocky, ridges) can be very warm. Many people soon discover that Isle Royale trails can be "slow" and it takes them longer than expected to walk from "Point A" to "Point B". All of this means that you will need (and want) to drink more fluids. When you combine all of that-- with the challenges of finding more water along the trail--it is a "perfect storm" for dehydration and/or heat injury issues.
That is why I encourage people to leave camp in the morning with more water than they think they will ever possibly need to reach their final destination of the day. Yes, water is heavy (2.2 lbs. per liter). However, carrying a couple of extra pounds is probably better than risking dehydration or a heat injury.
When hiking or backpacking on Isle Royale, it is often difficult (and frequently IMPOSSIBLE) to find and gain access to filterable and drinkable water at anyplace other than the official campgrounds. So, when you leave your campsite in the morning, you better take enough drinking water with you to last you until you are at your final destination for the day.
On the map, it may LOOK like a potential water source (including Lake Superior) is located right next to the trail (or located not very far from the trail). Yet, in reality, your ability to actually get to that water source is blocked by a steep cliff, a swamp, extremely thick ground cover--or by some other difficult (or impossible) to overcome obstacle.
On the map, it may look like you are going to encounter a creek, a swamp, a bog, a pond--or some other source of potential water. However, tn the real world, you may discover:
1) The map is incorrect and the water source isn't there.
2) The creek has dried up (or is just "occasional") or the pond or swamp has become filled in. Perhaps, a mile upstream, some beavers have dammed up the creek and it is no longer flowing in the area of the trail.
3) You may take one look at (and/or take one whiff) of a beaver pond, bog, or swamp and immediately decide that there is no way in heck that you are going to even try to filter (and drink) THAT water (or the water source may even have a toxic blue-green algal bloom going on).
4) When you get to the junction of a main trail--and the trail to a campground--you may realize that the round trip hike from the main trail to the campground (to filter some water) is between 0.6 miles to 1.2 miles--and you are tired, injured, or feeling unwell and you don't feel like doing that long hike to get more water. So, you decide to skip that opportunity and just keep walking.
For a variety of reasons, you may not be able to (or may not want to) find any water that you can filter for drinking (before you reach your final destination for the day). Thus, it is important that (when you leave camp in the morning) you have enough water with you to last you until the end of your hiking day. If, near the trail, you DO find some water that you can filter and drink, consider it a pleasant bonus.
HYDRATION ISSUES
I cannot stress enough--the need to drink plenty of fluids and to stay fully hydrated.
Isle Royale can be very humid. The trails (especially the trails on open, rocky, ridges) can be very warm. Many people soon discover that Isle Royale trails can be "slow" and it takes them longer than expected to walk from "Point A" to "Point B". All of this means that you will need (and want) to drink more fluids. When you combine all of that-- with the challenges of finding more water along the trail--it is a "perfect storm" for dehydration and/or heat injury issues.
That is why I encourage people to leave camp in the morning with more water than they think they will ever possibly need to reach their final destination of the day. Yes, water is heavy (2.2 lbs. per liter). However, carrying a couple of extra pounds is probably better than risking dehydration or a heat injury.
WHAT WATER FILTER SYSTEM DO I USE?
There are many good water filters and water filtration systems out there. I have used several different ones. In recent years, I have been using a Sawyer Squeeze [Click the Link] (or occasionally, a Sawyer Mini). I strongly dislike the collapsible water collection"bottles" that come with the Sawyer filters. So, I combine it with a 2 Liter CNOC Vecto Water Container (Click the Link) for "dirty" water collection. I tend to carry the filtered (and treated) "clean" water in "used" SMART water bottles or "used" Gatorade bottles--depending upon my pack and the size/shape of the water battle pockets on the backpack. Sometimes, I bring a 4 Liter MSR Dromedary Bag for use of larger amounts of water around the campground. I also have a Gregory 3D 2 Liter Hydro Reservoir that I sometimes use--so I can more easily consume water as I go down the trail. For chemical water treatment of the filtered water--I tend to use any one of a variety of water tablets and drops--depending what I can acquire at the store where I am shopping
HERE IS A VIDEO OF A PERSON USING A WATER FILTRATION SYSTEM VERY SIMILAR TO THE ONE THAT I USE: [Click the Link] (His introduction is a bit "interesting"--but the overall video is good and informational).
HERE IS A VIDEO OF A PERSON USING A WATER FILTRATION SYSTEM VERY SIMILAR TO THE ONE THAT I USE: [Click the Link] (His introduction is a bit "interesting"--but the overall video is good and informational).