Isle Royal is a national gem that many people never consider.I believe it's the least visited of the National Parks?I backpacked it 3 times in late 70's-80's.There are 3 main trails that run the length of the island.The center trail runs along the bony spine of the isle.Campsites there at the small lakes that dot the interior.
Bugs are to be expected. When the black flies are at there peak, it's as bad or maybe worse than Q/BWCA. I found a bug head-net to be invaluable in camp, and in the more bushy sections of the hiking trails.
The trails that run on the South and North shore were my favorite for there views of Lake Superior. The cool breeze off the lake could be chilling, but it also helped with the black-flies. Of the 2 shoreline trails, I preferred the Northern trail. Seemed less traveled and had the more spectacular views.
When I went, there were 3 sided screen huts on all the trails, but that was quite a while ago. We used them when available. A place relatively free of bugs was nice, but like MT said, the little critters love them too.
I'm not a " hanger", but if you are, Isle Royale is the place to do it. Rocky soil and shallow duff, makes for poor tent staking. A nice hammock and good fly would be perfect. Fires are frowned upon, maybe even illegal now? We had a few, but for obvious reasons, a fire on the island could be disastrous.
Wildlife is plentiful. The ratio of moose/wolves fluctuates, but when I was there, it was almost a daily occurrence to have to step off trail to let a moose cow/calf pass or a big bull. Foxes are all over and not very skittish around humans. A couple of camps had a Fox that hung around and begged for food. You can blame well intentioned but mis-guided hikers for that.
We saw wolves each trip, but usually just as they crossed a trail in front of us. They did howl at night and responded when we howled back.
We brought minimal fishing gear. A lightweight pack rod, some spinner baits and minnow type lures. I caught Walleye/Pan-fish/ Pike and a small Laker on the various trips.
We flew over/back from Hough ton/Hancock in the UP. Did do one trip over and the ferry, but rough seas there and back made us look for a quicker way
It took us 8 days to hike from east to west the length of the isle each trip. You could do it in less time, but we took are time and enjoyed the spectacular views and scenery.
We saw a few hardy souls canoeing the isle. Most traversed the perimeter, and would portage in to the interior lakes they wanted to fish.
Lake Superior isn't for beginning paddlers though. Winds can come up out of no-where, and the water is freezing even in summer.
We did run into a lone kayak-er at Windingo our exit point on the western end. He had the full wet-suit gear and had capsized while paddling into the narrow bay where the campsites are located in Windingo. He said that he barely was able to recover himself and that if he wasn't wearing a wet-suit and had years of experience and could Eskimo roll without thinking, he would of perished in the frigid waters and high surf.
I would hardly recommend Isle Royale, at least once in your backpacking life. It cost's a lot to maintain the Isle, and with few paying tourists along with a shrinking National Park budget, it may not be economically feasible to maintain it for years to come.
I've heard rumbles of offers by private developers to buy the island outright, or swap it for private land holding that could be developed into wilderness areas. I'd hate to see it become a retreat for the wealthy and not a gem accessible by the average Joe
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