Good night.

Do you want me to do it again?

In part one of our Isle Royal for All Adventure, We spent the last 2 days traveling through Michigan with our incredible community members.

To finally arrive here.

At Isle Royale National Park.

We spent over a year planning our trip in partnership with James Edward Mills of the Joy Trip Project as part of the Isle Royal for All Project, and it feels so good to be here at Ozegatang.

The Isle Royal for All project is about identifying and removing barriers for visitors to experience the island, but before we could even travel to Minong, we had to consider what people needed, once we got there, in order to ensure their visit is safe and comfortable.

Gear and apparel, and knowing how to use them, can be a huge barrier to making trips like these.

But between the joy trip project and the get outside bus or go bus, we were able to provide everyone with either rentals and even some brand new gear for everyone to keep.

A couple of months before our trip, Each of us received some of our new gear.

But I’ve learned from experience that it’s always a good idea to give everything a try before you really need to use them.

Even issues like blisters might seem innocuous when you’re close to home.

But can end up doing a lot of harm when you’re hiking longer distances.

So we wanted to spend some time on a local trail breaking in and fine tuning our new boots and packs before we got to the island.

We made it to Minong.

So excited.

Had fives all around.

First impressions.

Chief, how you feeling?

Uh... We were on the plane over here, so I know you were you were vibing.

So I, I, yeah, I definitely like vibe.

There was a steadiness.

There were times where I just paused and actually just vibe to like.

My surroundings.

Yeah, I knew I was gonna cry and I cried probably less than I thought.

Um, and I am excited to cry again for the next cryable moment.

I think all of these, like, I kind of feel like the lump is always, like, is just staying there.

Like, a month ago, I was in New Orleans, and I feel like New Orleans accepted me, and now I’m here.

accepted me.

I’m like, oh, I can be accepted and in both places... I feel received and welcomed by the land and like a Gitchigami and yeah, absolutely.

Flight in was so beautiful.

Like, I’ve never been over freshwater for so long.

It feels like.

When the island came into view, it was like a weirdly emotional moment for me of... Like, all these different pushes and pulls of, like, there are some people in my life that I know can never come here, or it would be very challenging to come here.

Even as we were walking up from the dock, I kept, like, noticing all of these really important plants that, People in my community are always looking for plants that carry our teachings to try and restore that knowledge with youth.

being literally surrounded by those plants everywhere you go is... Minong’s a good name.

It’s a really good name.

Yeah.

Well, the next step for us is to go get all of our stuff, go to the campsite.

Learn in real time how to set up my new tent, so you might, you’re gonna help me out with that.

And then just kind of get settled in and start to experience Minong before our trip tomorrow, where we’re gonna really be putting some of our backpacking skills that we learned to the test.

So are y’all y’all ready to go?

Ready.

Awesome.

ready.

All right, let’s go.

Let’s do it.

So welcome to Isle Royal National Park.

As you explore the good place, what choices will you make to help Isle Royale stay wild?

The decisions you make while here will shape everyone’s experience as well as the island around you.

Everything from the smallest rock to the largest moose antler is protected, so take only pictures and leave what you find.

Now that we know some basics about how to cure for ourselves and the island, we’re going to go set up camp and start enjoying the good place.

I was like, how quickly did you get set up?

I’m going to swear, just like you walked in, go like, look.

This is my 11 year old tent.

Are you getting this?

I’m getting it.

Rainbow trout.

Mm hmm.

You threw it back?

Yeah.

No, he placed it gently back in the water.

It was strong.

Yeah.

I was surprised at how strong it was.

How big?

It was probably like... It has been a long journey, but an amazing one so far.

It is still light out, but believe it or not, it’s actually getting pretty late, so I’m gonna tuck in, because tomorrow, we have our hike out to Hugginin, and we’re gonna have to put our backpacking skills to the test.

So I’m really excited, but I want to make sure I’m rested.

So, we’ll see you tomorrow morning, and, uh, good night.

Good night.

Do you want me to do it again?

Good morning.

Good morning.

So even if y’all are talking loud, that is, like, keeping it weird, yeah.

With our hike ahead of us, it’s time to put some of what we learned from the GO Bus back at the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge into practice.

So if you don’t ever have soap and water, the best thing you can do is friction and irrigation for a long time.

That’s your backup.

Um, we will often when we set up a camp, have a hand wash dromedary.

This is basically like a little sink.

Um, and we’ll either have a biodegradable liquid soap or we have these biodegradable um, soap packets.

It’s basically like a little sheet.

You’re welcome to open this, so we can pass it around.

These are pretty sweet.

It’s basically just a little sheet of soap, and then it’s lighter than liquid, and you don’t have to carry it.

Pretty much any water you boil is good to drink.

The only exception is if that water has heavy metals or toxins, which will not be removed by the boiling process.

We will not use chemical treatments because there’s a moose tapeworm that is resistant to them, which is why we go with method number three, filtering.

We have a gravity filter.

I can pull it out later, but this is basically just a bag that you hang from a tree that just slowly filters water.

Awesome for groups, ’cause you can just fill up a couple bags when you get to camp, and then let it run all the time, and then as soon as it’s empty, you fill it, and you basically just constantly have running water.

You hear that hiss?

You light that gas, and it’s ready to go.

The places these don’t work, extreme cold, high elevation.

And if you compare it to other types of fuel, um, it is lighter for a short trip, but it adds up because this is called essentially like a gas fuel.

You can shake it.

It’s kind of liquidy, but it evaporates really quickly.

There’s also white gas.

White gas is a full liquid fuel.

And what that means is it’s more energy dense.

So it’s heavier on the front end, but I can boil a lot more water out of this bottle.

than I can out of this.

So if you’re going out for more than four or five days.

This, even though it’s heavier initially, will last you longer and way less per day.

So move it down to the last notch then?

I should have an extra hook in there somewhere.

Is that good Micah?

Yes, I’m taking that.

Okay, great.

Okay, part 2 We’ve got our gear on, we’ve got our trekking poles, and we are ready to do our hike out to Hugginin Cove.

How are y’all feeling right now?

How are your packs feeling?

How you feeling in your bodies, your mind?

Where you at?

Yeah, I feel good.

Um, I had to have a little change in my pack last night because, or this morning.

I switched gear, and so I had to re-engage some of the... packing skills that I learned back when we were in Keweenaw But, um, I did end up being cold last night, but it was, it was, um, a trial and error, and so I know what to prepare for.

I ask questions like, I really hoped I would, you know, feel brave enough to ask the questions, and so, yeah, I’m excited to see what the cove has for us.

Yeah, yeah, it’s all data, right?

And it kind of build on.

We learn and yeah absolutely.

What about you, Grant?

How you feeling?

I’m feeling good.

I’m really excited.

Everywhere here has been so beautiful, but the trail we’re going to be going on, it’s going to be especially beautiful along the creek.

Like Chief, I had a lot of questions for a lot of the different experts in our group, everything from Malik with his skills in birding.

Rachel with her skills in like mushroom identification, and then Micah and Jaylyn have been so helpful with figuring out like my shoes and my pack and ways to do my tent better.

So I feel like I’m a lot better equipped just in general in a fun way.

Awesome.

But I’m really excited.

Yeah, I feel like I’ve learned a ton in the last few days too, and I feel better equipped now than I would have a couple days ago.

So I’m really excited.

And let’s go start our the next part of our adventure.

Okay.

Roll out Roll out Sydnie, how are you feeling halfway into our Huginnin?

I’m just trying to take in everything around me as I’m walking.

I feel like I’m paying a lot of attention to my feet more so.

I don’t want to trip or anything, but, um, those moments where we get to actually, like, sit down and talk and just rest for a second.

It’s really nice to, like, look around.

I think we’re doing really well.

Yeah, I think that energy levels are high and I’m really loving the fact that it’s a gorgeous day.

So, Grant, how are you feeling right now, though, now that we’re halfway to Hugginin I have had so much fun.

It’s almost kind of a bummer that we’re halfway there because I keep seeing new plants and talking about new things with folks.

I guess I’m more of a longer hiker than I thought because I’m like, yeah, we got this.

I’m feeling good?

Um, my hips are a little sore, but it’s because I was overly adjusting and I didn’t need to.

But yeah, I feel good.

I’m excited.

I did mentally think that we were more than halfway, so I’m like, okay.

Um, but yeah, I’m I’m excited for the 2nd half and seeing what it looks like and hopefully we see a moose as we round the corner there.

Alice, how are you feeling now that we’re almost there?

feeling really good.

My.

Body feels a little tired but not too much.

It doesn’t feel debilitating.

And I’ve just been getting so much joy from doing this hike in this beautiful place, but with these amazing people.

the way that being out in nature and trips like these where we have to take care of each other, you know, help each other stay safe and healthy.

It just accelerates and deepens the ways that we build community and camaraderie and friendship.

And so I think experiencing.

those bonds being developed while we’re out here has been, um, a huge gift and any discomfort that I might experience while hiking, uh, is definitely offset by just the pure joy that we’re having out here.

So.

So I’m really, like, proud of everyone’s helping each other out and like how good the morale is and then I’m like, looking forward to what the team looks like at the end.

I’m sure it’ll be like grow greater, greater every day we’re here.

A little bit tired, sweaty, but good.

I am in great spirits, and I’m super excited to soak my feet in the water when we get there.

Wow, behind the scenes, Alex, in action.

I am feeling so proud of myself and everybody.

This is so cool.

So I’m very excited to get to our campground, but I’m soaking it all and so it’s really, really fun.

The ancestors of this land is holding me together.

And I’m glad they’re here.

I feeling great.

I have awesome grades.

Check out the hair.

My knee is hurting a little, uh, sore, but not hurting, but I am enjoying this beauty of nature.

I’m feeling good.

I think the Hugginin Cove loop on Isle Royale is one of the, like, showcase trails.

It’s not a ton of miles, but you get to see some of the up and down, some of the different ecosystems, some of the different wildlife, and it’s just cool to get to kind of see that much of the island over the span of time that we’re walking.

Raul, we’re halfway there.

How are you feeling?

I’m feeling great.

Hhahahaha Even for experienced adventurers, backpacking can be an ongoing learning journey, and there are likely to be a few missteps.

There’s a lot that goes into preparing for a backpacking trip, but for filmmakers and other media storytellers, there’s a whole other level of preparation and logistics to account for.

Like workarounds for charging equipment when you don’t have access to electricity, and the added weight of camera gear.

Now we got... Houghton, first part of the island... hiking into the island.

So that’s what I’m gonna put into that bag that James is working.

34.

Amazing.

Yeah, 34 pounds.

I think I told Alice I was coming in at 35.

So this is your whole kit?

The camera tables have turned.

Alex, you have come through with your 2 pet cameras on a backpacking trip.

What has been your experience so far in filming a backpacking trip like this?

It’s a very unique experience.

A lot of challenges.

with filming in environments like this, uh, you know, we really have to embrace what Minong gives us and that means that we have to adapt to Minong.

What has been the hardest thing on this trip for you so far?

Well, there’s definitely more physical exertion.

Filmmaking is very physical as it is.

But hiking 4 miles, 8 miles round trip.

And that’s not counting the other days of filming.

So filming for miles, literally.

It’s pushed me in really good ways and I’m.

I’m really excited to Film something creatively that that looks stunning and that takes a lot of energy and focus and determination, perseverance.

This is cool.

Color out here’s awesome.

Let’s go.

Thank you, Sydnie.

Sydnie, can do this without Sydnie.

Yes, they did.

Because today, we’re freaking doing it.

This is our camp.

Here’s the view.

Spectacular.

We made it here to Hugginin Cove.

It is so beautiful.

We’re about four miles from where we started.

It was a beautiful hike, but it also, it was not easy.

I know I’m tired.

I’m ready to eat some dinner real quick and just go crawl in my tent and get a good night’s sleep.

But how are y’all feeling?

I feel very proud of myself.

I feel proud of everybody.

I felt like this is the safest hike I’ve ever done.

Um, like knowing that we’re 4 miles into backcountry on an island.

Hour by plane off of.

Mainland of Michigan, it’s very remote.

And I don’t feel scared to be out here.

And so that feels good.

I’m feeling so good.

Like, the latter half of the hike was a little bit harder.

Uh, I think it got like I shared some weight with other folks and I was like, okay, well now I know my limits in terms of how much weight I can carry and not get cranky.

I’m surrounded by these people that have me.

I’m surrounded by like, this landscape that feels like it’s guiding me somewhere.

And then when I get to that somewhere, like, it is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been in my life, some of the most beautiful people I’ve ever been around in my life.

I know I’m going to sleep really well.

But after that, when we wake up tomorrow, we’re just gonna spend some time really immersing ourselves in this beautiful place, spend some time exploring flora and fauna, keep having good conversations, having good snacks.

Yeah, spending some time really connecting to this island in an even deeper way.

So I’m really excited to do that with y’all.

I mean... Yeah.

We’ll, uh, we’ll see y’all tomorrow.

Yeah.

Yeah.

We’ll do this.

We outside.

I’m so excited to get to know Minong better, but while we’re here, we might need to keep an eye out for some of our new neighbors.