Moosewatch 2021 PART 2

Loreen Niewenhuis is an author, adventurer, and dynamic speaker. 

She has completed a trilogy of 1,000-mile journeys exploring the Great Lakes and has authored three books about these adventures. 

To learn more about her work, or to engage her as a speaker, go to 

http://www.laketrek.com/great-lakes-speaker/

The primary goal of a Moosewatch Expedition on Isle Royale is to gather data on moose bones in the field and to bring some of the bones back for study. 

Since the study was suspended due to Covid last year and since additional wolves were relocated to the island, we expected to find more moose bones. 

And we were not disappointed.

With each find, we searched the area for all the bones we could find, recorded which ones were present, inspected bones for signs of pathology (e.g. arthritis, healed breaks -- these bones would also be recovered for study), recorded data on location of find and condition of bones. Then, we would pack up the skull, mandibles, and a rear metatarsal. This last bone grows to its full length in the first year of a moose's life, so measuring it gives a wealth of information on how that first year went for the moose (e.g. was food abundant/scarce?).

Our last find was on the hike in to Windigo to meet up with other teams and deliver our bones. This moose was killed a few weeks ago, so we smelled it before we found it.

Every bone was present except for one scapula.

Fox love to run around with the bones, so it was probably carted off by a fox.

Here's my team, 

the second all-women Moosewatch Team:

(L>R: April, Joceline, Zan, and Julie)

 

Looking Back on 2019

Loreen Niewenhuis is an author, adventurer, and dynamic speaker. 

She has completed a trilogy of 1,000-mile adventures exploring the Great Lakes and has authored three books about these adventures. 

To learn more about her work, or to engage her as a speaker, go to 

http://www.laketrek.com/great-lakes-speaker/

Well, 2019 went by quickly!

I had over a dozen speaking engagements, including:

Quiet Adventure Symposium at Michigan State University

Schoolcraft College's "Coffee & Conversations" series
Many libraries and community centers

See my 2020 speaking engagements here or in the sidebar to the right.
I'm honored to be a feature speaker at Lakeside Chautauqua, and re-booked at Schoolcraft College and the Quiet Adventure Symposium.

It was my honor to lead an all-women team of hikers on a Moosewatch Expedition on Isle Royale in May (I'll do this again in 2020).

My 2019 team

And I did a lot of hiking on my own this year, exploring places I know well, 

and some trails new to me.

Trail along the Boardman River

Empire Bluff Trail

Jordan River Valley Trail

I hope you had a wonderful 2019.

Happy trails to you all in 

2020!

May you have many adventures waiting for you in this new decade.

Antlers! (8th in a series about Isle Royale)

Loreen Niewenhuis is an author, adventurer, and dynamic speaker. 

She has completed a trilogy of 1,000-mile adventures exploring the Great Lakes and has authored three books about these adventures. 

To learn more about her work, or to engage her as a speaker, go to 

http://www.laketrek.com/great-lakes-speaker/

The primary objective on a Moosewatch Expedition on Isle Royale is to find and gather moose bones.

But teams also gather data from the antlers moose shed every winter. 

Today, there are over 2,000 moose on the island and about half of them are bulls. Bulls grow a fresh set of antlers every year. Antlers are fast-growing and are covered in "velvet" in the spring. This covering conveys blood and nutrients to the growing bone (yes, antlers are classified as bone tissue). Once they are fully formed, moose will scrape off the velvet and get ready to spar with other males for the right to pass on their genes.

Then, at the end of the year, bull moose shed their antlers. They are scattered all over Isle Royale. This year, my team found 38 shed antlers including several matched pair.

Teams measure and mark all found antlers (Julie and Joceline)

Joceline holds a classic matched set of antlers

And April holds another pair!

Sometimes, teams find a skull with antlers still attached 

(This team was the first all-women team to hike a Moosewatch Expedition!)

Camp Life on Isle Royale (6th in a series about Isle Royale)

Loreen Niewenhuis is an author, adventurer, and dynamic speaker. 

She has completed a trilogy of 1,000-mile adventures exploring the Great Lakes and has authored three books about these adventures. 

To learn more about her work, or to engage her as a speaker, go to 

http://www.laketrek.com/great-lakes-speaker/

This May, I hiked my fifth Moosewatch Expedition on Isle Royale. 

And this time, I was thrilled to be the leader of the first all-women team (in photo below: Joceline, April, Me, and Julie).

Our team covered 45 miles and had three basecamps for the week. Here's a glimpse into camp life on Isle Royale:

Heating water on the Solo Stove for morning coffee is the best way to wake the team!

Breakfast oatmeal fuels us of the day

Hot bevs are essential in the morning

Fun conversations happen in the camp 'kitchen'

Our last day, we hiked 11 miles and got back to camp around sundown...we ate our dinner at dusk and turned on headlamps to make pudding for dessert

In Search of Moose Bones (5th in a series about Isle Royale)

Loreen Niewenhuis is an author, adventurer, and dynamic speaker. 

She has completed a trilogy of 1,000-mile adventures exploring the Great Lakes and has authored three books about these adventures. 

To learn more about her work, or to engage her as a speaker, go to 

http://www.laketrek.com/great-lakes-speaker/

This year, Moosewatch Teams had GPS data from collared wolves newly introduced to the island. While not all of these data points were kill sites, when there was a moose kill it was pretty fresh.

The recent kills that our all-women team found still had some fur on the lower legs and all hooves were still present. You know how your dog loves to chew on hoof trimmings? So do wolves, and they'll be back for them.

First kill site

Hooves still present

Recent kills still have moose ticks hanging around

Skull

pelvis of yearling moose 

Second kill site

Lower moose jaw held by my excellent team (April, Joceline, and Julie)

The Importance of Balsam Fir (4th in a series about Isle Royale)

Loreen Niewenhuis is an author, adventurer, and dynamic speaker. 

She has completed a trilogy of 1,000-mile adventures exploring the Great Lakes and has authored three books about these adventures. 

To learn more about her work, or to engage her as a speaker, go to 

http://www.laketrek.com/great-lakes-speaker/

It's difficult to imagine how Isle Royale would look if the 2,000 moose weren't there, each munching 40 pounds of vegetation every single day. And in the winter, they primarily munch the soft needles of the balsam fir trees on the island.

There is a place where you can get a glimpse of how moose impact these trees: the exclosure at Windigo. Here, the NPS set up a fenced area to keep moose out.

Inside the exclosure, balsam fir tower above. They can reach heights of 70 feet tall if unmolested by moose.

Balsam fir tower overhead inside the exclosure

Large trunk of balsam fir in exclosure

These trees are all over the island, but most look like the ones in the photos below due to winter browsing by moose. Most of these trees are browsed off at a height of a couple of feet. 

Munched by moose

This balsam fir is denuded of needles as far up as moose can reach (walking stick is about 5-feet tall)

Into the Wilds (3rd in a series about Isle Royale)

Loreen Niewenhuis is an author, adventurer, and dynamic speaker. 

She has completed a trilogy of 1,000-mile adventures exploring the Great Lakes and has authored three books about these adventures. 

To learn more about her work, or to engage her as a speaker, go to 

http://www.laketrek.com/great-lakes-speaker/

This May, I was honored to lead the first organized all-women team on a Moosewatch Expedition on Isle Royale.

My team: Me, April Wilbur, Julie Timmer, Joceline Pasaylo

I have hiked on an expedition four times. This was my first time as team leader.

We cooked dinner and breakfast in camp

This island is a National Park. It is remote and wild. Teams do most of their hiking off-trail and camp in remote areas. 

The island has a mixture of trees

It's difficult to convey how wild and rugged this island is. Rock ridges run the length of the island, often rising hundreds of feet like in the photo below.

My team gives scale to this place

The hiking here is rugged. The views magnificent.

We hiked to the northern shore and had views of Lake Superior at our second camp

In May, snow and ice still persist. 

This stream still wears a cap of snow

We hiked through an area that had burned years ago along the Minong Trail.

Burn area on the Minong

We had some amazing sunsets during our week.

Sunset on the north shore

Gearing Up (2nd in a series about Isle Royale)

Loreen Niewenhuis is an author, adventurer, and dynamic speaker. 

She has completed a trilogy of 1,000-mile adventures exploring the Great Lakes and has authored three books about these adventures. 

To learn more about her work, or to engage her as a speaker, go to 

http://www.laketrek.com/great-lakes-speaker/

Over twenty hikers traveled to Isle Royale for the first week of Moosewatch Expeditions this May (there are four weeks of expeditions each year).

Once everyone is on the island, team leaders distribute gear and food for the week in the wild.

Teams gather to gear up 

My team (L>R) Me, April Wilbur, Julie Timmer, Joceline Pasaylo

Backpacks can weigh over 40 pounds when heading out for a week in the wild.

This year was unique because over a dozen wolves released this past winter on the island wear radio collars.

The data from these collars indicate where the wolves spend their time and where they hang out for awhile, possibly at a kill site.

These data points were distributed to teams and this year we hiked to those sites.

GPS points of interest from wolf movement on island
 

Dr. Rolf Peterson (in red hat) gives team leaders their assignments

 In my next post, I'll take you into the wilds of Isle Royale in search of moose bones.

Heating water for coffee in morning

Getting There (1st in a series about Isle Royale)

Loreen Niewenhuis is an author, adventurer, and dynamic speaker. 

She has completed a trilogy of 1,000-mile adventures exploring the Great Lakes and has authored three books about these adventures. 

To learn more about her work, or to engage her as a speaker, go to 

http://www.laketrek.com/great-lakes-speaker/

This May I led the first organized 

all-women team on a Moosewatch Expedition on Isle Royale.

Teams of hikers support the longest-running predator/prey wildlife study in the world. Scientists have been studying the interactions of wolves and moose on this isolated island for 62 years. 

Before we can hike the island and gather moose bones for the scientists to study, we must first get to there.

Ferries travel to the island from three points: Grand Portage, MN

Houghton, MI

Copper Harbor, MI

There is also a seaplane that travels from Houghton, MI to the island.

Waiting to board the Voyageur II

Voyageur II ferry docked in Grand Portage, MN

Isle Royale is a National Park and it is the least visited of all our parks. The effort it takes to get to the island is part of the reason for this.

Once travelers get to Isle Royale, they typically spend more time there than in any other park.

Riding the Voyageur II to the island

 I have about a 12 hour drive to get to Grand Portage, then a 2 hour ride on the ferry.

Several Moosewatch volunteers on the ferry

This year's Moosewatch Expedition was thrilling. I was honored to lead a team this year, a team comprised of women.

I'll blog about this fantastic time on Isle Royale all this month.