What to know about Isle Royale, the Michigan national park were two campers died

KEWEENAW COUNTY, MI — Wolves frightened him awake at night. Birds sang soothing songs all day.

The adventure Robb Lamer experienced hiking 50 miles with a 40-pound pack for seven days and six nights along an elevated ridge cutting through the wild Isle Royale National Park in Lake Superior won’t soon be forgotten.

Isle Royale National Park is place where people go to connect with Earth.

This week though, the small island is the subject of national news after two people were found dead June 8 at the South Lake Desor Campground on the remote island. A cause of death and identities of the victims haven’t been released.

Lamer and his hiking group: a son, daughter, her boyfriend, a nephew and Lamer’s brother stayed at the rustic lakeside campground about two weeks before the bodies were found.

The park remains open and officials have said there is no threat to the public.

Lamer, a civil engineer from the Grand Rapids area, said the campground is about an 11-mile hike from the nearest access point on the island, known as Windigo.

There are 36 first-come-first-served rustic campgrounds dotting the island that’s 45-miles long and up to seven-miles wide. Most come with camping pads and an outhouse.

There are few signs, except at rare trail intersections. Hikers sometimes place shed moose antlers around them.

“We never saw anybody at that campground,” LeMur said.

Excluding the latest victims, four people have died at Isle Royal National Park since 2013, based on National Park data and news reports.

A 37-year-old hiker died of a medical condition and a 70-year-old scuba diver died exploring shipwrecks last year. Another scuba diver died in 2013 and a backpacker of a medical condition while hiking in 2019.

Lamer’s group hiked for 28 hours along what’s known as the Greenstone Ridge Trail before coming across anyone else. “We didn’t even see a ranger for seven days hiking the whole island,” he said.

The elevated path traverses the island for 40 miles between the two major access points, Windigo to the southwest and Rock Harbor to the northeast.

Along the way, panoramic views of Canada and Lake Superior abound. Lamer spotted three moose at Ishpeming Point, where there’s an unstaffed lookout tower. It’s one of the few place Lamer said he had cell phone service, so he did a “photo dump” on Facebook to let his wife know he “made it at least through two nights.”

Lamer and his party caught a seaplane off the 206-square-mile island on May 25 and he’s been following news about the mysterious camper deaths for the last week.

“I suspect it’s got to be foul play,” Lamer said. “Because it doesn’t seem logical that a moose would kill two people — even if wolves killed two people, they would have all over (the website) right now: beware of the moose or beware of the wolves. And that’s not what the website’s talking about.”

Further bolstering Lamer’s theory that these were not wildlife-related deaths is the involvement of the FBI, which sent agents to help with the investigation.

The National Park Service said in a June 12 statement that “there is no known threat to the public at this time” but declined to release further details.

Two campers were found dead in Michigan 5 days ago. Many questions remain

The challenge of getting to Isle Royale National Park, which is only accessible by seaplane, ferry service or personal watercraft, likely contributes to it being one of the least visited national parks, averaging about 25,000 visitors a year over the last several, according the National Park Service data.

The nearly total escape from civilization is part of the draw. There are no full-time residents, no roads and hardly any electricity.

“I think it’s cool to just be so secluded,” Lamer said. “You’re by yourself.”

Park Ranger Liz Valencia has spent 30 years working at Isle Royale National Park, which also includes more than 400 mostly unnamed smaller islands that are part of an archipelago in a northwest section of Lake Superior. The park is closer to Minnesota than Michigan.

“Isle Royale is really a different park from most people because you do get out of your car and you get on a boat or a seaplane to come here,” Valencia said. “So you really feel like just getting to the park is part of the adventure.”

Prior to becoming a national park in 1940, the island was home to Scandinavian fishermen — some of the cabins still stand — and Native Americans members of the Ojibwe.

How to get to Michigan’s rugged, remote island in Lake Superior

Most visitors spend multiple days on the island during the open season from April 15 through Nov. 1, said Brendon Lukkari, who’s worked for the park the last four years.

Visitors are permitted upon arrival or during the trip over. Lukkari said they submit an itinerary, identification is checked, names recorded and a $7-per-day entry fee paid.

While you may encounter moose, beavers and loons — even the rare wolf — some common animals, like raccoons, bear, porcupine and skunks are absent. They never made the 14-mile swim from the nearest shoreline through the frigid Lake Superior waters, according to the National Park Service website.

Lamer is curious about the recent deaths but spends more time thinking about his own trip and mornings spent listening to loons.

“The birds up here need to teach the birds down in the Lower Peninsula how to sing,” he said. “They can sing beautifully.”