looking for mates
25-27 Feb
25 Feb - Last night Middle Pack traveled from the south shore and kill another moose deep within the swamps of Isle Royale’s interior. This is Middle Pack’s third kill in the past two
wolf on the harbor
22-24 Feb
22 Feb - I spent much of the day picking up another kill that Middle Pack had made earlier this month.
With good eyes, a bright sun, and some fortune, Don and Rolf found tracks made by
the old boiling pot
19-21 Feb
19 Feb - It was windy, but we flew for part of the day. Never found Paduka Pack. East Pack remained at the site northeast of Lake Eva, where they’d killed a moose on the 13th of February.
a shared appreciation
15-18 Feb
15 Feb - It’s a few minutes after 10am. I’m standing on Lake Halloran. Fading in the distance, the soft sound of the propeller as it sliced the air. Sorted my gear into two piles - that which
pressure from all sides
12-14 Feb
12 Feb -
In the morning, snow. In the afternoon, we flew beneath an overcast sky and observed each of the packs that have radio-collared wolves: Middle Pack at a new kill site in the big Siskiwit
groceries
6-11 Feb
6 Feb –
Wind and snow, no flying. Most of the crew relaxed between rounds of hot cocoa. Don Murray let time pass lightly with a little ice fishing on Washington Harbor.
The re-supply flight
circles of life
3-5 Feb
3 Feb
Don and I flew in the late morning and early afternoon. After refueling at about 2:30pm, I briefed Rolf on what we’d done and seen: counted 6 moose plots; observed Middle Pack on Siskiwit
trespassing
1-2 Feb
1 Feb
Between last night and midday today, Middle Pack (MP) traveled from Grace Harbor, presumably along the south shore, to an area just SE of Halloran Lake. Here, we observed MP traveled slowly
after the storm
31 Jan
31 Jan
It appears that Lake Superior and her weather will allow us to fly this morning. After three days of blowing snow, the island is a clean slate. The old tracks are filled in with wind-blown
gale force
30 Jan
27 Jan
8:15am - The snow, clouds, every spruce branch and aspen tree top, the very air you try to breathe. Everything is a torrent of chaotic motion as violent northwest winds gusted to fifty
rain, wind, & snow
27-29 Jan
27 Jan
We flew all day today. I flew with Don in the morning, and Rolf in the afternoon.
Today we continued progress on our annual moose survey. Depending on weather moose counting can take
hunting
25-26 Jan
25 Jan
Shortly after taking off this morning, we found that Middle Pack had killed, during the night, the moose they wounded the previous day. At 11:35am, we observed Chippewa Harbor Pack (CHP)
ground work
23-24 Jan
23 Jan
Wind and clouds prevented starting any earlier than 1030. By 1100am, Don had dropped me off at Feldtmann Lake from where I snowshoed to the south shore to collect some data and bones from
a new family
22 Jan 2008
22 Jan
We woke before dark, stood on the porch, and stared into the sky - checking the wind and sky. Don at 4:30am, Rolf at 5:30 am, and I checked at 6:30am. It’s not planned. You just stir in
First glimpses
20-21 Jan 2008
20 Jan 2008
Hoping to fly today, Rolf and I woke at 5:30AM to start the snowmobile (that’s a two-person job when its -5F). Then Rolf went to turn the plane’s heater on, so it’d be ready for
Waiting
18-19 Jan 2008
18 Jan 2008
Much of today was about preparing the research plane. We installed telemetry equipment in the plane - wing-mounted antennas, control box, and cables wrapped around the struts connecting
Arriving
13-17 Jan 2008
13 JANUARY 2008 -
This morning I said goodbye to our cat. Soon, I’ll say good bye to my love and say hello to Isle Royale. Winter study begins with the 7 hour drive from Houghton, MI to Ely, MN.
Isle Royale is a remote wilderness island in Lake Superior where nature still runs wild.
Every January and February we live for seven weeks on Isle Royale. We’re here
to observe the lives of wolves and moose on Isle Royale.
These journal entries share what we discover.
notes from the field
Winter Study
5 March - We’ve just returned from Winter Study. Getting re-oriented to life on the mainland is a busy affair. We’ll post our final entry in just a few days.