Et cetera : NCCC’s Maple 3 Experiences Isolation at its Finest

By: Chloe Reese & Brittney Springer

Maple 3 continues to battle the wild at Isle Royale National Park, the location of their third project round. The team has been here for four weeks battling mosquitoes and other challenges of wilderness life. 

The team has been working a rigorous schedule, ten days on and four days off, brushing the Minong trail on the north side of the island. As of now, 5.75 miles of trail has been completed with one more 10 day cycle remaining. In addition, the team has also repaired 144 water bars located along the trail, the drainage system used to keep the trail free of excess water.

Isle Royale National Park is a biosphere reserve located on the Northwest corner of Lake Superior, the largest island on the largest freshwater late in the world. While it is the least visited national park, it has the most return visitors each year. It is also home to the longest running predator vs. prey experiment in the United States, following the relationship between moose and wolves.

The project has provided many challenges for the team, from living in isolation to no showers for ten days. However, the team has grown significantly and is anxiously awaiting the announcement for their fourth and final project of the year. As each member of the team begins thinking about the future, they are thankful for the experiences Isle Royale brought to them, knowing that if they survived six weeks on an island, then they could do anything that is set before them later in life.