When you read this, I will be far away at Isle Royale National Park. I know what you are thinking: Let’s go burgle his house. Don’t try it. My wife, son and vicious guard dog stayed home. I went on this trip with my teenage step-brother. I am 38. He is 14. It’s a big age difference for brothers, but that’s how we roll.

Isle Royale is a 207-square-mile island in the northwest of Lake Superior. It is part of Michigan, though it is closer to Minnesota. It is the largest natural island in Lake Superior and the second largest in the Great Lakes. It is made up of several bedrock ridges that run northeast to southwest. The Greenstone Ridge is the main one. There are lakes on the island, and Siskiwit Lake is the biggest.

Get this: Siskiwit Lake’s largest island is Ryan Island. On Ryan Island there is a seasonal pond called Moose Flats. In the flats is Moose Boulder. According to Wikipedia, “When Moose Flats is a pond, Moose Boulder becomes the largest island in the largest lake on the largest island in the largest lake on the largest island in the largest lake in the world.”

My step-brother is Brody O’Tool of Fort Dodge, Iowa. He and I are hiking, camping and fishing all week. I am an experienced backcountry hiker, though I haven’t done it since 2005. It is refreshing. I need to do this more often. The great thing about Isle Royale is it is beyond the reach of the automobile. There are no cars. There are no roads. We took a boat from Grand Portage. I’ll tell you more about this trip when I get back.

In the meantime, here are some other backcountry destinations that to me look good on a map:

The Pacific Rim National Park Reserve on Vancouver Island in British Columbia features the West Coast Trail. With 47 miles of stunning scenery and difficult terrain, it is often rated the bike hike in the world. There are spots where you have to get in a basket and pull yourself across a gully on a cable. I intend to make this trip someday when my son, Forrest, is old enough and experienced enough to do it.

The Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area is a place I have been many times. I proposed to my bride atop Alta Mountain, and we named our dog for that mountain. No motors are allowed in wilderness areas. They cannot even use chainsaws to clear trails. The Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area comprises 390,000 acres of rugged Cascade Range terrain and scenery. Lisa and I can’t help but want to visit it some more. We would like to hike the trail to the Enchantment Lakes, which we haven’t done before. It features a 4,100-foot gain, yet it is so popular that the National Forest Service requires a permit to limit access.

The Boundary Waters Canoe Wilderness Area is a beautiful location. Yup, Minnesota has designated wilderness, too. Maybe one of these years Brody, Forrest and I can take a canoe up there and go from lake to lake camping, fishing and canoeing. Before two of my Army buddies died last year, we had planned to take a trip to the Boundary Waters. Visiting there could be bittersweet.

Kenora, Ontario, or farther north. When I was 6, I went with my grandfather and several FFA boys on a trip from Lake City, Iowa, to Rainy Lake, and when I was 7 we went to Lake of the Woods. Grandpa and I went to Kenora for supplies sometimes, and each time we stopped at this really good ice cream shop. I wonder if it is still there. I would like to go explore the area with adult eyes and someday share with my son the experiences I had as a child there. Besides, it remains the farthest north I have been on land, and someday I would like to go farther north.

Yellowstone National Park has to be on every American’s list of destinations. It’s got it all, and I imagine seeing it on foot is the best way. I can’t believe I haven’t been there already. Let’s you and I stop work and go right now!

Oh wait, I am on an island. And I am not at work. All right!

Tribune Managing Editor Tim Engstrom’s column appears every Tuesday.