Conversations with Beth Virtanen Duane Lesperance

Today we’d like to introduce you to Beth Virtanen Duane Lesperance.

Hi Beth Virtanen, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Duane and Beth started a guide service to Isle Royale a few years ago, acting on their love for the outdoors and for physical activity. While they were staying at one hotel or another in Copper Harbor on the way to Isle Royale, they were routinely approached by others island visitors looking for gear that they forgot, didn’t realize they needed, or had been damaged. Soon Duane and Beth were bringing all their extra gear along and renting it from their truck. Given that demonstrated need for a backpacking outfitter in or near Copper Harbor, they started looking for a suitable building to open a gear sale/rental shop and considered a few in Mohawk and other northern Houghton and Keweenaw County locations. When they saw the old Frontier Bar building in Copper Harbor come for sale, they knew it was the perfect place for their operations, only two blocks from the Isle Royale Queen IV dock. They made an offer on building in March of 2024.
They opened their shop a month after closing and have spent the last year working on building improvements and merchandize development. Such an old building required lots of renovations, including windows, insulation, siding, and more. That work is ongoing with new lighting, windows, and insulation installed and new siding and other renovations scheduled.
The development of their stock is also ongoing. Currently, they offer hiking, camping, and backpacking gear for sale and rent, including full backpacking, water treatment, cooling, and sleep systems. They stock useful items and snacks bicyclists, and local campers as well as RVers and ORVers who stay at local campgrounds. With the new rules for food storage on Isle Royale National Park and the prevalence of black bears at all UP-camping destinations, they also offer bear bags that are certified to resist both bears and critters. They stock fishing gear and first aid and hygiene items, such as toiletries, insect repellents, moleskin, bandages, sunblock, Dramamine, Benadryl and the like.
They also stock outdoor clothing and accessories to meet the needs of people surprised by the cold weather that we generally experience in early and late season and by the needs for water shoes and slides. They have puffy coats for chilly nights, bathing suits for summer days, and most accoutrements for safe and comfortable vacationing at UP and Isle Royale destinations.
In keeping with the traditional uses of this building and to satisfy strong demand, we stock fudge and ice cream from local and regional sources. At the other end of the spectrum, we offer dehydrated food and desserts, and healthy high-protein snacks and beverages to fuel the active lifestyles of outdoor adventurers.
Copper Harbor branded items are in stock, including tees and caps as well as jams, maple syrup, and other local treats. Pasties and cinnamon rolls are available for take-out.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
All new endeavors require learning and growing, and through this venture we have listened and responded to the needs of our customers and clients, so each product line we include is in response to multiple individual requests.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
An Upper Peninsula native, Beth grew up in the wild north country. She comes to this venture with a long career in academics, having taught at and led in increasingly responsible administrative roles at multiple institutions of higher learning from 1988 to the present. She has an earned Ph.D. from Michigan Technological University (2000) in Rhetoric and Technical Communication and attained the rank of Professor in 2005; she continues to be involved in higher education.
Duane brings to the operation 26 years of active military service with multiple deployments in active combat zones in Panama, Kuwait, Iraq, and Afghanistan, retiring from the military in 2009. At that point, he was employed as an electrician and eventually operated his own business for several years. He first visited Isle Royale in the 1980s as a young troop with his buddies on leave, but he has returned nearly every year since then, solo or with others.
Beth and Duane first went to Isle Royale together in 2015, and they have returned multiple times each year since then, crisscrossing the island every way possible and even circumnavigating by kayak in 2021. This experience solidified their interest in sharing the island with others through their guide business, and the story of Wise Old Man of Isle Royale from there.
The name Wise Old Man of Isle Royale was affixed to Duane, when he was on a solo hike, by four young hikers who sought out advice from him after he found them off-trail and lost multiple times during a cross-island excursion. He showed them back to the trail each time. Beth and Duane adopted the name for the guide services and then by extension to the Copper Harbor Outfitter to reflect their desire to support safe hiking for the adventurers and to help to preserve the natural wonders of the great outdoors on an off Isle Royale.

What matters most to you? Why?
We care most about providing for the needs of our clients on Isle Royale and in the wilderness surrounding us in Michigan’s beautiful Upper Peninsula, which is why we carry the items we do. Our suppliers provide national and international brands such as Sea to Summit, Mountain Hardware, MSR, Peak Refuel, Gear Aid, and Firemaple and highlight Upper Peninsula and local products, such as Chicken Tramper, Volwerth, Copper Harbor brands, and Hancock bottling as well as Mackinac Island, Sayklly’s and other local fudges and ice creams.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://wiseoldmanofisleroyale.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wiseoldmanofisleroyale
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@wiseoldmanofisleroyale
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/wise-old-man-of-isle-royale-copper-harbor?osq=wise+old+man+of+isle+royale