Greenstone Ridge Trail

Questions about trails and campsites on the island.

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tphanson
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Greenstone Ridge Trail

Post by tphanson »

My wife and I are going to hike the Greenstone Ridge Trail in May, from Sat-Thur(boat times). Our first night we plan on staying at Three-Mile, are we crazy for planning on getting to West Chicken Bone for the second night? If anyone has an idea on an itenerary I would like to see it.
Thanks
Nym90
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Re: Greenstone Ridge Trail

Post by Nym90 »

This is definitely doable, though it will make for a long first day. The good news is that the most difficult section will be the first one--the climb up onto the Greenstone on the Mt. Franklin Trail. Once you're on the Greenstone, it's pretty easy hiking, with few steep hills; most grades will be downhill, especially once past Mt. Ojibway.

I would recommend getting an early start, both because of the distance you want to cover and also the fact that much of this section of the Greenstone is open to the sun and will thus be more pleasant in the morning than in the heat of midday. The other factor is that West Chickenbone is a fairly popular campground and will offer fewer choices of sites later in the day, though all of the individual tent sites are quite nice. Take plenty of water, as there are no sources available on the Greenstone at all until you reach Chickenbone Lake, with the possible exception of bushwhacking to Angleworm Lake.

If you're completely spent by the time you reach East Chickenbone, you also have the option of staying there instead of trekking on to West Chickenbone, but West Chickenbone is much more scenic (it's on the lake, unlike East Chickenbone) and I'd highly recommend traveling the extra two miles to West Chickenbone if at all possible.

This is a highly scenic section of the Greenstone and you will often have views of both sides of the island simultaneously. Enjoy!

As for the remainder of your trip, Hatchet Lake and South Desor are what I'd recommend re: campgrounds. These two sections of the Greenstone are the most difficult, but you will be hiking shorter distances each day and thus will have ample opportunity to soak up the views and take them at a reasonable pace. South Desor to Windigo might seem like a long day, but since it's almost all downhill, especially after Sugar Mountain, it is not a difficult hike.
tphanson
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Posts: 12
Joined: Fri Mar 01, 2013 1:15 pm

Re: Greenstone Ridge Trail

Post by tphanson »

Thanks for the info. What about camping off trail if we don't make the campground?
Nym90
NewbieCake
Posts: 39
Joined: Wed Mar 23, 2011 10:42 pm
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Location: Eugene, OR
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Re: Greenstone Ridge Trail

Post by Nym90 »

You need a special backcountry permit to camp at any location other than an established campground. Of course, in an emergency situation, I am confident that the rangers would be understanding of your need to violate this policy, but I imagine the burden of proof would be with you to explain your need to do so.

If you are inexperienced in backpacking, I would certainly recommend taking some 8-12 mile day hikes with a full pack of equipment to be sure that you are up to it.

Another suggestion that I would make, especially since you are hiking in May, would be to plan on adding an extra day to your schedule to lessen the liklihood of hiking an entire day in the rain should the weather prove uncooperative. If you get to Windigo on time, the extra day could be spent doing day hikes such as the Hugginin Cove Loop.
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