Windigo to Greenstone Ridge

[HoosierHiker1202]

Never been to RI before. Can anyone give me an indication of the difficulty of the hike from Windigo to Island Mine? It appears to gain a bit of elevation. Can a group of three pretty fit adult males make it there in about 5 hours? Any help is appreciated.

[bobcat]

It is for the most part a steady climb through forest. Dirt pathway, more than rocks and roots like the trails around Rock Harbor. As far as speed, that is highly dependent on your particular group, but five hours sounds reasonable if you move steadily. The turn-off into Island Mine is a pretty steep downhill and gets slippery in heavy rain.

[HoosierHiker1202]

Thanks for the feedback. Trekking poles necessary, or overrated?

[bobcat]

I use trekking poles pretty much everywhere, so I would be taking them. Your choice, in my opinion.

[Ingo]

I'm the slow and steady type... I took 4.5 hrs. As Bobcat1 says, it's a pretty steady uphill climb, so not difficult. One of the easier sections of trail on the island.

[HoosierHiker1202]

Once we get up on the ridge, I’ve read it’s pretty up and down. Any idea how up and down? Will we descend a few hundred feet at a time, only to reclimb it over and over, or more like 59 foot dips and climbs? Asking for a friend.

[bobcat]

Take a look at the trail map and figure out the contour lines, then you will have an idea about the terrain. The campsites are mostly on lake shores (Island Mine is in a ravine next to a creek) and some of the biggest climbs are first thing in the morning as you climb the spur trail back up to the Greenstone Ridge Trail.

[HoosierHiker1202]

Thanks. I have a trail map on order. Was just hoping for some firsthand accounts. I appreciate the feedback.

[torpified]

And while you're waiting for paper maps, if you're patient and/or into this kind of fiddling, the free mapping gadget CalTopo has a "terrain statistics" (under Measure in the toolbar above the main map) fearure that will return an altitude profile of any route you trace. Route tracing is the fiddly part. While I wouldn't characterize its interface as the most user friendly in the universe, CalTopo is home to many marvels.

https://caltopo.com/map.html#ll=48.0781 ... z=12&b=mbt

[Midwest Ed]

What a great mapping resource. I discovered if you get the zooming in and out just right, all that's needed is to select both ends of the profile. Here is the Greenstone Ridge Trail profile. It only took me a couple of minutes.

Greenstone Ridge Trail Profile

[torpified]

Hooray, Midwest Ed! You must have better small motor control than I do. I can never seem to enter things into cells in Excel spreadsheets either . . . .