Day 4
First day of hiking. After late start just as we were getting on Greenstone Ridge Trail, drizzle and light rain came for a couple of hours. Not too bad. The forest was very green, quiet and quite wet, no open vistas. The trail is easy, sloping up gently at the beginning, but our backpacks were quite heavy because of all the food for 8 days. We took lunch break near Sugar Mountain and arrived at Island Mine campground quite late. We had companion at three other campsites. Small stream just behind campground was a good water source. Just as we were unpacking our food for dinner, a very shy fox stopped by (visited all campsites). We cooked dinner trying new recipes. All wood was wet after the rain, but we managed to start small camp fire. There was a lot of aluminum foil at the bottom of the fire pit, the only complaint we had during the entire hike, as the park was otherwise very clean.
Day 5
Luckily the rain never returned. We continued on Greenstone Ridge Trail, through forest and later on rocky top of the ridge. Views towards the west started to open, South Desor Lake and Lake Superior. Perfect weather. Again the trail was easy, even the last stretch to campground on Desor Lake by some described as somewhat difficult (?). We had isolated site, a bit higher up above the lake with nice view and easy access to the lake. There always were tent sites available on all campgrounds we visited, most quite large and well spaced, clean with easy access to water/lakes. We worried about availability as we usually arrive at campgrounds quite late, we start late and move slowly. There were fewer hikers than we anticipated. The first two hiking days passed quickly, on uneventful side, which was OK as we needed time to relax.
