Elevation: 591'-656'
Significance: marsh wildlife and flowers, dunes succession
This is the hike we had been working up to. I've done this easy trail many times now. There are no big dunes to climb and the views are varied. It's a pretty dunes succession trail as one leaves the trailhead at the Visitor's Center and hikes the sand trail to Lake Michigan 1.6 miles away, passing marshes, black oaks, prairie. There are plenty of wildflowers along this trail. I taught Ethan the ones I knew. There were some very colorful ones out.
Last year this trail was very flooded from the May rains when I hiked it. This time any trail water had dried up. Parts near the water were damp but very passable. I told Ethan this was a great trail to find bullfrogs and snapping turtles on. We looked for both but only saw juvenile bullfrogs and whiptails. The trail was not very busy and Zeke was off leash for the most part. Ethan ran up the two small sand hills and told me he was practicing to get better, so that next time we do the 3DunesChallenge, he can beat me to the top. We'll see about that. I hope I still have a few years on him.
I chose this trail for its ease. I focused on the beach trail and not the lagoon loop, which would have added a mile to our hike. I think Ethan liked it. "Oh wow, it's so beautiful!" he said at one point when we neared the large lagoon, the one closest to the beach. We saw small fish in this tannish water. Zeke jumped in to keep his paws cool. The sand got very hot along that last quarter mile approaching the lakefront, when he had to dart into the dunegrass to keep his paws cool. While the humidity was still low today, there were fewer clouds out than yesterday to diffuse the harsh sunlight, and this sun affected Zeke the most.
The lake water was active today. White caps came on shore.
The beach here continues to erode into the lake, with more organic debris in the sand. Some of the trees are just feet away from the waterline. One other couple was nearby but they soon left, leaving us alone. We could see swimmers at the Lake Street beach not too far away, and the Chicago skyline was very visible. Sadly, Chicago will be one destination I will skip during this pandemic. I have no desire to be near crowds of any size.
We sat in the shade of a young poplar on the beach. I brought some cherries to snack on, but had to stop eating them when sand got on them. I don't care for gritty cherries. Zeke dug into the sand to stay cool so Ethan helped by putting sand on Zeke's head. Zeke then got back at Ethan when Zeke stood up to shake off the sand as we left to resume our return hike.
I let Ethan time our rest breaks. He determined when we left the beach and when we left our shade break near the end. I carried all the necessities. The hike took us 2:11 hours, a good time for the distance. I had always dreamed of one day taking a grandchild on a hike and teaching her/him some things about the animals, flowers and terrain. Today I finally got to do that. Ethan complained of his heels hurting but was otherwise a champ.
"Remember that army mantra I taught you?" I asked Ethan
"No pain, no game!" he proudly replied
"No pain, no GAIN!" I corrected him. "That means if you want to be the best, you must push yourself!" I hope today's walk taught Ethan something about endurance and stamina as well show him the beauty of the Indiana Dunes.
My original plan was then to take Ethan out for a snack in Chesterton. Nick and Erin had suggested Danny O's for their pizza, but Danny O's is a bar and no one is allowed in a bar under age 21 in Indiana. Smoking is also allowed in bars here. Ethan stayed in the car while I ordered two pizzas, and I joined him in the car for the 20 minutes it took to wait on the pizza. We all had pizza as our dinner tonight.
As my dad would often say at the end of the day, "A good time was had by all."
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