I found this group hike on Facebook last night. I shared the post because I love hiking at the dunes and this group made it a St. Patrick's Day hike. Sounded like a good time to me. Then my friend Andrea posted she would like to do the hike also.
So here we are at the Indiana Dunes on a chilly morning meeting up with the Urban Nerd Herd.
Our harsh weather this winter has blown sand into new places.
It is a bit windy but otherwise it's a beautiful morning on the south end of Lake Michigan.
The always stylish Andrea.
Today's hike is listed as Trail 10 on the state park map for the dunes. This trail isn't really a loop by itself. You can start here on the beach or at the Nature Center near the campground.
Due the wind blowing from the west, the leaders of the group decided to hike the beach portion of the trail first.
So we had the wind at our backs for the first few miles.
Like most of the beaches in this area, the dune erosion has been dramatic.
The group would be spread out along the way. Then get back together for a short rest.
The state park has some really big dunes along the beach.
The UNH ambassador, Sampson. I'm pretty sure that is his name.
We met so many great people on this hike.
A rest stop on the beach.
The waves were rolling in throughout our hike.
The last remnants of the shelf ice were found on the east end of the beach.
I am pretty sure this will be the last shelf ice I will see until next winter.
These small pieces have been thrown by the waves or blown by the wind onto the beach.
Trail 10 heads into the dunes and the forest at the east end of the state park.
It was climbing up the dune that I was introduced to a 92 year old lady on the hike. Someone pointed her out to me. And yes, she was further up the dune than I was. Nothing but respect and admiration from me to her.
It felt much warmer once we got out of the wind.
It's rare to see a Decay Devil without a camera as proven by Andrea and me.
The hike through the woods was nice but very monochromatic.
The blue sky and sunshine were fantastic to see. It's been a very gray year so far.
We hiked back on Trail 10...
...to the Nature Center.
Then hiked on Trail 7 back to the beach.
The views of Lake Michigan from the top of the dunes are beautiful on days like this one.
Once we were on the beach, it was a short hike back to the parking lot.
I had a blast hiking with the Urban Nerd Herd group today. The hike was between 7 and 8 miles today according to several people who have apps that track these things. Between taking photos and talking with quite a few members of the group, the time just flew by.
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