So far this winter is off to a promising start. No snow to speak of, but temps have at least gotten down into the 20’s here in December. Not great winter weather, but better than the last few years when temps barely went into the low 30’s, let alone anything actually cold. Alas, southern Lake Michigan no longer has meaningful winter weather… but low 20’s with a nice stiff 30mph breeze off of the lake is better than nothing.
One of my favorite Indiana Dunes trails in winter is the West Beach trail. Which is actually composed of three separate loops that all start and end near the parking lot. All together they add up to about 3.4 miles. You get a good variety of terrain here. Beach, foredunes, prairie, a lake, and forrest. When the weather is cold I like to start at the bath house and go straight to the beach. This way I can experience the uninterrupted wind off the lake and start the day off nice and crisp!
In the summer this view is packed with people, all jammed in together so tight you can barely see the sand. Personally I find this time of year so much more pleasant for a stroll along the beach.As you move off the beach and into the foredunes you encounter two unique aspects of this part of the park. One is the presence of Jack Pine. This happens to be the southern most extent of their range and this is the only location in the park where you see them. The other unique thing is that the park has built stairs to take you up and over the foredune right off the beach. This is because these dunes are fragile and would be seriously eroded by thousands of people going across them. In traversing these dunes you ascend and descend almost 300 stairs. That is about the same as going 9 stories up and 9 stories down in a typical building. The reward for making to the top is a nice view of the Chicago skyline. A side benefit of the colder temperatures is that the air is usually clearer as it holds less water vapor.There is a lot of sumac in this part of the park. The red definitely stands out this time of year.Along the edge of Long Lake there are a lot of common reeds, lots and lots…I must take a photograph of at least one Milkweed pod on every hike this time of year. I just love how the seeds are all packed together so neatly, with the white fibers all aligned the same way. You could not cut a pod open for viewing better than this.Here we have the bed of Long Lake. Earlier in the year the water levels were higher and you could not always see the layout of the feeder streams that flow into it from the surrounding dunes.Poison Ivy. Still hanging in there in late December. It is a hardy plant. Just one of the reasons I like it so much. Definitely a look but don’t touch bit of nature.Poison Ivy berries. It is quite possible that the West Beach trails have the highest concentration of Poison Ivy in the park. Miller Woods is chock full of it as well.And finally, back at the parking lot. The bathrooms at West Beach are heated and open year round. This, and the fact that the three trail segments all converge at or near the parking lot, is a big part of the reason I come to this trail when the weather is either dangerously cold, or there is a possibility of heavy rain. You are never too far from your car and a warm, dry bathroom. I may like going out to the beach in unusual weather conditions, but I am not reckless.
Outside of a three week span in January, winter 2023/24 has been a bust. No real snow, no real cold, just a whole lot of bummer. At least so far as I am concerned, I am pretty sure that most of the rest of Chicago has been happy not to have to deal with much winter weather.
Between the lack of appealing weather and my busy winter work schedule, I have not been outdoors much. But I have managed to get out a bit which is always nice. One way to work a mild winter along the southern shore of Lake Michigan is to take advantage of warm moist air from the gulf running up and into the 38 degree lake water which creates some great foggy and misty conditions. Perfect for capturing water droplets.
Wetlands and misty, foggy mornings go together like peanut butter and jelly. On this day there were some nice atmospheric shots to be had down in the Great Marsh at the base of the Dune Ridge trail.One of the reasons I am so drawn to taking photographs from down low and close up perspectives is that you can capture an otherworldly effect. A fairly ordinary patch of moss at the edge of the trail can become an alien landscape when you frame it right. The tiny droplets of water on the stalks provide the icing on the cake.A super closeup of another patch of moss. Now the stalks appear almost as a dense forest. And within each water drop can be seen images of this miniature world.
Another frequent occurrence are clear and cloudless days which provide good opportunity to work on my landscape techniques, which really can use some work.
I guess I really like getting up close to patches of moss. By removing almost all context, these brightly lit stalks have a very pleasing, abstract quality. From atop one of the taller foredunes in the West Beach complex, you get a nice view of the Chicago skyline which is about 28 miles away. You will get a good stair workout making it to this vantage point as you have to ascend a flight of 150 stairs which were put in place to protect the still unstabilized face of the dune.
The figure in the distance is cresting the sand bluff looking out over the beach and Lake Michigan.
