Indiana Dunes NP: Hiking Mount Baldy Trail

This evening's event capped an active day of hiking and was the most interesting one of all. The Indiana Dunes National Park has scheduled a ranger-led hike of the Mount Baldy Trail at 5 pm. This trail is normally closed to the public. Driving from the Chellberg Farm trail's parking lot, I arrived at the meet up point, the parking lot of the trail, with 5 minutes to spare.

Ranger Penny, a former teacher now park ranger, gave an introduction on how the dunes came to be, the geological history of Lake Michigan and the surrounding area. She explained why Mount Baldy was closed to the public. It was a riverting story about a boy who got swallowed by the sand in 2013. This led to the discovery of hidden dangers that nobody knew about. After the hike, I googled the incident: the story and resulting research and discoveries were well documented in this article.

The ranger showed us how the dune has shifted. and moved inward in just a few years. The photo above is Mount Baldy which was sitting on part of the parking lot and its roads. The bare branches on the top were actually the top of trees covered by the dune. The rangers predicted that in a couple of years the line of trees just behind us would be covered by sand.

She then took us on a hike up the dune, past no-entry and other warning signs. She assured us that we are not likely to be swallowed by the dune this evening. But she did point out poison ivy on the path, and reminded us to check for ticks after the hike.

It was a very nice hike, we all had great questions for the ranger who was enthusiastic and passionate about the park. She talked about conservation of the dunes, why it was important not to trample over the marram grass that hold the dunes in place, and the different plants and trees in the area. I now know how to identify sassafras plants.

At the top of the trail, we were rewarded by lovely views of Lake Michigan. It was a lovely end to a busy day of hiking 5 trails in the park. Ranger Penny informed us that she would be leading a tour of Pinhook Bog the next morning. I wanted to join the hike, but I had no place to stay the next day since I had only reserved a site for 2 nights and the campground was full. She said that they allow overnight parking at the visitor center. That was perfect, since I somehow missed planning for June 4 on my itinerary.