Daily Journal: June 11, 2014

Location: Schaumburg, IL
Miles Hiked Today: 0
Weather: Cloudy

With the awfulness of this past winter, I am curious to see how this summer will play out. So far we've not had any overly oppressive summer days here in Northern Illinois. Granted, the worst of it rarely happens until July and August, but many years it can get oppressively warm in May and June here.

Hiking Training Plan: Week #13 Recap

Week: September 9 - 16 (8 days)
Miles Hiked (Week): 7
Miles Hiked (September): 15.49
Miles Hiked, (September Goal): 20
Miles Hiked (Yearly Total): 55.93
Pounds Gained (Week): 1.0
Pounds Lost (Total): 21.0
Nights Camped (Week): 0
Nights Camped (Total): 4
Nights Camped (Backpacking): 0

Well, looks like I didn't have to worry about getting some hiking in this past weekend. Turns out I was able to get two separate hikes along the North Country trail at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, as well as two short hikes on boardwalks on Friday. All in all, I ended up walking more this weekend than last weekend, although it was over two days as opposed to one day. Save for a steep downhill from the rock escarpment to the lower land around Au Sable lighthouse, a few tricky places where trees blocked the way, and about 150 steps to the base of Sable Falls, it was mostly easy walking. Although I walked about 2 miles by myself from Logslide to Au Sable Lighthouse on the North Country Trail, they made it from Hurricane River to the lighthouse (over three miles round trip), and both traveled the stairs with me as well. In addition, my dad walked with me from the Visitors Center near Sable Falls to the Falls parking lot, about 1.2 miles. This, coupled with 1.5 miles of hiking on boardwalks (and a very short walk in the woods at Horicon N.W.R.) on Friday meant we all walked at least five miles.

As for the other part of the equation, well, let's just say it was good we got all that walking in. I suppose we didn't do that bad, particularly when it came to snacks and breakfast. Still, it's hard to get back into the swing of things with so many weekends centered around travel.

This upcoming weekend I'll be out of town again, but once again it will be a weekend chock full of hiking. I plan to check off at least two more trails on my Wisconsin sixty, and maybe a third (depending on how long and arduous the other two are). Between the preparations for the trip to the UP and a crazy week at work, I kind of fell out of my walking routine. This week's challenge is getting back into it, as well as trying to get a handle on my eating so I can really take this to the next level.

* The shipwrecks were covered by the waters of Lake Superior, which was much higher than the last time I visited.

Hiking the Lists #5: Grand Sable Dunes and Logslide

Hike: #5
Title: Grand Sable Dunes and Logslide
Location: Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
Hike List: U.P. Michigan
Difficulty: Easy
Duration of Hike: 30 minutes

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore is a great place to hike. Not only is the scenery stunning, it has a great variety of trails, in terms of length and difficulty. From short, flat trails less than a mile, to a rugged 42 backpacking trail that is part of the North Country Trail, there is plenty for everyone to enjoy.

Today's hike is certainly not a long one, and it is fairly easy. There isn't much to it, just a walk from the parking lot to a sand dune and an overlook of Grand Sable Dunes and Lake Superior. At least if you stick to this trail.

Hiking the Lists #1: Au Sable Lighthouse

Hike: #1

Title: Au Sable Lighthouse

Location: Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

Hike list: U.P. Michigan

Difficulty: Easy

Duration of Hike: A couple leisurely hours

It started with a book I bought in the Fall of 2010 titled 50 Hikes in the North Georgia Mountains, by Johnny Molloy. Once I had read a few entries in the book, I decided I would start keeping track of them all, hopefully at some point finishing them. I didn't get all of them in when I lived in Chattanooga, but I did get several (and got another couple later on).

Now it's 2013, and I still have that book to complete. However, those 50 hikes have been joined by 160 more from three different books in the same series. There are 60 hikes in Wisconsin, and 50 each for the Upper and Lower Peninsulas in Michigan. In addition, I have a big book of Illinois day hikes, which isn't part of that series, but is still a worthy book to go through and check off hikes.

Every so often, I'll be sharing my adventures following the trails from these books. For hikes that I've yet to hike, I will share those tales shortly after I check them off. For the many I've already hiked, well, that's what off weeks are for. We start today with the mostly easy, yet scenic, out and back along the North Country trail to the Au Sable Lighthouse.

Save for a nerve-wracking (at least for me) descent down sandy stairs, and a few tricky sandstone outcroppings on the beach, this wasn't the most challenging trail. However, it had plenty of great views of Lake Superior, shipwrecks, and the lighthouse on Au Sable point. The walk was mostly level along both the beach and the trail, and the trail footing was mostly gravel, as it is also the access road to the lighthouse.

Although I just walked this about a month ago, this is actually the first one of these hikes that I ever walked. You see, this was one of the walks my family and I took when we went to the U.P. in the 1990s. I remember the lighthouse and the shipwrecks, but I didn't remember having to climb over small rocks and a few sandstone outcroppings out on the beach. We must have only walked along part of the beach, as there are few real ways to access the beach from the trail.

All in all, it was a perfect day to be out there. The sun was shining, and the lake and the sky were beautiful shades of blue. It wasn't cold, but it wasn't hot either. The only part that wasn't really enjoyable was walking down the "stairs" from the lighthouse to the beach. The stairs were basically waterbars across the sandy hillside. The wooden bars were not really conducive to standing upon, and when you stepped in the sand behind them, it would shift down the hill. If you weren't careful where you put your feet, they could get trapped under the bar. Not wanting to hurt myself, I was extra careful on this part.

Considerably more fun were the parts of the beach that weren't sand. Although I had to be careful that I didn't turn a knee or ankle on them, it was kind of fun making my way through the small and medium sized rocks found at several points. It was also a nice challenge figuring out the best way across a sandstone outcropping, which eventually resulted in me having to get my feet a bit wet in the cold waters of Lake Superior.

I imagine there are times when the place is pretty busy (although I doubt it is ever as busy as Miner's Castle), but that day was not one of them. Except for a family that arrived as I was heading down to the beach, I had the lighthouse area to myself. Walking back along the beach I only met one group of people.

It wasn't the longest (although definitely not the shortest) hike from these lists, and it wasn't arduous, but it was a good way to stretch my legs, and the views (at least at the lighthouse and along the beach) were well worth it.

Back on the (Blogging) Trail again

If you look at the previous post before this one, there hasn't been much activity here at Red Faces, White Blazes. A lot of that was because real life had intervened, as I took a new job and moved. Because of this, as well as a rather stubborn winter up here in the north, I didn't get a good start on hiking until this summer. Thus, I really didn't have much to write about, so I didn't write.

I am happy to say that this won't be the case for much longer. Since last month, I've had a chance to hike several places in the upper Midwest (MI, MN, WI, IA, and Northern IL), including Pictured Rocks. I've also started a concerted plan to get myself into hiking shape, so I can actually enjoy hiking long distances. I will be sharing my thoughts on these hikes, as well as keep you updated with my plan's progress.

In addition, you'll be seeing more of Erin around here. Of course, her posts are an even rarer occurrence than mine, but she has a lot of thoughts on nature, ecology, and hiking to share with us, and I can't wait to read what she writes.

Please check back often!