Manistee National Forest on Lake Michigan

We woke up to a beautiful clear day. After some breakfast we packed up camp, got our packs on and hiked out to the beach. There was hardly anyone here even though it was Labor Day.



Our camp site near Lake Michigan, the white bag in the tree is our garbage from last night's dinner, we hung it in the tree so the animals couln't get at it during the night



Down the dunes - up the dunes, to the beach we go



Pretty flowers growing in the sand



Hiking along the lake shore



It was getting warm already, the temp was supposed to get in to the 80’s today. We found spot on the beach and laid out our tent’s rain fly like a blanket to sit on. It was very relaxing to sit on this empty beach. Mike went for dip in the lake, and we had some lunch, then it was time to head back to the car.



Relaxing on the empty beach

Now in the middle of the day, with the sun pounding down on us, the hiking in the sand with a pack wasn’t as easy as it was yesterday. Up the dunes, down the dunes, through the forest in the sand we went. The plan was the drop off our packs at the car and then hike another trail, but by the time we got back to the parking lot we were pooped and I was getting sore all over. This was definitely a work out. We hiked 2.5 miles yesterday, and 2.5 miles today. So that's 5 miles total of hiking in sand for our very first backpacking trip, that's pretty good. Mountains here we come!

This was a great experience, great exercise and Nordhouse Dunes was a very special place. Too bad I didn’t now about it earlier.



Mike and I getting ready to hike out of the wilderness



Leaving the beach and heading in to the forest





Hiking in sand with a pack is a very good workout



Is this the world's smallest pine cone?

We hit the road by 2PM, stopped for an early dinner. Traffic was getting heavier and heavier the closer we got to the Illinois border. The last two hours of the drive was in stop and go traffic. We made it home just before 9PM.



The trail head for Nordhouse Dunes is located at the end of Nurnberg Road



Sitting in stop and go traffic on I-94 heading back home



The red square shows the location of Nordhouse Dunes



The red square is the end of Nurnberg Road, the parking lot and the trail head for Nordhouse Dunes is located here

Nordhouse Dunes, Michigan

We started packing for our first backpacking trip last night, but this morning the packing continued. Our 9AM departure soon became 11AM and even then we weren’t ready. Instead of hitting the highway, we ended up going back to REI to make one more purchase. It’s something we have wanted to get for a while, something we could have used on our recent motorcycle trip, also something we could not do without if we were going to backpack. We looked at it yesterday when we were at the store but wanted to do more research on the internet about it before buying it.

We were in and out of the store within minutes with our new water purification system. The car trip up to Michigan was supposed to take us 5-6 hours depending on the traffic. We wanted to get there as early as possible but knew that if we got there a couple of hours before sun set, that still wouldn’t be too bad.

Once we got off the interstate we were supposed to take a bunch of smaller roads to Nurenburg Road which ended with the parking lot where we would be leaving the car for the night. Once off the interstate it was only supposed to take 30-40 minutes to get there but it took longer because all the roads going there were closed. Apparently a tornado passed through this area two months ago and many of the roads were still closed . We had to take an alternate route to the wilderness area. We would have been driving in circles had we not stopped at the gas station to ask. Before Mike had time to finish his sentence, the lady behind the counted handed him a small piece of paper with the directions to Nordhouse Dunes. This was a slightly longer route, and some of the roads including Nurenburg Road where the trailhead is located, were gravel/dirt with some sandy portions, which my Acura didn’t care for.

When we arrived at the parking lot at the end of Nurenburg Road we found the lot filled to capacity. But it looked like some people might be leaving so we waited while we got our gear ready for the trip to the beach. We parked the car and paid a fee, I think it was $5. We met a couple with some kids on the trail, they said a year or two ago this area was free.

This was it. There was no turning back. With our packs on and the GPS pointing the way toward Lake Michigan, we headed toward the trail located next to the parking lot. It was later then we would have liked, we less then two hours of daylight left but supposedly from everything Mike read on the internet about a the Nordhouse Dunes, the hike from the parking lot to the lake was supposed to take less than an hour.






Following Mike on the sandy trail



Views from the trail, a small pond behind the trees

After taking to one of the REI employees yesterday about all the places where one might backpack near Chicagoland, we were very intrigued by Nordhouse Dunes which was a place one could go to and not see people if one didn't want to. But we especially liked the fact that the trails weren’t flat. After all, in the future we would be backpacking in the mountains, so we wanted to get a taste of some changes in elevation and hiking in sand would definitely be the same or more strenuous then hiking up a slight slope. Within the first few minutes on the trail we knew this experience was going to be awesome.

Nordhouse Dunes is a National Wilderness Area located inside the Manistee National Forest on Lake Michigan in the state of Michigan. It is the only designated Wilderness in the Lower Peninsula. There are about 20 miles of foot trails here and lots of shoreline with no sight of man-made structures. Because this is a wilderness area, there are no trail markings. Most of the dunes here are 3,500 to 4,000 years old and some stand about 140 feet high.



Mike and I on the trail



One more dune to climb



I can see the lake

The trail was sandy and hilly but it wasn’t that strenuous even though we were carrying a bit a of weight, but it wasn't easy either. After about 45 minutes we emerged from the forest in to an opening, we had some small dunes to climb next. By now I was definitely feeling the weight of the pack. We climbed down the dune and Lake Michigan stretched in front of us as far as the eye could see. The water was very still. There were a few people here, but not too many. After all, who ever wants to use this beach has to hike here. It was also Labor Day Weekend so we expected that there would be a bit more people here this weekend.

We were looking for a spot to set up camp. We decided to hike further in and find a more isolated spot. The rule is that campsites must be more than 400 feet from the Lake Michigan waterline. After 30 more minutes of hiking, and climbing a couple more dunes we found “the” spot.



Lake Michigan



A beach at sunset



A dune glowing red with the reflection of the setting sun



One last dune to climb before finding the perfect spot to set up camp

The sun was setting already so we had to hurry to set up the tent, soon it would be dark and there was no camp fires permitted. We managed to get the tent up and still hike to the beach to watch the sun despair behind the lake. The mosquitoes got me before I managed to pull the bug spray out. We ate our dinner, tuna and crackers, and got ready for bed.



Sun set over Lake Michigan






Our camp site



The sun is gone



Darkness comes quickly

The overnight temperatures were not supposed to drop any lower then 50 degrees so we decided to leave the the rain fly off. The stars were out and there were so many of them, even some shooting stars. The roof of our tent is mesh so you can stargaze from the sleeping bag.

The alphabet soup, scrap metal and a ferry

The TWiSTAR event was officially over this morning. We packed up and by 8AM we were getting ready to leave. Some people were saying their good byes in the parking lot but many more had already left. First thing was first. Breakfast!

We jumped on the empty and curvy 60 and headed to Sauk City where I knew for sure there was a McDonalds. I had a coupon for a free breakfast and I don’t turn down free food.

The morning was chilly but sunny. At the McDonalds we sat outside and enjoyed the sunshine. Not too far from here was a place I wanted to check out, so when we got done eating we rode over there. Unfortunately the place didn’t open for another three hours. Since we had no real plan today, other then riding a bunch of good roads on the way home, we decided to ride a few roads in this area and come back at noon when Forevertron was going to open.



A short line waiting for the free Merrimac Ferry this morning



The Wisconsin River behind me, that bridge in the picture is for trains only



Mike took his helmet off for the very short ride across the Wisconsin River



The Merrimac Ferry is a "Historic Place"



There were a few cars sharing the roads with us around Baraboo and Devil’s Lake. This is a very touristy area and I’ve never seen the roads empty around here. Since I haven’t done it in a while and Mike has never been, we took the free Merrimac ferry across the Wisconsin River.




Tower Rock off PF East of Leland



Our morning loop: 60 to 12 to 159/DL to 113 where we crossed the river on the ferry, then 188 back to Sauk City, then on 12 again, PF and C, back to 12 then 78 to Y. My favorite from this line up is C, followed by 60 and PF.

Then we rode back through Sauk City again. A stop for gas and bathroom, just to waste a few minutes. Then we rode some of the roads we were on going to the Slimey Crud Run and a road I rode the previous year on the way from the Crud Run.



Mike stretching at Tower Rock, we only saw one car in this area so he was in no danger of being run over

We looped it back again to 12 and back to Forevertron. It was 5 before twelve now. The gate was still closed. So we waited. And waited. Did a few things while we waited. Finally at 12:15PM Mike called the phone number listed on the sign but it was an answering machine. At 12:20PM we left. Too bad I really wanted to check out the scrap metal sculptures.



Waiting at the closed gate to Forevertron located on 12 south of Baraboo



At the gate there is a big scrap metal sculpture of a butterfly



Many scrap metal sculptures can be seen from RT 12



Sign hanging from the gate at Forevertron



A sign at the gate showing the colossal scrap metal sculpture, looks really cool

Today was supposed to be a cool day, the high was only going to reach the upper 50’s. It didn’t seem that cold this morning, but now the sun disappeared and a thick blanket of clouds hung above us.



Y to KP to 78 to JJ to J, out of this bunch I'd say Y was the only one with very little curves. KP and JJ were very nice.

In Mount Horeb we grabbed some lunch at the Culver’s. We sat outside but I was actually cold now. I was warmer on the bike with the Gerbing heated liner on. There were some roads that I wanted to try out, and some roads that we rode last year that we wanted to ride again. I was just following the GPS and making the route up as we went along.



From Mount Hore we took 151 , then G to A. Then we rode North on JD turned around and rode it back down (yes, it's that good). G is also a great road. A and J are OK roads but this year there I'm seeing a lot more tar snakes



Taking a break at a park right off 78 in Argyle, WI

The only congestion of the day was through the suburbs of Rockford. I tried a new road and we ended up riding way to close to civilization and having to stop at many red lights. We arrived home way early around 7PM.



My GPS tracks ( yellow is today's route) we did 320 miles