We spent the weekend exploring the dunes and trails. Our first short hike was Friday night and it was wonderful. We saw a spectacular sunset from the side of a dune on, I believe, the Empire Bluffs trail. The dog ran off leash while we were on the trail and was on leash when we were near the dunes so she wouldn't run on the dune and disturb the grasses in this fragile environment.
What we didn't know was that ANYWHERE in the National Park a dog needed to be on a leash. Not just any leash either - a leash no more than 6' long. The other thing we didn't know...and probably wouldn't have worried about at 7pm on a Friday night was that we needed a permit to park or even be ON the park grounds. Needless to say, we soon learned about both of these items.
Our group ended up a bit strung out with one couple in the lead, a few stragglers near the back and a few of us, myself included, in the middle. The dog was running ahead of me and checking on those in the lead then coming back to check in with me. I was just starting to miss her shortly before we arrived back at the parking lot. As soon as we come into the clearing I knew why I hadn't seen Maddie in a while. She was sitting quietly next to our friends who had her by her collar. Ranger Jim was standing nearby writing out a warning.
Ranger Jim seems like a nice guy. Although our friends said they'd been hearing a lecture on why dogs need to be on a leash for the past 5-10 minutes, and it wasn't even their dog! There really ARE good reasons to have your pet on a leash in the National park, it just isn't apparent when you are walking along a path in the middle of the great north woods and there were no other vehicles in the parking lot. Ranger Jim explained that there is open hunting on the park grounds and this is hunting season. Maddie looks like a fox or coyote or ... you get the picture. I'll try to post a picture of her, she really is beautiful. But we've worried around our house that someone would mistake her for a predator and are considering an orange doggie vest so would have worried there if we'd have known about the hunting.
The car permit was a non-issue with the Ranger. He must see people all the time arriving on a Friday evening and heading out for a hike before getting a permit. Since the permits are good for 7 days and we were only staying the weekend, his warning simply needed to be turned in at the Park Service office in Empire and a pass purchased. The $10. entrance fee is more than reasonable and we were glad to pay it.
On Saturday the guys went on a morning hike while the girls all went shopping in Leelanau. There were the cutest shops in the old fish-town area and the main drag. Many were getting ready to close up for the season so we hit it right for bargain shopping. The afternoon consisted of a hike up the back of the alligator on the Alligator Trail. The overlook of Glen lake was gorgeous. Colors weren't what we had hoped and we decided that the warm winds from the lake have slowed the change on this western shore.
The MOST fun (I suggest everyone give it a try) was the huge vertical drop down the dune (#9) on the Peirce Stocking drive. We didn't get to the dune climb, and frankly I've climbed dunes before, but we did this drop. They warn you that the 450+ foot drop is an exhausting climb back and not to try it unless you are fit. The sign had a personal note which cracked me up (not that I endorse writing graffiti on National Park signs), it read: Seriously dude (next to the part that reads: Return climb is extremely exhausting) think twice!
In the picture above (looking up) can you see the people at the top? They look like little sticks at the skyline.In the picture to the left you can see our friends near the bottom of the dune at the lake-shore. Pictures really don't give you the perspective, it was amazing.
OK - here's the secret. You don't have to climb back up. If you are up for a great little beach walk, you can stash a car at the park near Bar lake and walk about a 1/2 mile along the beach to the park after your descent. I found a Petoskey stone while walking which made it extra fun. The wind was calm and the temperature was mild for mid-October. There was no-one else around and it seemed as if we had the dunes to ourselves. What a wonderful way to spend a fall day!
No comments:
Post a Comment