My Indiana: Summiting Mt. Baldy–Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore
May 27, 2008
Indiana is not really known for it’s Mountains. I should know, it’s my home state. I have traveled across this state and lived in nearly every part imaginable, and yet, I can honestly say I have never seen a mountain in Indiana. Sure, there are some decent Bouldering areas in the Southern part of the State, but even those get barely a mention in relation to outdoor activities found here.
There are some little towns, out in the middle of nowhere, that spark your curiosity from time to time: Mt. Summit in the central part of the state, Mt. Comfort, as it’s name implies doesn’t really take much effort to drive to.
No, I didn’t have to grab the ice ax or the crampons to reach the summit of each of these locales and a hike was what you done around town–one antique shop to the next. (Yes, the wife enjoyed it more than I did). As far as an actual ’summit’ you would be hard pressed to tell your buddies it was siting atop a corn field–yeah, neither of these places are either on mountains or hills, but rather flat terrain. Very flat terrain.
While skimming across the web today I was reminded of the closest thing Indiana has to an actual mountain–Mt. Baldy. For those of you not familiar with Mt. Baldy, it is nestled up against Lake Michigan in the far northwestern corner of the state. Specifically, Mt. Baldy lies inside the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. It is a sand dune. Not just any sand dune, but a 400 Ft. monster that I can honestly say I have summited.
What? 400 Ft? Yeah. 400 Feet. Don’t knock it till you try it. That’s all I am going to say.
By the time I reached the top, I was gasping for air and hoping that through some unnatural force, I would look down and notice a Poisk O2 oxygen tank. Oxygen would have been nice. So nice..
Alright, perhaps I am exaggerating a bit. I was actually out of breathe from racing my wife to the top of this thing about a year back. The first…say…200 feet weren’t bad. The last half of the summit push got a bit more technical. It was like running in quicksand. You would place a foot, sink in up to your shins, then miraculously…somehow slide down further than where you originally began. It was quite ridiculous.
Three-quarters of the way up, sand blowing in my face, my wife decided to make a power move. “Suck it up, sissy!” she yelled, then casually passed me by. “It isn’t much farther to the top.” Easy for her to say.
As luck would have it, her message kicked in my primal urge for to beat her at everything we try together. (Sorry, that’s just the way we are)
Just as I looked up at her feet, as they continued on, I spotted a small sapling. Ah-Ha! Power move time. I reached for the sapling hoping it would hold my weight (which it did) and grabbed her right leg with my other hand. She went down, I went over. End of story. I won.
Now I told you this true story ( I know there are going to be some people that hate me for the power move, but what’s a guy to do with no Sherpa support?) So I could give you this update on Mt. Baldy that I found today.
The National Park Service has revised a few rules concerning Indiana–and the Midwest’s largest sand dune. It seems that many people find this a good spot to launch a hang glider from. With nothing between Mt. Baldy and Lake Michigan, other than a bunch of sand, I guess I can understand why.
The NPS, since 2007, has restricted access to Mt. Baldy to one trail. That trail, which I later found after my heroic summit push, meanders through some of the scenery of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. At the time of my climb, scampering up Mt. Baldy from the “Direct Route” was not deemed illegal-I don’t think–but now it is, due to factors involving the dune’s erosion.
Anyways, back to the hang gliding. The NPS recently changed it’s rules in regards to allowing hang gliders to take-off from the top of Mt. Baldy during the busy beach season. My guess is that this season runs from Memorial Day to Labor Day. It does state that permits will still be issued for hang gliding (yes, you do need a $25 annual permit) from September through March. This, in part, is being enacted as a means to protect beach goers from falling hang gliders, or their craft, during the busy season. That could pose a small problem, I guess.
See, I finally got to the point. It took awhile, but I got there.
If you are interested in obtaining a permit for your hang glider, you are asked to visit the Chief Ranger’s Office between 8am and 4 pm Indiana time, or you can obtain it through mail. The address is found in the article HERE, from the Chesterton Tribune.
Editor’s Note: “My Indiana” was an ongoing series that I began before moving over to Skinny Moose Media. It was a fairly new project, but this article marks the return of that project. To read the other three installments, please look below this note. This will be an ongoing series, with the general idea of it being a weekly column. Let me know what you think. Cheers- Jason A. Hendricks, Editor
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From The Adventurist Vault:
Written by Jason A. Hendricks · Filed Under My Indiana |
I love the Sleeping Bear sand dunes, although walking in that sand can get tiring. It is good exercise though and there are great views from the top.
Summits… like sunrise and sunsets…
are very relative experiences to each of us…
Always an adventure!
DSD
I was debating on whether or not to keep the “My Indiana” stuff continuing. It is just a fun side-project. It is my way of getting a bit more local, while not always about “Adventure” related items. So far, I have recieved quite a few positives on this effort and will try to continue it on a more regular basis. Thanks for stopping by and checking it out.