Cowles Bog Hike

Update: I just uploaded the completed video of the hike to YouTube. Check it out:

Cowles Bog was designated a historical site back in 1965 due to it's varied ecology. It sits in the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore system, between Michigan City, and the Arcelor-Mittal (formerly Bethlehem) steel mill. Hiking Cowles Bog was my second hike for the year. It's a short hike, but has a character all its own. Here's the path:

The full 4.42 mile hike

I started out in the lower right corner on Highway 12. The initial southwest and westbound walk is a service road, and not too interesting. This part of the hike is done under the shadow of the steel mill, about which I was not enthusiastic. The trees through the remainder of the northwest part of the hike did well at hiding the mill (though there was a scent of coal smoke in the air). Just before hitting the beach there is a sharp incline of about 100', followed by the corresponding descent. Then there is a nice walk in the dunes along Lake Michigan.

A look north out over Lake Michigan

Next, stood the second incline, looming over you, daring you try. Another 100', so the ascent was not too bad, but it was sharp, and the soft beach sand all the way up made for a tough climb. Every step lost about 3 - 4" as you foot slid back down in the sand.

The second incline back into the woods, taunting you at every step.

At the top, there is a nice spot to sit and look out over the lake. If you look out on a clear day at roughly 305 degrees, you can see Chicago on the other side.

The next part of the hike is very woody, and was both quiet and nice. Once through the woods, there is a long trek along the side of the bog:

The south bog.

An interesting plant growing on the bog. I haven't been able to identify it. Leave a comment if you know?

This take you back to the ranger station on Mineral Springs Road. A quick jaunt down the road, and you're done.

The elevation profile.

Details:

Starting elevation: 618 ft.
Peak Elevation: 704 ft.
Distance: 4.42 mi.
Time: 2.0 hours
Weather: Sunny, wind ~ 15 mph, 70 deg F.

Bald Mountain Hike

This was my first hike. I've documented it for posterity, and hoping there will be more. It took place during a company outing to Park City, UT on October 1st, 2016. Here's the overall route:

The full route starting at St. Regis on the left, ending at Stein-Erickson.

We started up the mountain behind the lodge I was staying in (the company had two; St Regis, and Stein-Erickson). We took switchbacks up the side for about an hour to get to the top. That was fun, though my heart was really pumping. The starting elevation was about 7400 ft., so there wasn’t as much oxygen as I was used to. At the top, most of us decided to go further. One of the guides took about a fourth of the group down, and the rest of us went around, and eventually ended up at Stein-Erickson. 

That's when the real hike began. Nichols, an Australian co-worker asked where a particular service road went. When the guide said it went up to the top of the next mountain, we had already decided to keep pushing. This time, there were only six of us, plus the last guide; a stocky dark-skinned guy with short slightly graying hair, and a white polo. The hikers included Nichols, Wesley, Westin, Jared (one of the Linux guys on my team), and Nicolette, our compliance attorney. We started up the road which became very steep, very fast. It took us through the woods until we came to a clearing; it turned out to be a ski slope. At that point, the guide had to get back to meet up with another group. We went straight up the slope until we hit the trail, maybe 150 feet or so. It doesn’t seem like much, but the grade made for a grueling climb. Once we hit the trail, I started to get very tired, and started to lag behind a bit. Nevertheless, I kept pushing. After another 1000 feet more or less, my fingers started to swell, and started getting numb at the tips. That’s when I had to stop and rest. It took maybe 5 or 10 minutes to get rid of the light-headedness and tingling, so we pushed on. The remainder of the climb, up to about the last 500 feet was much of the same; light-head, tingling, swelling fingers, and nausea started to set in. Wesley, one of the traders hung behind the rest of the group; I suspect it was to help keep an eye on me (I was the oldest of the team, and it was showing). We finally found a service road which then turned and led straight to the top. The walking path continued around the back of the mountain.

We decided to head straight up the service road. This was where the hike got really hard. It was so steep I could only go 30-50 feet before I had to stop and rest for three to five minutes. It went on like that for seven or eight cycles, until the grade started to get more even (still ascending, to be sure, just at a much more tolerable angle). I went around, climbed up a short embankment, then the last path to the summit. I was so hot and tired, I could hardly move. I thought when I got to the top that had I known further down what laid ahead, I would have quit, believing I could not do it, but I did. It was the most demanding physical activity I have ever done, and I loved it.

Elevation Profile

Details:

Starting elevation: 7440 ft.

Peak Elevation: 9344 ft.

Distance: 5.94 mi.

Time: 2.5 hours

Weather: Partly cloudy, wind ~ 10 mph, 70 deg F.

From left to right: Brian (joined up at the top), Nicolette, Nichols, Wesley, Jared, Westin, Rich (front row)