It’s been a minute, hasn’t it? And by a minute, I mean over 3 months. I guess a global pandemic will do that, aye? COVID-19 definitely put a damper on this project, eating up all of spring and now pouring into summer, with no definitive end in sight. I am simply happy that I am healthy and alive, though, as are my friends and family. We are lucky and privileged.
Other things happened, too, in the last few months. There were 500 year floods in Michigan, inundating communities entirely. There were murder hornets for a hot second (?). Humanitarian crises unraveling in Yemen. Police brutality and a revolution for justice happening on American soil. Indigenous folks standing for their stolen land. There’s been a lot happening, and it’s seemed silly to prioritize this project over all of the things demanding my energy and attention. I also didn’t want to post these blogs and eat up valuable real estate on social media, taking away from these issues that deserve all of the attention they can possibly get.
With all of that being said, I have decided to start writing and sharing again. For one, I read a post about joy imposter syndrome: basically this idea that you’re not supposed to or don’t deserve to fully feel joy because you are supposed to feel anything but joy. The original post is here. This post resonated with me, deeply. As someone who has chosen a career centered on environmental justice and advocacy, and who carries the generational pain-bodies of oppression of native ancestors, this post was a breath of fresh air; it told me to put down the manic worry about all that is going on in the world and allow myself to feel joy when it presents itself. I usually don’t struggle with this, but lately it has been a fierce reckoning. I am grateful that I now have the language to identify this feeling and the reassurance that is okay to exist with more joy. Writing and sharing with others gives me joy.
MLive says: “Do you want a view of Lake Michigan from your tent? Welcome to Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness Area, where that dream is a reality. Located within the Huron-Manistee National Forests system, this place is for the camper who likes to leave their car behind and hike in with a backpack of essentials. Not up for camping? You can just plan a hike here to take in the wildlife and the marvelous Ludington Dune Ecosystem. You might even catch a glimpse of the endangered Piping Plover.”
June 7-9, 2020
On June 7, we took off with a big dog and full packs for a weekend on the lake. This wasn’t our first visit to Nordhouse Dunes, but we were excited to be returning. Most recently, it had been the site of my 23rd birthday celebration during a chilly September weekend in 2018. During that specific time, we car camped in one of the deserted camping loops at the north trailhead; this time around, we parked at the south trailhead and suited up for a weekend lived out of our packs.
One thing I love about Nordhouse is that you don’t have to hike far at all to backpack there. I like backpacking, but it is exhausting and absolutely the worst when it’s hot outside. Nordhouse’s short trails give you the backpacking experience without too many miles, which was just what we wanted for this particularly sunny and hot Michigan weekend.
We hiked about 3 miles to our campsite - short and sweet! A lot of weekend campers were coming back off the trails since we were starting our excursion on a Sunday, which helped us feel quite confident that we’d find a great site; and we did. We found a grove of trees at the base of a dune, opposite the big lake. Our shady sandy spot was made up of pine, beech, maple, and cedar trees, which all provided ample spots to hang the hammock and build camp.
After claiming our campsite, we made lunch (dehydrated hummus and veggies) and ate it on top of the dune. Unable to resist the big lake, we went down to the water after lunch to test the temperature - it was pretty freezing, even on a hot day. I had been looking forward to swimming most of the weekend, but the water made the muscles in my feet ache and turned my skin bright red in a matter of seconds. Instead of hopping into the water, I set up a blanket on the dune and spend the afternoon reading, walking the beach, and napping in the hammock at our campsite.
We eventually decided to set up our tent and finish establishing camp, with the help of whiskey from a plastic canteen. After getting squared away, dinner was prepped and we found ourselves eating Indian food on the dune as the sun started to set (backpacking hack: TastyBites Indian pouches are amazing). We spent the evening after dinner on the beach walking, and on the dunes playing cards, having a fire, and watching the sun set. We tried to ID constellations, but without much knowledge opted instead to just admire the stars out on the lake.
It stayed pretty warm through the night, and we woke up early the next morning to birds and sunshine. We started our day with coffee, tea, and tropical fruity oatmeal on the dune. By this time, Bela had transitioned to being a full on wild dog, and was finding her comfy spots on the beach and at camp to be in her paw-made sand beds. Bill and I spent the morning playing frisbee on the beach, and managed to get ourselves pretty submerged in freezing water while doing so. I am personally terrible at frisbee - almost every time I threw the disc I would immediately yell “I’m sorry,” as it veered away from where Bill actually stood.
I transitioned to building a sandcastle, protected by the one and only Big Dog of the Lake.
I left the sand kingdom to fend for itself, and so did Bela, when she joined me on a photo walk down the beach before lunch.
After another hummus & veggie lunch, we had some post lunch cocktails (whiskey and ginger beer) and took a nap in the hammock. We’d both been in the sun a lot and our skin and brains needed a shady break. We read and napped off and on until we felt inclined to go for a swim (and to filter more water).
Bill noticed my skin was getting crispy again, even with multiple applications of sunscreen, so we grabbed some supplies and headed off the dunes and back into the woods. We found a place to hang up the hammock and I wrote about some observations I had from the day:
1) The wind gives things to the lake, and the the lake gives them back to the land: are these the original teachers of reciprocity? If wind tumbles sandstone cliff sides into lake, lake smooths them and pushes them back to shore as stones. If wind brings lake litter from messy hikers, lake uses its currents to rid itself of the pollution. If wind brings lake birds and insects and deposits them safely on the surface of the water, lake will guide them back to shore. Reciprocity.
2) If you sit quietly, wild places will become more wild and alive. As I sat on a blanket on the ground in our campsite today, in a matter of 15 minutes my eyes found crickets, flies, ants, spiders, beetles, chipmunks, finches, butterflies, dragonflies, bees, moths, and all matter of small unidentifiable life on the undersides of oak leaves and logs.
Eventually, we had to leave our shady retreat in the woods to make dinner. More dehydrated dinner on the dune, this time in the shade of a lone pine tree standing out in the sand. This evening is was Nepalese Curry, which was actually delicious as heck. We paired it with canned wine and felt quite fancy.
We spent our second night much like our first: a fire, a sunset, and the stars.
Day 3 was hike-out day. We ate our berry oatmeal on the dune and packed up camp. We decided to hike out through the woods, as the temperatures were climbing quickly on this particular Tuesday. As we hiked, I decided to document crooked/bendy trees, and the whimsical form they add to an otherwise vertical space.
We finished our hike back at the south trailhead, with a tired dog and two sweaty humans.
Per usual, we were craving some major calories after a weekend on the lake and hiking. We detoured over to Cedar Springs and ordered takeout on the phone from the brewing company, and ate and drank on their patio outside. We took our Bavarian Pretzel to-go, and went for round two of calories when we got back to the house 20 minutes later. We rounded out the trip by giving Bela a bath in the backyard and taking a long nap. Nordhouse delivered an awesomely peaceful weekend, as always.