Solo in the Snow! Nordhouse Dunes (MI)

[OneClick]

After looking at the weather report, I decided it was time to get out ASAP before the rain and warmer temps started killing my beloved snow! I had a 3-day weekend, but had some prior obligations Friday and Saturday night. So I headed out Saturday around 13:30 to make it to Nordhouse Dunes before dark. Usually I like to arrive after dark to hike in the night, but since I had the time I figured I would try it with a little daylight.

I arrived around 17:30 and the temperature was around 16°F, nice and calm. Lots of snow stuck to EVERYTHING! There was a good 25” on the ground. Perfect! I strapped on the snow shoes and hiked in to a nice spot after about an hour of hiking.

Nice sunny weather for the most part with steady upper teens both days. I woke up at one point during the first night and the temp was down to 12°F. There was a fresh 1-2” of snow overnight. On the second night, I woke up around midnight and checked the temp...3°F!!! That had me worried with my 20° UQ but I was cozy and warm so I went back to bed. Once again, totally impressed with my HG Incubator!!

I couldn’t believe how far out Lake Michigan was frozen. Total wasteland on the shore with 30mph wind and temps around 15° so I bundled up.

So it felt good to get in another great solo trip! Melting snow, processing some firewood, Beam & Coke, hanging out in the piney woods!

A few good and bad notes to mention:
+ Hot water bottle trick was heaven on my feet! Kept very warm for the first 5 hours or so. Feet stayed warm on their own for the remainder.
+ Didn’t even use a whole 100g canister of fuel with the JetBoil/Sumo Cup! Once again, I’m a big proponent of canister stoves in any weather – just put the canister in warm water while in use.
+ My new 9” Bacho saw will always be coming with me in the future. It’s nice to have real firewood instead of just dragging in a bunch of junk lying around.
+ 20° Incubator is amazing even down to 3°F and wind! BMJ tarp with two doors on worked well. Not much condensation. I wore Capilene 3 top and bottoms to bed.
+ 24lb pack fully loaded was really light for me in the winter. Carried very comfortably.

- Frozen boots on the second morning made for a very uncomfortable hike out.
- Broke a plastic figure 9 when taking down tarp

[fishwater]

Great stuff. What did you use on top in the hammock? And what did you wear on your feet to bed? Thanks for your report.

[onfire]

That looks like an awesome trip - Im very jealous, we are into our fourth month of rain over here!

[OneClick]

Great stuff. What did you use on top in the hammock? And what did you wear on your feet to bed? Thanks for your report.

I used my Marmot Pinnacle (15° sleeping bag). Hands down one of my favorite pieces of gear. For my feet I wore my usual Wigwam socks to bed. I'm not sure if they're all wool; I'm guessing some sort of blend. They're pretty thick and a bit loose which works out well for sleeping.

[OneClick]

That looks like an awesome trip - Im very jealous, we are into our fourth month of rain over here!

Thanks! We've got some of that coming our way tomorrow, maybe some T-storms too on top of a good deal of snow. Going to be a mess!

[OutandBack]

Trips like this are my favorite.
Great report Mark. Love the picts. Made my morning coffee really taste good.
Sorry to hear about the frozen boots.
It sounds like that's the last thing you need to tweek.

[OneClick]

Sorry to hear about the frozen boots.
It sounds like that's the last thing you need to tweek.

I'll definitely need to try a few things. Hand warmers seem like an easy solution, but they just don't seem to put out much heat. I tried them the first night and everything was fine, but I think that may be due to relatively warmer temps (still cold around 12° though) and not as wet to start.

It's warming up, but if it gets cold here again I'll try to dampen the boots and do a test at home.

[meckelangelo]

Fantastic pictures! I really need to get out and do a snow hike...

[MGLion]

Thanks for the report. Seeing the pictures, makes me miss Michigan.

[Hawk-eye]

Mighty nice trip report and pictures .. beautiful country to solo in.