South Side of Dunes Hike

Yesterday was sunny, but a bit chilly with northerly winds blowing strong off Lake Superior. I decided to hike the southern border of the dunes, heading west from the dune above the Masse Trail. The hill was just full of birch trees and trilliums.

Part way up the dune I spotted this woodpecker tree.

Once up on the dune, you can look back south over the forest canopy. As you can see, the leaves are just starting to develop.

In the side of a dune, there was a complex of animal holes. They were around 18 inches wide and a foot or so tall. Does anyone know what critter lives in these?

Quite a ways down I spotted this tree with a chain still attached. I imagine it was left over from the logging days.

It is hard to tell if this is a bush with multiple branches, or a tree canopy showing above a dune that has buried the trunk of the tree.

The dune-forest transition took a few twists and turns as well as had a lot of ups and downs. All of a sudden I climbed up to the top of a dune and was treated with a great view of Au Sable Point.

I didn't make it all the way to the lighthouse since I ran out of time. However, I headed back down the dune and caught the Masse trail back to the car.