Grand Sable Dunes hikes in the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

My training for the upcoming Grand Canyon hike has been going very well!  I went on two long hikes in the last few days.  One was two hours long; the second was three hours.  There is still some snow in the valleys, but the ridges and flats in the dunes are snow-free.

First hike:  Sable Lake straight across to Lake Superior.  There is still ice on Sable Lake.

This photo is looking northwest toward one of the tallest points in the dunes.  The second hike this week was to the spot in the upper left.

But on the first hike I headed down the main lake-to-lake trail.

It is always fun this time of year to get to the bluff and see what the shelf ice and pancake ice look like.

Looking east….

There are lots of stones on the beach!

Looking north...

Second hike I started down the lake-to-lake trail, and as soon as I cleared the forest I bushwhacked to the northwest heading to the highest dune.

More pancake ice blew in during the two days between hikes.