Indiana Dunes Nat’l Park - Early November Backpacking/Camping Trip (45/31 F)

Two weeks after our first Dunes trip, we went back to the Dunes to test out our new quilt. We got off at the Dune Park stop, but went in the opposite direction to the Cowles Bog Trail in the National Park (9.2 miles). We stayed in the State Park campground, and then the next day took state trails to the Beverly Shores stop (6.2 miles). This had the advantage of getting the longest segment done first and ending the trip with a beer. For once, we arrived with maps in hand. 

Unfortunately the Wednesday before our trip we woke up to snow, which continued all day Thursday. The temps for Saturday were a predicted 39/32 F, which was lower than I had wanted. We dug deep to our inner Wisconsinites and forced ourselves out there. I was determined to squeeze in one more trip before calling it quits for the year. I had read that the sites in RMNP can get down to the 40s even during the summer and I wanted to make sure we were comfortable with this before trying to reserve a permit in March for next August. While we don’t have much elevation to practice on, we have plenty of cold weather! 

Lunch Break in Chicago on Wednesday

Day 1 - Dune Park train stop to Cowles Bog to State Park Campground (9.2 miles)

This time we arrived at Dune Park knowing exactly where we were going and that felt great. We took the Calumet trail to Cowles Bog. It runs along a railroad track, under electric lines, and was kind of desolate this time of year.

Calumet Trail

By the time we got to the Bog we felt pretty warm, despite the 40 F temps. We took the Greenbelt trail that extends from the Calumet trail instead of walking up the road to the more inset Cowles Bog trail head. Taking that trail head in and out would have added a mile, but probably would have been worth it to avoid all the electrical equipment to the left of the trail we took. If we only looked to the right, the bog was neat. 

Eventually the trail went further in the green zone and we couldn’t see the electric towers or power plant anymore. The woods were pretty and surprisingly hilly. There were several challenging dunes to climb that we didn’t expect and then a descent to the beach. We kept taking lefts to do the route clockwise, and I think that was better than counterclockwise. That way when we were on the beach, the coal plant was to our back and it was thus more scenic. 

We followed the trail across the beach and then up a very steep dune back into the woods.

This next section was the most interior part of the trail, where it was even more beautiful. Overall, this was our favorite Dunes hikes.

We walked down N Mineral Springs road to go back to the Calumet trail. I stepped on a small twig I swear moved and couldn’t see when I looked back. I told DH I thought I stepped on a baby snake. I don’t like snakes and I was not happy. He reassured me snakes wouldn’t be out this late, not when it froze earlier this week. So I was fully unprepared when we almost stepped on a large snake crossing the Calumet trail, and I freaked out. I hate them SO MUCH, they’re always popping out of nowhere. We debated whether Indiana has poisonous ones. I looked it up later and they do have rattlesnakes in the park. Freaking awesome. Rattlesnakes were the boogeyman of my childhood: “don’t go too far in the woods by yourself, you might get bit by a rattlesnake and we won’t find you in time to get an antidote.” Yet my parents wonder why I have a snake phobia. To be fair, being chased by a blue racer when I was a kid didn’t help either.  :(

Regardless, at this point I was anxious to get to the campground. Luckily we were only a couple miles out and we made it to camp by 2 pm. We felt more confident about the cold weather trip, since we managed to have fun on our hike, minus the snake incident. We saw a few other tent campers which also boosted our confidence. 

We spent the next couple hours setting up camp, fetching water, and having tea. DH (and I think our neighbors too) thought I was crazy for putting dead leaves under the tent, with the hope of it being warmer. Maybe it was useless, but I figured it couldn’t hurt. We changed, adding our day time base layers and rain jackets. These layers were much appreciated once we were more sedentary. DH also found a raccoon in the dumpster next to our site, which made us a bit nervous that we would be finding out how well our cookie tin worked to keep it out of our food. 

While we didn’t plan on a campfire, the campground had a store that sold wood, so we bought a cord, some fire starters, and a long lighter to give it a go. While DH made dinner, I tried to start the fire. By the time we started eating it looked to me like the fire starter was the only thing on fire. Our RV neighbors came over and said they noticed we only brought backpacks. They asked if we needed newspaper or anything else. I took them up on their offer for newspaper. I also asked if they had any spare lighter fluid. I explained we took the train down so we didn’t want to buy an entire bottle when we couldn’t take it back on the train. They came back with a freaking blow torch, newspaper and cardboard, and arm loads of “the good stuff,” wood they brought from home. It was very nice of them and soon our fire was going. DH and I debated whether we should have a short, rip-roaring fire with our limited wood or try to stretch it out until 9 pm with a little fire. I was in favor of a short, roaring fire, because that’s what I’m used to and I was cold. 

Around 7:45 pm our neighbors came back with two cords of camp store wood, saying they wouldn’t be able to use it all. They had much pity for us and our tent lol. I’d have felt more guilty about accepting the wood if it hadn’t been BOGO that weekend. I’m also fairly certain it was their cover wood to have certificates to cover up bringing in their own, much drier wood. This ended the debate on fire size and I built a bigger fire. It still took us until 9 pm to use one cord. We decided to put it out then and not use the second cord, since it had been a pretty miserable four hours by the fire. DH grumbled about how we were going to die and he couldn’t believe I convinced him to go camping with freezing temps. It was very cold even with the fire and layers on. Plus it was very windy, so our noses were running and eyes were burning from all the smoke.

We crawled into our tent and were shocked at how much warmer we were, almost instantly and even after having stripped off our outer layers. I guess it was so windy that being out of it was a huge advantage. (Weather said 10-15 mph, with gusts of 20 mph). Here our neighbors’ kindness had actually been a hindrance, since we would have been significantly warmer had our fire failed and we had gone into our tent to read under the covers until bed. Also I probably wouldn’t be writing this with a sore throat. Important lesson learned on the pros of tent vs fire warmth. We both took off our outer layers and added our warm night clothes on top of our base layers. Putting on our heavy socks felt like bliss. DH also added back his fleece, but I felt fine without mine. 

Maybe it wasn’t the brightest idea to go camping with a 32-42 F quilt when predicted lows were 32 F, but I figured worst case scenario we could put on all our clothes and would be a little cold. Or worst, worst case scenario we could Uber our way to a hotel. The quilt actually performed quite well. It is very wide with a lot of extra fabric, so we didn’t have draft problems from the space between us or the bottom edge (we could tuck it under us). But there were some drafts through the quilt on our back sides; I’m not sure if this quilt is “properly baffled.” I ended up having the same problem as last time with the 15 F bag, where I woke up sticky and warm, but also cold. Maybe I should have had more faith in the quilt and only worn my base layers to prevent overheating. I pulled my fleece under the quilt to lay over whatever spot felt drafty as I moved, and I eventually put it over the gap that kept forming between the pads. Since I was no more cold with the 32 F quilt at 31 F than I was with the 15 F bag at 55 F, I’m calling the quilt a win. DH says he was perfectly warm, except he was not happy that it was too cold to extend his arm out of the quilt. We really liked the comfort of having one blanket.

I feel we need a better solution to keep the pads together (than the straps) since I ended up in the middle a lot and had to mind the gap with its periodic freezing drafts. I’m thinking a double pad is the way to go, but DH gave me the side eye at the idea of buying yet another thing (he had just agreed to look for a new tent), especially when our current pads are otherwise awesome. It looks like our best options would either be the 12 oz heavier Klymit Insulated Double V or the 5 oz lighter but six inches narrower Massdrop X Klymit Ultralight Double. Or try to Velcro our current pads together? 

Day 2 - Campground to Trail 10 to Beverly Shores train stop (6.2 miles)

We woke up to our 7 am alarm, but snoozed until 7:30 because it was cold out. We didn’t realize until back home that Day Light Savings had happened. We were relieved that our cookie tin was undisturbed and we apparently had no visits from the neighboring raccoon. We ate a breakfast of coffee and instant oatmeal, and it was the best thing ever. Way better than egg goo. We actually shared the pot for dinner and breakfast out of laziness. It worked fine, but I’m not sure if it will work as well in warm weather when the pot will stay hot longer and we might mind being squished together more. We’ll likely drop the plastic plates next trip to see.

We broke down camp and DH returned the extra cord of wood to our neighbors, who seemed surprised we survived in good spirits. We made some coffee to go, refilled our waters, and headed to trail 10, which we took all the way to the beach. There were no mosquitoes by the marsh this time, although I was now watching out for snakes. We made it to the beach with only squirrel sightings. The beach was peaceful and it was easier to find the exit to the road at the end than it was trying to find trail 10 on our first trip. 

When we started down the town road for the last mile or so to the train stop, we greeted a guy doing some yard work. He asked if we were camping and we said yes, we came from the State Park. We realized we’ve all met before; he was the park ranger we met on our last trip who recommended the Cowles Bog Trail! We told him how much we liked that trail and he told us we were killing it. We didn’t feel like it after our fire bailout the night before, so his encouragement was nice to hear. 

We continued our last mile with high spirits, at least until we were jumping over yet another snake. Seriously, didn’t these creatures know they should be in their holes by now! Once again, I was taken by surprise because I didn’t anticipate it on a town sidewalk. And once again, I was very glad we were almost done with our hike. 

We rolled into the station a little before noon and so we crossed the street to The Goblin & the Grocer where we treated ourselves to a hot lunch and cold beer. Very tasty! And we made it back to the train stop for the 1 pm train to Chicago. It was nice getting home a couple hours earlier than the last trip to have more time to unpack and relax. 

In general, we were surprised how much we enjoyed the hikes even when it was only 40 F. I’m happy that we were able to test out the quilt at low temps and that it worked well. But we will likely avoid freezing temps for future camping trips, if possible, as the camping part was less fun.