Morning hike at Cowels Bog?

“Rain or shine I'm going out to enjoy the first day of spring (its supposed to rain btw)

Its about 5 miles the whole loop (I havent done the loop yet) and I have only a limeted amount of time so I have to get there when the sun rises so I can be done in time for work. Anyone??? :)”

“gosh, dont tell me nobody is free or wants to go for a nice morning hike in pouring rain on a work day morning?
8)”

“bump?



Sigh....”

“

"Get the bloody hell out of my bog!"”

“aw come on, we got strong winds, rain and thunder! The PERFECT time for a hike! :)

I'm testing my rain gear today!”

“If ya lived a little closer I'd go with ya. I'm off today! YEAH!”

“Nigal, its pants optional, you sure you cant make it? LOL”

“Shrinkage Jerry. Shrinkage!”

“hey, its 39*, I think you'll be ok lol!”

“I have a job to go to or else I'd join you. That's only 3 miles from my house. The whole loop is 4.3 or so, depending on your route. I usually figure 2 hours to do the whole thing because of the huge dune crawl and the time I spend meandering on the beach. If you park at the Greenbelt (I think that's what it's called) parking lot you will get to walk past the pond where the tyrant swans live. It's fun to watch them bully the geese. One more thing...the peepers are out in full force.”

“Ruby, Just got back, there were frogs everywhere! I saw the swans, but I think the first part of that trail sucks, with all the powerlines and stuff, its not untill you get into the trees that it gets good!

I was the only one out there, and the lake was a neat green color.
And wouldnt you know my luck? IT WOULDNT RAIN. as soon as I got there, it stoped and as soon as I got back into the car it started up again. Anyway, I think those hills on the beach, the killer sand climbs, would be awesome to do with a loaded pack!”

“Where the hell is this?”

“Just down the road from where I live :)”

“Portage? or Chesterton?”

“I cant tell you...its a local's thing :) SHHHHHH secret :)”

“ok....im no good with keeping secrets, its closser to Ruby them me, but still not far at all (about a 10 minute drive if that) take 94 untill you hit 49, then take 12 (go to the left towards gary) turn onto mineral springs road (the road sign is kind of hidden behind a power pole so look carefully) just over the railroad tracks is a parking area.”

“Pictures!!! :)
































:)

This is better then coffee!”

“To get there much faster than from Rt. 49, take the Route 20 exit, the one with all the fireworks stores. Take Route 20 east to Mineral Springs Road (right after the Calumet River). Turn left/north. You will drive past NPS Bailly/Chelberg and cross Route 12 and the South Shore tracks. You can either park at the Greenbelt parking lot right next to the train tracks and under the power lines or go another half mile to the parking lot next to the NPS range shack.

The trail from the Greenbelt parking lot goes near the power lines as SC said, which sucks, but you get to see all the waterfowl on the pond. If you go to the second parking lot, called the Cowles Bog parking lot, the trail is all wooded and goes over (via boardwalk) and near the bogs.”

“nice! good way to spend the morning.”

“I'm going again Friday morning, as soon as it is light, (around 7ish) from the cowels bog trailhead this time.

Anyone???”