Soooo on vacation up in Interlochen, MI near Traverse City and also Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. One of my favorite locations to visit up here is the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive through the Sleeping Bear Dunes Park. There is an area where you stand at one of the highest points in the park. It is at the top of a dune with a very sharp incline of about a 75 degree angle and approximately 1/4 mile in length ending in beautiful Lake Michigan. Correct me if you have the exact stats but after major discussions this is what we came up with.:-) Just for reference there is a warning sign at the top asking people to consider enjoying the view from the top and that they strongly advise against going down the dune because if you cant make it up there is a $5000 fine to rescue you. From what I understand there are many rescues that happen. We went at the beginning of the week where a few physically fit members of the family went down and made it back up within about 35 minutes. There was vomiting and some horrible body reactions to their climb. So... We decided to try the climb ourselves... I know that makes no sense. We came up with a game plan and showed up at the dune shortly after the park opened. There was a horrific windstorm with 40 mile an hour wind gusts, which made the sand whip against our skin like a million needles. I was ready to call it off and we actually got chastised by a ranger for basically being stupid enough to attempt it. We went for it! The trip down was amazing!!!:-) it felt like walking on the moon. You were weightless and it felt like we were skating down the dune. At the bottom we dealt with some anxiety attacks... The view from the bottom is horrifying, yet beautiful! You cant even make out the people at the top! The trip to the top took a lot of teamwork and pep talks. We stayed side by side, and encouraged each other the whole way. Unlike the other family members that went earlier in the week, we took breaks and climbed in 30 step increments. You couldnt walk up, we were on our hands and feet pulling ourselves up the whole way. We wore socks because it gave us better grip and helped protect our feet from the rocks mixed throughout the sand. It took us an hour and a half from beginning to end but what an accomplishment!!:-) there were a few moments of insanity which included spending large amounts of time with my shirt over my head so I could breathe without eating mouthfuls of sand, which also resulted in me being water boarded... (video to come later,) doing sand angels, using Melissa Yeos body as a ladder, and various other moments!
Posted on: Fri, 25 Jul 2014 02:01:46 +0000