Posted By: Tammy Wolfe
Winter lighthousing in Minnesota: Split Rock - 02/12/04 06:14 AM
On Saturday and Sunday Randy (my husband) and I went lighthousing for the first time in the winter. I have admired many of the photos posted by forum members. Now I have a greater appreciation of Jen Selwa, Gary Martin, Mike Hershberger and others who have submitted beautiful photographs of lighthouses in the winter.
It's about a three hour drive to Split Rock from my house. We arrived there on a nice sunny afternoon. (OK, a few fluffy white clouds would have been nice. But it's hard to complain. We get many more cloudy days than sunny days at this time of the year.)
By the way, this was my first opportunity to use my new Canon Digital Rebel, which arrived on Friday.
Because the trails appeared to be groomed, I decided that my boots (ankle high), jeans and long underwear were sufficient. So, I headed out to the lighthouse. To take this first photo of the lighthouse, I had to leave the trail. I found myself sinking in snow up to my knees in spots.
The lake was covered with chunks of floating ice.
After about 20 minutes, I was cold. Although the forecast predicted 19 degrees, they said that it would feel like 9 degrees. My jeans were covered in snow, and my boots were filled with snow. I also grabbed a poorly insultated pair of gloves, and my fingers were numb. We decided to go warm up. That's when I discovered what was under the beautiful snow near the shore...glare ice. I fell and landed on my left knee. My 100-400 mm Canon lens hit the ice, too. Luckily I had the lens hood on it.
We sat by the fire for about 15 minutes, put on our snow pants, and headed towards the island. In the spring and summer you cannot go to the island because peregrine falcons nest there. On the way there, we passed a woman who said, "Can it get any more beautiful?"
The chunks of ice were larger here. It sounded like they were squealing.
This is a view of the lighthouse from that island.
The no trespassing signs kept Randy on shore. I was sure that you could go to the island in the winter. When I got up to leave, I once again discovered that there was ice under the snow. This time I fell and landed on my left knee. Well, I was wearing snow pants this time, and I had put my camera away to be safe. However, I soon found myself crawling up the hill on my belly. I looked back and saw the water. It's hard to believe that people were jumping into Lake Superior on purpose for the Polar plunge about that time of the day. Those crazy Minnesotans! Well, I made it back to shore just fine.
http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/news/local/7889436.htm
I wanted to go back to Split Rock on Sunday to try to photograph the lighthouse earlier in the day. When we arrived at Split Rock, I was glad to find out that we could wear our snowshoes. The no snowshoe signs were just for the cross country ski trail. I also asked if it was OK to go to that island. The answer was yes! It's OK in the winter. However, the park ranger said, "You wouldn't want to though because of all the ice in the area."
Unforunately there was no sun. And to our surprise, the ice was all gone! It was supposed to be warmer that day. But it was hard to tell because the wind was blowing quite hard.
What a difference a day makes!
Though it was windy and cloudy, we had the lighthouse to ourself for most of the day. It was also easier to get around in snowshoes. Despite the falls and getting very cold, I think we'll try it again some day.
Tammy
It's about a three hour drive to Split Rock from my house. We arrived there on a nice sunny afternoon. (OK, a few fluffy white clouds would have been nice. But it's hard to complain. We get many more cloudy days than sunny days at this time of the year.)
By the way, this was my first opportunity to use my new Canon Digital Rebel, which arrived on Friday.
Because the trails appeared to be groomed, I decided that my boots (ankle high), jeans and long underwear were sufficient. So, I headed out to the lighthouse. To take this first photo of the lighthouse, I had to leave the trail. I found myself sinking in snow up to my knees in spots.
The lake was covered with chunks of floating ice.
After about 20 minutes, I was cold. Although the forecast predicted 19 degrees, they said that it would feel like 9 degrees. My jeans were covered in snow, and my boots were filled with snow. I also grabbed a poorly insultated pair of gloves, and my fingers were numb. We decided to go warm up. That's when I discovered what was under the beautiful snow near the shore...glare ice. I fell and landed on my left knee. My 100-400 mm Canon lens hit the ice, too. Luckily I had the lens hood on it.
We sat by the fire for about 15 minutes, put on our snow pants, and headed towards the island. In the spring and summer you cannot go to the island because peregrine falcons nest there. On the way there, we passed a woman who said, "Can it get any more beautiful?"
The chunks of ice were larger here. It sounded like they were squealing.
This is a view of the lighthouse from that island.
The no trespassing signs kept Randy on shore. I was sure that you could go to the island in the winter. When I got up to leave, I once again discovered that there was ice under the snow. This time I fell and landed on my left knee. Well, I was wearing snow pants this time, and I had put my camera away to be safe. However, I soon found myself crawling up the hill on my belly. I looked back and saw the water. It's hard to believe that people were jumping into Lake Superior on purpose for the Polar plunge about that time of the day. Those crazy Minnesotans! Well, I made it back to shore just fine.
http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/news/local/7889436.htm
I wanted to go back to Split Rock on Sunday to try to photograph the lighthouse earlier in the day. When we arrived at Split Rock, I was glad to find out that we could wear our snowshoes. The no snowshoe signs were just for the cross country ski trail. I also asked if it was OK to go to that island. The answer was yes! It's OK in the winter. However, the park ranger said, "You wouldn't want to though because of all the ice in the area."
Unforunately there was no sun. And to our surprise, the ice was all gone! It was supposed to be warmer that day. But it was hard to tell because the wind was blowing quite hard.
What a difference a day makes!
Though it was windy and cloudy, we had the lighthouse to ourself for most of the day. It was also easier to get around in snowshoes. Despite the falls and getting very cold, I think we'll try it again some day.
Tammy
Bob 
) I know this from experience!!!
pictures and the story.