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

A great adventure, Tammy!!!!

Thanks for sharing and the great photos. I love these lighthousing outing reports complete with text and photos!

It sounds like you quite an outing, Tammy. Those are some of the best pics I've seen of Split Rock.

Split Rock is one of my favorite lights because of its unique design and location on top of that cliff.

Bob

Great shots, Tammy! You got some perspectives of Split Rock there you couldn't get in the summer due to the ice. I've never been there (yet) but it's on my list!

Thank goodness for lens hoods! When my DRebel went down on the tripod last November with my Sigma 24-135, the lens hood broke the fall. The lens busted right off the camera and cost me $120 to fix. The optics were still fine and so was the body, thank goodness! I just bought myself some ice cleats. Haven't tried them out yet.

I just bought a new IBM 1GB Microdrive. HUGE difference in write speed over my 256MB compact flash card.

Tammy, I also wanted to mention to you what I've been wearing when I go out. I picked up some "microfleece" at WalMart in the Sporting Good Department. They are men's and the top and pants were around $25 for the set. I wear those over a set of long underwear and two pairs of wool socks and winter boots, then I have a full length wool coat and some of the Thinsulate 100G "pop-top" gloves. I throw on a hat and a winter ski headband over that and tuck in a scarf into my coat. I'm toasty out there for usually two-three hours and if I'm hiking, I get too hot! The microfleece and wool repel snow and water and helps keep you dry.

Thanks for sharing your adventure and great photos!

PS - Fun, wasn't it! If you enjoyed yourself, you'll keep going back for more!

Great pictures and a great story to go with them. Looks like you had great weather also. Thanks for sharing.

Bert

Great shots, Tammy, and what an adventure!

Thanks for sharing. Split Rock is also one of my favorites, partly because of its picturesque setting up on the edge of that cliff, and partly because I'm getting to know the folks involved there.

Judy

Thanks for sharing your adventure, Tammy. Sounds like you had a great weekend breaking in your new camera (and fortunately not breaking anything else!) Great pics with a perspective we don't usually get. It is interesting the difference from the first picture to the last, where all the ice chunks have departed.

Great photos, Tammy! I really wish I was there as I love lighthousing in the winter and Split Rock is my favorite.
Also, be careful on that ice everyne! Trust me, as most of you know (and frequently bring up ) I know this from experience!!!

Geez tammy, I was getting cold reading that.

Great shots. You Great lakes people sure are adventurous!

Great pictures Tammy. Isn't it so peaceful there in the winter? We always make sure we go see Split Rock and Two Harbours every winter and of course every summer.

Thanks everyone for your comments!

Jen, I will check out the microfleece at Walmart. I probably need to buy some new boots. I can't wear extra socks because there's not enough room. When we went to Split Rock on November 10th, I used some foot warmers, and they helped. Better gloves are a must for next time.

AKMN, yes it was very peaceful on Saturday with the calm water and blue sky. It was windy on Sunday, but peaceful in a different way...no people.

Jake, I managed to avoid falling down on Sunday... I will definitely be more careful there next time. You never know what's under the snow.

Great shots and great adventure! I love Split Rock! Thank you for the winter photos! The weather may look great, but I do understand how cold it was!

You sure are lucky you didn't hurt yourself or your camera falling. I have experience falling on the ice, but I seem to hurt myself when I slip. I am currently trying to recover from an AC joint shoulder injury from a slip on the ice a few weeks ago to my writing arm.

Suzanne Murphy

Great shots, Tammy- I'm sure all the effort was worth it!!

Thanks for sharing the adventure and pictures. I would love to see Split Rock one day.

I hope you didn't get too many bruises from the fall.

Tammy, loved your pictures and the story.
Ruthie

Gorgeous pictures Tammy!!

Beautiful pictures, Tammy! They show a view of the light that we don't often see: two days in a row, and the differences between them.