Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore offered the first public tour of Mount Baldy on Friday since a 6-year-old Illinois boy was swallowed by a hole in the dune in July 2013.
Bruce Rowe, public information officer for Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, said they wanted to offer the public the opportunity to learn about the research that is taking place at the dune.
Rowe said researchers determined a safe route for members of the press to take in August 2014, which is the route the public tour follows. The route goes along a high portion of the dune, which Rowe said researches believe is safe to walk on. He said holes have only been found in lower portions of the dune.
Each tour is accompanied by a National Park Service ranger at the front of the tour and a NPS volunteer at the back of the tour to ensure safety. Eight members of the public participated in the tour on Friday.
Mount Baldy is moving southward at an alarming pace, at about 6 feet each year, said tour guide and Park Ranger Amanda Board. Thousands of people climbing the dune have pushed the sand southward, according to NPS. Board said eventually, the area south of the dune that houses the parking lot and restrooms will be covered by sand.
She said the majority of the sand builds up in the winter and falls down the dune in the spring.
Mount Baldy has become a blowout, which is an example of erosion caused by strong winds, Board said. Compared to two years ago, portions of Mount Baldy are nearly full of vegetation. Board said vegetation was able to grow on portions of the dune due to the public not being able to walk on the surface.
Board said stairs have been washed away on a trail that previously led to the beach. The beach is disappearing to erosion, she said.
Rowe said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers brings sand into the area, because the harbor structures in Michigan City intercept the sand that is brought in by the lake.
Numerous fences have been placed throughout the dune in an attempt to block the wind, Board said.
Nathan Woessner, of Sterling, Ill., was buried under 11 feet of sand at Mount Baldy for more than three hours on July 12, 2013, and he has since made a full recovery.
Board said Mount Baldy is covering a forest, trees are decaying and voids are forming. Board said she believes that Woessner fell into one of the voids caused by a decayed tree. However, Rowe emphasized a final determination has not been made.
“It’s that mechanism that is causing the holes to remain that scientists can’t explain,” Rowe said.
Rowe said since Woessner fell in the hole, seven other holes have been found.
A decision on full public access to the approximately 100 acres of Mount Baldy that are closed will be determined following the completion of the scientific research sometime later this year, according to a news release.
“No one in the park even knows what the decision is going to be,“ Rowe said. “We are waiting for the science to tell us what the background is. Then it will be a decision of can you let people in, one for their and safety and two also for the health of the dune.”
Chesterton resident and National Park Service volunteer Dorothy Meyers said many generations of her family have played in the dunes throughout the years. She decided to participate in the first public tour because she was curious about Mount Baldy’s current condition. Meyers said she was surprised at the large amount of vegetation in the area.
Michigan City resident Michael Gresham wanted to see what Mount Baldy would look like after nearly two years of being closed to the public.
“I’m amazed to see how much nature has reclaimed already,” he said.
Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore is offering ranger-guided tours on select Friday afternoons and Sunday mornings until Sept. 6.