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  1. #1
    Senior Member Lonely Raven's Avatar
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    Help me setup a mini-solo?

    Ok, I've never really hiked before. I've done some stealth camping, and car camping...but I've never really just hit a trail and gone till the end.

    The truth is, I don't know where to start. I mean, for starters, I'm in Illinois. I know there are some "prairie paths" in IL, and all the camp locations I find are pay only, and they probably don't know about or want to deal with hammocks.

    Is there a specific web page I could research this on? Anyone know of some trails in the Chicagoland suburbs that I could just disappear into for a weekend?

    I need to get out more, I need to exercise more, and I need some personal time. This would be so good for me in so many ways...I just need some help getting started.

    I appreciate any help/guidance you can provide.

    P.S. I'm strictly talking outings, not gear...I'm getting pretty well setup on gear, and besides having UL pack (or UL gear in general) I think I'm pretty set for weekend excursions.
    Last edited by Lonely Raven; 10-12-2010 at 11:17.

  2. #2
    KefWalker's Avatar
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    Have you had a chance to check out Grizz's Easy Strider videos? He got away to Forest Glen, IL and it looks like a great place to hang for a night or two.
    Solvitur Ambulando - Diogenes

  3. #3
    Senior Member NCPatrick's Avatar
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    Yes, I was going to say you should check with Grizz. He's in Illinois too and might be able to help you find some places.


    "Civilization is the limitless multiplication of unnecessary necessities."
    - Mark Twain
    “I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order.”
    - John Burroughs

  4. #4
    New Member trixie's dad's Avatar
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    camping in illinois

    Hey there,

    I am in the same situation as yourself. I live in the city and I started doing solo camping this year, and before that hadn't camped in years. I found 2 good resources: Camping Illinois and the Best Tent Camping in Illinois. I got them at REI. I went hammock camping for my 1st time a few weeks ago in the Burnidge Forest Preserve in Elgin. I also went camping in Marengo. Both places have secluded "primitive camping" and are only a kind of short walk away from water and an outhouse.

    Let me know how it turns out.

  5. #5
    Senior Member Lonely Raven's Avatar
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    Thanks for digging up this old thread. As it happens, I did wind up doing a hike with some friends from ZombieHunters.org.

    We went up to Wisconsin and hit some of the ice age trail. My fiance Peanut and I drove up there after work, and hiked the first 5.2 miles in the dark! And made awesome time (just a little over two hours). I have awesome night vision, and she used her Petzel headlamp that I surprised her with, to help us through the darkest forests.

    I'm still hoping to get some solo trips done. But Illinois is just so restrictive. And I found a lot of camp sites want $25 a night!

    Chances are I'm going to start Stealth Camping here and there. I've been selling off my brightly colored tarps and purchased an olive colored Superfly. And my hammocks and underquilts are all browns/greens/blacks. I plan on doing my first stealth camp in the next couple weeks. I'll report back and see what happens.

    Thanks for the suggestions on those books. I already had one of them in my wish list on Amazon. I'm hoping they'll help me find some places I otherwise wouldn't have found searching on the intarwebs.

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