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  1. #1
    New Member Tau's Avatar
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    Sep 2010
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    Central, IL
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    16

    Illinois car camping hang


    I recently started a blog to archive all of our hiking trips. I figured it was good practice for when we hope to hike the AT in 2019.

    The following is the entry that I posted about our overnight trip, and it briefly mentions my Hennessy (as does the video). Not sure if this quite meets the qualifications for posting here, but as a beginner, I've been trying to find ways to participate more on the board.

    ****


    We camped at Comlara County Park this past weekend and had a marvelous time. We hiked two of the trails there, and met up with the Peoria Backpackers for kayaking on Evergreen lake.


    There were great blue herons everywhere, and often you would hear them in the brush. They squawked like some prehistoric beast and one caught us off guard enough to make us jump! The first trail was littered with wild blackberries as well. I've never eaten any in the wild before - always just black raspberries, so this was an enormous treat. Couldn't find any mushrooms this time around.


    We did see a turkey though! We walked around a corner and practically ran into it - he must have been 3 feet from us. We all looked at each other in stunned silence, and then he sauntered into the undergrowth. I am still kicking myself for not getting it on film. Capturing a turkey has become something of a mission for me now. We also saw a beautiful doe under the pines, 6 varieties of butterflies, and a really cool watersnake.


    I didn't manage to get the underquilt for my hammock done in time, so I brought the less ideal air mattress. It all worked out ok, and I got a good nights rest. The weekend did inspire Arbor to jump on buying a Warbonnet Hammock for himself, and I'm super excited. It can take a month to arrive, and we have an important trip around that time, so I am keeping my fingers crossed that it shows up.

    I experimented with our first homemade dehydrated meals. I made the Hungarian Goulash and Spicy Vegetarian Rice from the Hungry Hammock Hanger, and will need to keep tweaking things a bit. The potatoes in the goulash never rehydrated all the way, so I think I will try grating the potatoes instead. The rice just had way too much salt for us, but thats an easy adjustment.


    We headed down to the docks and joined the Peoria Backpackers and had a ton of fun paddling the lake and getting to know everyone. It was a perfect overcast day, so that it was warm without the sun beating down on us. A few hours later we met up on land for a cookout and got to share more stories with a sincerely terrific group of people. It was such a good time that I can hardly wait for the next meetup! (thank goodness the wait isn't long)

    Our hiking blog: http://tauspotting.com/

  2. #2
    Senior Member D Ring's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    Knoxville, TN
    Hammock
    DIY
    Tarp
    HG Cuben
    Insulation
    Leigh's Uq /UGQ TQ
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    JRB Woopie/Dutch
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    119
    Great photos. Thank you for sharing, it helps those of us who can not get to the woods make it through the day.

  3. #3
    New Member Jimmy Shelter's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Location
    Central Illinois
    Hammock
    WBBB 1.1 Double
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    Incubator 40 +2 oz
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    Ring and carabiner
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    42
    Nice Photos, I am in the general same area as you , i need to look up the Peoria Backpackers .thanks for sharing
    dyslexics untie!!

    Sing loud for the sunshine,
    Pray hard for the rain
    And show your love for Lady Nature
    And she will come back again
    Page/Plant

  4. #4
    Senior Member
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    Sep 2010
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    Rochester, NY
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    Interesting. Thanks for the report!
    YMMV

    HYOH

    Free advice worth what you paid for it. ;-)

  5. #5
    Senior Member Thom's Avatar
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    Sep 2011
    Location
    Southern Illinois
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    Thommock
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    630
    Nice report. Where are you in Illinois. I'm in Olney.

  6. #6
    New Member Tau's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Location
    Central, IL
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    16
    We're in Champaign, but the camp was near Bloomington. Nice park and I recommend the area. (lake usage is pretty pricey though)

    Thanks to everyone for all their kind words. I'll probably keep posting these mini reports as we keep camping, until someone objects. Next trip is at Friends Creek Conservation Area near Decatur, for the Persied Meteor Shower.
    Our hiking blog: http://tauspotting.com/

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