Tunnel Hill Trail in Southern Illinois

Anyone who’s passed within 100 feet of me during the past year knows that I have four new guidebooks that will be released this coming spring.

Three of the books—Best Illinois Rail Trails, Illinois Road Biking, and Camping Illinois—required many months of research and writing. While researching the books, I camped for several months and I drove for a few thousand miles. I explored Illinois from head to toe, visiting nearly every major park and most of the state’s historic attractions. I explored the rocky cliffs in the Shawnee National Forest and I cycled along the banks of the state’s big rivers. I traveled for many miles on old farm roads where the only sound was the twittering of sparrows.

All in all, it’s been the best job I’ve ever had. I love the process of exploring new places, gathering information, and then shaping the details into something that is eminently useful and fun to read. While this process gives me a special thrill, even more satisfying is the next step—getting the books into the hands of readers.

The other book to be released this spring is a new, shorter version of my book, 60 Hikes within 60 Miles: Chicago. It’s called Easy Hikes Close to Home: Chicago and it’s geared specifically toward newbie hikers who are interested in less strenuous local hikes. Like the other books, I’m eager to see this book put to good use. Enticing new people to explore local trails is an exciting prospect.

All four books are now available for pre-order on Amazon.com. Titles listed below link to a description of each book, its full table of contents, and a page for pre-ordering.

• Road Biking Illinois: A Guide to the State’s Best Bike Rides
• Camping Illinois: A Comprehensive Guide to the State’s Best Campgrounds
• Best Rail Trails Illinois
• Easy Hikes Close to Home: Chicago

After reading the interview, be sure to check out Great Lakes Town Hall. It’s an excellent website with plenty of news and views on the Great Lakes.

My kayak awaits assembly on North Manitou Island.

Q: How exactly did you travel by kayak and bike down the coast of Lake Michigan?

The idea for the trip was to combine a couple of my favorite outdoor activities–cycling and kayaking–while exploring some of the west coast of Michigan’s lower peninsula. For much of the trip, I was hauling my sea kayak (it folds up into a suitcase-sized bag that weighs about 35 lbs) behind me in a bike trailer. I stayed as close to the shoreline as possible and camped most of the time at the numerous parks along the way.

I started the 10-day trip by paddling around North Manitou Island off the coast of Sleeping Bear Dunes. From there, I bicycled my way down to Muskegon, stopping frequently for paddling, lollygagging on beaches, bike rides and exploring parks and towns. When I reached Muskegon, I took the ferry to Milwaukee and then rode home to Chicago.

Q: It was a windy and stormy few weeks; how did you deal with the weather? Were there times you wanted to be comfortable and dry at home?

Sure, there were a handful of times when I would have liked to be home on the couch. I’ve learned that having a fairly loose itinerary helps a lot. That way, you don’t feel compelled to push yourself to ride or paddle through conditions that may be uncomfortable, or perhaps dangerous. Since I was paddling by myself, I took a very cautious approach to paddling in the lake, and avoided it if lake waves were more than one foot.

During the trip, it rained three days or so and a couple nights. Fortunately, for a couple of those days, I was able to forgo campgrounds and stay in an affordable little motel right on the lake. I had stayed in the motel on my prior travels in the area. It’s located in a village called Arcadia, just 40 miles southwest of Traverse City. There are big beautiful dunes, excellent beaches, and a recently opened nature preserve with miles of hiking trails. And surprisingly, no tourism to speak of. That’s the beauty of this area–unbelievable natural beauty and, if you look for it, plenty of places where you can have a beach or a towering dune all to yourself.

One evening while in a state park campground during pouring rain, instead of setting up my tent in the rain, I decided to sleep under a picnic shelter. I was nervous when the park’s cleaning crew visited the shelter in the early morning, and thought they might have some harsh words and even call the police. Instead, they wanted to hear about my trip and were eager to offer advice for the next leg of the journey. It’s a perfect example of how welcoming people tend to be toward those traveling on a bicycle.

Q: Do your travels like this show people can explore the Great Lakes region even without a car or lots of money?

How lucky we are to live on the Great Lakes! All this beauty so close to home presents a strong invitation to explore. As the author of a handful of outdoor guidebooks focusing on Illinois and the Chicago area, I feel like part of my job is to convince people that the Midwest and Great Lakes region offer some wonderful places to visit. The famous parks of the nation are great to see, but how often can you do that? How often can people on a budget do that?

Michigan and much of the Great Lakes region is pretty well suited for bicycle travel. Plenty of quiet, scenic roads. Towns and parks appear frequently. Plenty of hills that are manageable on a bike. A minimal number of big urban areas to navigate. That said, I’ve learned to beware of heavily trafficked roads. Several years back, my brother and I bicycled around Lake Superior. Ninety percent of the route was great, but in a few places we were stuck riding alongside heavy truck traffic on the Trans Canada Highway with no alternate routes.

I like how traveling on a bicycle cuts expenses substantially. I also like how it puts you fully into the setting. Taking a vacation on a bicycle makes me think about things differently. I think about time differently because, of course, the pace is slower. I think about the wind, the sun, the landscape, and the plants and animals more fully. Having grown up in west Michigan, I had traveled this coast perhaps a dozen times. So I wasn’t expecting to discover much that was new to me. I was wrong. While cycling and paddling, I got to know the water and the terrain much better.

Q: You said you enjoyed traveling alone, why?

I like traveling alone because I find that people feel more comfortable approaching a solo traveler. For me, a big part of the thrill of travel is meeting people from the area. I also find that I feel more compelled to strike up conversations while traveling solo. Traveling by myself, I sometimes get a little desperate for conversation–and need something to distract me from my own thoughts. I also want to learn about the area. To do this, I’ve become adept at finding people who don’t look like they’re in a hurry and asking them for directions, asking about local history, and just striking up idle chitchat.

Q: What is your favorite spot on the Great Lakes, why?

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore on the south shore of Lake Superior. Years back, I paddled and camped for several days along Pictured Rocks, and was transfixed by the colored cliffs, waterfalls, and beaches. While paddling the shoreline, you can see house-sized boulders within the strikingly clear water. It looks like the ruins of a sunken city. A remote ambience adds much to this place. Lake Superior has always held a special place for me–I’ve been camping on its shore since I was child.

In second place is the Chicago shoreline. Instead of the sandstone cliffs at Pictured Rocks, the cliffs in Chicago are skyscrapers. The shoreline offers some 20 miles of parkland in the shadow of the most enormous and arresting buildings in the world. I love the Chicago shoreline because it’s where the city comes together; it’s the city at its best. Fortunately, the city has begun embracing the shoreline more fully, making it more accessible and giving it proper status as the city’s front yard.

The page where the interview appears is here.

The spring at Silver Springs State Fish and Wildlife Area; photo by John Tarzynski

During the past week, I’ve had the pleasure of crossing paths with several people who have committed themselves working their way through the hikes in my book, 60 Hikes within 60 Miles: Chicago. I met a married couple at a party who said they have already completed 20 hikes in the book. I loved hearing about their explorations and their descriptions of the places they enjoyed the most. They told me they often hike more than one trail in a single day by choosing hiking destinations that are close together. We had plenty to talk about because they had camped and hiked in the Shawnee National Forest, a place where I’ve spent time, too (it also happens to be the one of the best areas for hiking and camping in Illinois).

In addition to meeting this friendly couple at a party, I recently received the above photo and following e-mail letter from John Tarzynski, who lives in St. Charles.

Hi Ted,

My name is John Tarzynski. First of all, I have to compliment you about your book. Wow! It’s concise, accurate and fun to read. Your descriptions of the trails and how to navigate them are dead on, and you have great suggestions for additional activities.

I’m new to hiking, biking, camping and backpacking this year but I’m getting out there, doing it all and love every minute of it. I purchased your book 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles (2nd Edition) back in March at the REI in Schaumburg to assist and enhance my hiking experience, and it’s done just that. So far this year I have been on three of the trails (Silver Springs Trail, Fullersburg Woods and Danada). I enjoyed them so much I went back to a couple of them with my wife and two daughters. They, too, very much enjoyed the hikes (and horses at Danada!). I’m planning to hit one of the Palos/Sag trails this Sunday afternoon since I’ll be in the area for band rehearsal (I play drums). So the timing is good and the weather forecast looks great.

I have to thank you again for such a great book. You have not only provided a great resource for Chicagoans, but you have provided me with a goal. That goal is to hike every trail in the book. No special time frame, it’s just something I’ve set out to do because there is so much to see and experience out there in nature, family, solitude and just plain fun. Hiking has really helped me decompress from the daily stresses of life.

I wanted take some time to write you, as I imagine most people don’t take the time to communicate their appreciation for your hard work.

Thanks again and hope to meet you out on the trails someday!

Respectfully,

John Tarzynski
St. Charles, IL

P.S. Nice website, too. I have subscribed to your Prairie Fever newsletter. Also, I have attached a photo to share with you from my very first hike ever, which was at Silver Springs Trail on April 17, 2009. It was early evening and I was standing on the wooden dock directly above the spring. It reminded of the Yellow Brick Road…only in green! Hope you enjoy it.

I was utterly thrilled to receive John’s letter and hear about his newfound passion. And of course, I was excited about his goal of hiking all the trails in the book. I was especially pleased to hear that John was sharing his love for hiking close to home with his family. I asked him to keep me posted about his hikes as he works his way through the book. Thanks again, John.

If any hikers want to share their experiences on local trails, I’d love to hear from you. You can add comments and information about individual hikes in the photos section.

The good news is that these these little vampires have to be attached for at least four hours before they can transmit an illness such as Lyme disease or Rocky Mountain spotted fever.

The Illinois Department of Public Health has some good information on preventing tick bites and what to do if a tick is attached to you or your pet.

This article from the Bollingbrook Sun mentions that Will County had 16 confirmed cases of Lyme disease in 2006.

Wetlands and ponds cover much of the landscape at Moraine Hills State Park

In observance of National Trails Day on June 6, the trail system at Moraine Hills State Park in McHenry County was designated a National Recreation Trail.

The Moraine Hills trail system is one of only eight Illinois trails that have been designated as National Recreation Trails. Two of these trails are in the Chicago area: the Danada-Herrick Lake Trail and the Springbrook Prairie Trail. According to American Trails, the National Recreation Trail designation is given to “exemplary trails of local and regional significance.” I’d say that’s a concise description of the trails at Moraine Hills.

To learn more about these trails, read the chapter from my book that focuses on Moraine Hills State Park. Also, take a look at some of my photos of Moraine Hills.