Newb-me

[s.matthews]

Hi all! I'm Spencer, a PhD student in southern California, and my wife and I love hitting the trails on our own whenever possible. Some of our favorite treks we've done include the Lost Coast in northern CA and Laugavegur in Iceland. She's a Colarado girl, so climbing mountains is also a constant draw.

Found this site while "planning" a trip to Wrangell-St. Elias (trying to figure out what trek to do as celebration when I finish my PhD). We went up to Alaska a few years back and after a few nights in the wild I was hooked. I've been trying to get back ever since. Love what I've found here on BCP!

So far we are mostly backpackers and day-hikers on marked trails, but are trying to expand our knowledge and abilities with a winter mountaineering course this spring and an off-trail trek sometime soon. Like everyone else here, we love spending time outside!

As a side note, I'll be in Chicago this summer for an internship and would greatly appreciate any tips on good hiking areas within driving distance (6ish hours) of the Windy City!

 

[Jackson]

Hi all! I'm Spencer, a PhD student in southern California, and my wife and I love hitting the trails on our own whenever possible. Some of our favorite treks we've done include the Lost Coast in northern CA and Laugavegur in Iceland. She's a Colarado girl, so climbing mountains is also a constant draw.

Found this site while "planning" a trip to Wrangell-St. Elias (trying to figure out what trek to do as celebration when I finish my PhD). We went up to Alaska a few years back and after a few nights in the wild I was hooked. I've been trying to get back ever since. Love what I've found here on BCP!

So far we are mostly backpackers and day-hikers on marked trails, but are trying to expand our knowledge and abilities with a winter mountaineering course this spring and an off-trail trek sometime soon. Like everyone else here, we love spending time outside!

As a side note, I'll be in Chicago this summer for an internship and would greatly appreciate any tips on good hiking areas within driving distance (6ish hours) of the Windy City!

Welcome! @Wanderlust073 has some experience in the Chicago area and surroundings I believe, maybe would have some recommendations.

 

[Wanderlust073]

As a side note, I'll be in Chicago this summer for an internship and would greatly appreciate any tips on good hiking areas within driving distance (6ish hours) of the Windy City!

Nothing out there compared to what you are used to. If you like hiking through forests then upper WI and parts of MI have some areas to explore. Red River Gorge area in Kentucky is a 6ish hour drive as well and has some interesting rock/arch formations to look at while hiking through more trees. Illinois itself has nothing of note to offer. What hasn't been paved over is either farm land or well tamed forest preserves.

Others may pipe in to paint a rosier picture, lol. There's a reason I moved out west...

 

[PackAndWander]

Nice, I've done a couple of off-trail routes in Wrangell St-Elias. One was successful (2016) and the other, we weren't moving quickly enough to complete (2022), but still had a great time in the wilderness. The 2016 trip was truly the trip of a lifetime, and I still think about it every few days. Here's a photo from that 2016 trip:

 

[s.matthews]

Nothing out there compared to what you are used to. If you like hiking through forests then upper WI and parts of MI have some areas to explore. Red River Gorge area in Kentucky is a 6ish hour drive as well and has some interesting rock/arch formations to look at while hiking through more trees. Illinois itself has nothing of note to offer. What hasn't been paved over is either farm land or well tamed forest preserves.

Others may pipe in to paint a rosier picture, lol. There's a reason I moved out west...

Thanks for the info, haha. I figured that might be the case!

 

[s.matthews]

Nice, I've done a couple of off-trail routes in Wrangell St-Elias. One was successful (2016) and the other, we weren't moving quickly enough to complete (2022), but still had a great time in the wilderness. The 2016 trip was truly the trip of a lifetime, and I still think about it every few days. Here's a photo from that 2016 trip:

Absolutely stunning photo, I love it! Really hoping to make it out there

 

[Janice]

For your Chicago trip - Sleeping Bear Dunes! The entire Michigan coast of Lake Michigan is beautiful, with enormous sand dunes that are often forested. The Sleeping Bear area is the best. Here's a report I posted from a few years ago. In 2001, we moved to SE Michigan from the East Coast and had no idea how magical the Lake Michigan coast is up north on the Michigan side. Hope you make it there!

The Manistee River Loop and Jordan River Pathway are also nice and within your driving distance.

There are great places in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, but those are farther away.

If you want more info about any of these, let me know!