Camping, backpacking, hiking, et al

[Hungary Jack]

This video does a great job of revealing the "other side" of outdoor pursuits: SAR

[/youtube]

I just hope I never have to meet these types in person. But it's nice to know they are there.

[Hungary Jack]

This shot is along the north ridge of Mt. Democrat in CO. My friend Smokey and I did this last week, a really fun class 3 route that included a scramble up a steep gully to a chockstone "bridge" between two towers. We skirted the first tower down low, ascended the gully, and popped out onto the ridge through a little hole next to the bridge. Fun stuff!

spoilered for size.

[SHOW]

[G. Keenan]

Anyone know any good spots to hike, climb, or camp within a 2 - 4 hour drive of Chicago? I've got some friends coming to town at the end of the month and I'm looking for something active and outdoorsy to do with them?

[Hungary Jack]

Anyone know any good spots to hike, climb, or camp within a 2 - 4 hour drive of Chicago? I've got some friends coming to town at the end of the month and I'm looking for something active and outdoorsy to do with them?

You probably already know how most of Illinois is either plowed or paved over, and the glaciers took care of whatever geological relief might have existed 20,000 years ago. Don't get your hopes too high, but a few suggestions:

Devils Lake State Park, WI (3-4 hours): A very popular climbing destination with large stone bluffs, a scenic lake, and good hiking (I hear). Very popular with a huge campground.

[SHOW]

Governor Dodge SP, WI (3-4 hours): Scenic SP with good hiking and rivers and waterfalls (note that it has been very dry this summer).

Starved Rock State Park (2 hours): A series of sandstone bluffs along the Illinois River, some surprisingly high (50+ ft). State Park camping too. You won't find much solitude here. I hear that nearby Mathieson SP has good hiking too, and is much less crowded.

Morton Arboretum (1 hour): Don't scoff at this. It is a great place to "hike" or ride. Very wooded with several small lakes and surprisingly hilly. It's a really nice spot if you don't have a lot of time.

Indiana Dunes Nat'l Lakeshore (1-2 hours): Neat hiking in woods and sand dunes along Lake Michigan shore.

Ludington SP, MI (4-5 hours): I threw this in because it has pretty extensive hiking in a wooded area along Lake Michigan, along with dunes, nice beaches and plenty of camping. It is also adjacent to Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness area, which makes for a great backpack trip if you combine the two (need to be good at routefinding to make this work).

There are also some neat state parks in the Door County peninsula region of WI, though they are probably 5 hours away. Wisconsin DNR web site has lots of info.

[G. Keenan]

Cool, thanks HJ!

[redbirdjazzz]

Anyone know any good spots to hike, climb, or camp within a 2 - 4 hour drive of Chicago? I've got some friends coming to town at the end of the month and I'm looking for something active and outdoorsy to do with them?

You probably already know how most of Illinois is either plowed or paved over, and the glaciers took care of whatever geological relief might have existed 20,000 years ago. Don't get your hopes too high, but a few suggestions:

Devils Lake State Park, WI (3-4 hours): A very popular climbing destination with large stone bluffs, a scenic lake, and good hiking (I hear). Very popular with a huge campground.

[SHOW]

Governor Dodge SP, WI (3-4 hours): Scenic SP with good hiking and rivers and waterfalls (note that it has been very dry this summer).

Starved Rock State Park (2 hours): A series of sandstone bluffs along the Illinois River, some surprisingly high (50+ ft). State Park camping too. You won't find much solitude here. I hear that nearby Mathieson SP has good hiking too, and is much less crowded.

Morton Arboretum (1 hour): Don't scoff at this. It is a great place to "hike" or ride. Very wooded with several small lakes and surprisingly hilly. It's a really nice spot if you don't have a lot of time.

Indiana Dunes Nat'l Lakeshore (1-2 hours): Neat hiking in woods and sand dunes along Lake Michigan shore.

Ludington SP, MI (4-5 hours): I threw this in because it has pretty extensive hiking in a wooded area along Lake Michigan, along with dunes, nice beaches and plenty of camping. It is also adjacent to Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness area, which makes for a great backpack trip if you combine the two (need to be good at routefinding to make this work).

There are also some neat state parks in the Door County peninsula region of WI, though they are probably 5 hours away. Wisconsin DNR web site has lots of info.

I'll second the Ludington area. Some nice places to canoe in addition to the stuff HJ mentioned. Pere Marquette river is nice but on the placid side. The Little Manistee is a bit sportier.

[Hungary Jack]

Great video of the traverse of the Mt. Bierstadt Sawtooth ledges:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MrB2IAt ... ure=fvwrel][/youtube]

It's been like 8 years, but I don't remember that one section being so narrow. I'd give it a pucker rating of 7.5. I wonder if erosion has taken a bite out of that section. Some guy fell here in a bad storm last month.

[lukethedrifter]

Damn.

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/fath ... 04085.html

[Freed Roger]

Damn.

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/fath ... 04085.html

that story has bothered me all morning. Just awful.

[AWvsCBsteeeerike3]

Damn.

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/fath ... 04085.html

that story has bothered me all morning. Just awful.

I'm still confused. Did they get lost and the weather turned? Seems if people saw them at 2 PM they knew where they were and could be back in a couple hours.....what the [expletive] happened?