Looking for Chicago hikers

[RedNick]

I am starting to prep my body and feet for a possible thru hike of the AT 2016. I am going to be doing some significant urban hikes in the months to come including in adverse weather. Looking for locals that are interested in doing some weekend miles around the city.

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[Just Bill]

There are no hikers in Chicago.

Check out the Grand Illinois Trail- you can make a loop with the Alternate route that more or less fits in the city. And a good portion of it is truly urban. The southern and western parts are mostly crushed limestone bike paths.
http://www.bikelib.org/maps-and-ride...llinois-trail/

Otherwise you have to head north or down to carbondale for anything over 20 miles or so that allows camping.
That said- you can hop the train to Joliet and that puts you on the I&M canal Trail.

When my handlers let me out, I tend to end up there or at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore these days.
But I've never even been backpacking so you probably wouldn't want to hike with me.

Hammock Forums has some meetups in the area, though these are more casual trips than backpacking trips.
Otherwise you'd be better off trying the traditional stuff like REI, Sierra Club to find folks to hike with.
There were a few folks here doing some stuff in Southern Wisconsin, and Facebook probably has folks too.

[dbright]

I am going to Thru hike the AT starting on Feb 29th. I am retiring at the end of this year and plan to take it slow for a few weeks. I also live in Aurora, IL and could do try and do some hiking in the Chicago area to get into shape. I did hike 42 miles of the AT this May and it was a blast.

[Kebler]

Hey RedNick. I'm in the Dundee area, looking to do the same. Are you in the city or burbs? PM me if your interested in hitting up a trail on the weekend. Unfortunately we are limited in this area as to what we can do, but there are a few around. I plan on flip flopping starting mid april. Hit me up

[2000miler]

Oh man, are you me? I'm planning an AT thru in 2016 as well! Tons of trekking around Lincoln Park this summer, living here without a car is rough. I just got back from a 6-day shakedown hike on the Pacific Crest Trail.

I live right in downtown Chicago. PM me!

[double d]

I'm in the Joliet area myself, hike the Ice Age Trail if you can-or the head to Michigan. Maybe I'm wrong, but I just see much good urban hiking in Chicagoland area. And by hiking, I mean overnight trips of about 20 or more miles, but if your looking to train, maybe Starved Rock on mid-week hike. Good luck, keep training.

[George]

IMO best training spot within reasonable distance: http://chicagocamping.org/forest-gle...-near-chicago/

check these groups:
http://www.meetup.com/Chicago-Hiking...lachian-Trail/
http://www.meetup.com/Chicago-Backpackers/
http://www.meetup.com/Chicagoland-Backpackers/

I did some trips with the last one - these folks are willing to travel far for a weekend - but with three drivers it was not too bad

[appompa255]

I'm in the Dundee area and have been doing some local hiking. A friend of mine is pretty good at finding some good spots to hike in IL. Add me and shoot me a PM and we'll figure something out. I'm in Dundee.

[appompa255]

Hey RedNick. I'm in the Dundee area, looking to do the same. Are you in the city or burbs? PM me if your interested in hitting up a trail on the weekend. Unfortunately we are limited in this area as to what we can do, but there are a few around. I plan on flip flopping starting mid april. Hit me up

I'm in Dundee as well, PM and lets try to hit the trail sometime.