Deer Grove hike

It was a perfect day for a hike in Deer Grove Forest Preserve -- sunny, no wind, and 36 degrees -- though the ground is not frozen yet so we ran into some muddy areas on our 4 mile trek. Below is proof that the Chicago environs are not flat as so many out-of-staters believe.


Ellen has biked the mountain bike trail here 3 times and hiked here with our group once, but today I took her off the main trail on some secondary and tertiary trails, and she loved the feeling of being away from civilization, though we were never more than a mile from homes and roads.

In a few months when the creeks have frozen solid, bushwacking off trail becomes much easier, and even using the creeks as trails is an interesting switch from the usual view, giving an interesting and unique perspective on the landscape.