MisterB
Active member
Got out with Fun4me today at Pyramid state park in IL, it's a ~19,000 acres reclamation project after decades of surface coal mining. It's beautiful and perfect for the Trail.
Asphalt, gravel, and dirt roads will then lead to things that LOOK like roads but are 2 parallel ruts that try their hardest to knock you down. Plenty of little trails that don't lead anywhere but are a blast trying to find out if they DO!
Fun4me has Sherpa-like knowledge of this area so we never stopped to look where we were. He just knew.
I prepped for everything except taking pictures, will not make this mistake next time. Will post pictures from future outings in this thread. If any other members have been here feel free to post your photos.
it was eerily reminiscent of the scene in The Wild Ones when Brando and company roll into town.
If you didn't already know: Illinois is nearly perfectly flat plane when viewed from a distance. There are some "hilly" areas here and there but we have to take what we can get. Fortunately the business of surface mining left a terrain that is not typical for this area.
The scars left by mining are now beautiful lakes and there aren't pieces of machinery left to rot, just a lot of natural places to have fun. There are still a couple active mining operations nearby, but you're unaware of it in the park as they're outside of it.
This is one of the park sectors:
Here what it used to look like:
Fun4me:
Thread titled "Ongoing" because I plan on getting back there many more times. Fun4me described it as "crowded" today, we encountered maybe 10 people. He says usually doesn't see ANYONE! Perfect.
Asphalt, gravel, and dirt roads will then lead to things that LOOK like roads but are 2 parallel ruts that try their hardest to knock you down. Plenty of little trails that don't lead anywhere but are a blast trying to find out if they DO!
Fun4me has Sherpa-like knowledge of this area so we never stopped to look where we were. He just knew.
I prepped for everything except taking pictures, will not make this mistake next time. Will post pictures from future outings in this thread. If any other members have been here feel free to post your photos.
it was eerily reminiscent of the scene in The Wild Ones when Brando and company roll into town.
If you didn't already know: Illinois is nearly perfectly flat plane when viewed from a distance. There are some "hilly" areas here and there but we have to take what we can get. Fortunately the business of surface mining left a terrain that is not typical for this area.
The scars left by mining are now beautiful lakes and there aren't pieces of machinery left to rot, just a lot of natural places to have fun. There are still a couple active mining operations nearby, but you're unaware of it in the park as they're outside of it.
This is one of the park sectors:
Here what it used to look like:
Fun4me:
Thread titled "Ongoing" because I plan on getting back there many more times. Fun4me described it as "crowded" today, we encountered maybe 10 people. He says usually doesn't see ANYONE! Perfect.
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