Life has been very busy and I've not frequenting the forums lately, but things are calming down.
I'm not in Chicagoland presently, so I won't be able to make the walk this weekend. But I hope you guys have a great walk! I've done the stairs there and the trails nearby, it's a nice area. There is a pull-up bar near the top of the stairs if anyone wanted to incorporate a Murph-style workout .
Will post something here after the walk next weekend (March #9) to see if anyone is interested in a march sometime in July.
I don't have exact data for march #9, but my phone shows 10.5 miles between 8am-12pm. It was great weather - low 60s and no rain as we had worried - and the route was a wide trail of dirt and crushed gravel with the main attraction of a giant staircase. Scott, The_Bowme, and jacob+DW joined for some good company. All in all a great time.
(picture not mine). Jacob had a solid ruckpack of ~40lbs, which I borrowed for a couple laps up the stairs and some awkward pullups. It might be about time I add some weight myself! And we did keep our streak alive of getting close to deer - this one not as smug as the last (see viewtopic.php?p=297075#p297075).
We were fortunate with the weather. Fun to catch up, as well as meet @the_Bowme and jacob's DW. Connecting in person hits different. I appreciate everyone making the effort. Always broadens my perspective on the paths one can take. Beautiful walk too. A solid 10 miles to start the day.
Here's a map of the hike, captured by my phone. That elevation jump halfway through was on trail. It felt like another set of stairs, but on rocky gravel.
Starting the conversation for March #10, I have availability in July if anyone would like to meetup again in about a month. I'm free July 13, 19, 20, 26, and 27. Something in the Chicagoland area works best for me this time around.
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