In preparation for my first official solo hike, I did an overnight trip to Sand Ridge State Forest, between Manito, IL and the Illinois River. A unique part of Illinois, unexplored and unnoticed by most Central Illinoisans, this 7,200 acre park will challenge your perception of what Central Illinois is. My primary purpose was to try out my new one-man tent and to make sure my solo-hiking gear list was complete in preparation for a solo hike later in the month
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| Cactus in Central Illinois. They are throughout the park. |
The Yellow trail follows much of the perimeter of the park, giving the maximum hiking length of 14.8 miles, which I lengthened by parking at the headquarters and by getting lost a couple of times, stretching it to about 16 miles. I arrived at the park at 3:30 on Friday, May 9th with a full load, including water as there are no natural water sources within the park. There are 12 Backcountry Campsites, of which only one was reserved for that evening. I selected site 11 in the northwest corner of the park, about 8 miles into the hike. It had rained the day before which made the sand manageable. Sand Ridge is a very descriptive name. Backpacker magazine listed the park as a good place to do some early spring hikes in the local area. It was nice to see it receive national attention. The trails are generally well-marked, but there were a few instances where the markings were deficient. The map is good and helped me get back on track the few times I did go astray.
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| Typical Sand Trail |
The trails are almost completely sand which can be a challenge during very dry weather. In addition to testing my equipment, this was also a good test of my conditioning. I covered the 8 miles by about 7:30, having never seen anyone else. The only signs of life were the hoof prints from earlier in the day. The state forest is quite popular among the equestrian set. There are separate camps for them within the park. I located my site, set up my tent and cooked dinner. A whippoorwill was very excited about my presence, sounding his cry for about 15 minutes straight before moving on. Since there isn't much else to do by yourself and it was getting dark, I turned in for the evening about 9:00.
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| The campsite |
I awoke to the sounds of birds. Lots of birds. During the night I had heard an owl. In the morning, I heard turkey, duck, blue jay and several others that I could not identify. Most of my backpacking trips have been to mountainous regions that do not have the quantity of birds that we have in Illinois. Morning brought a chorus of birdsongs.
After a quick breakfast, I set out to complete the loop. Other than on the road, I didn't see another person. Close to campsite #1 I did see some other footprints. I also saw the tracks of some large birds, which I assume were turkeys. Deer also crossed the path several times as well as other small mammals.
I finished the hike about 10:30 as it was getting warm. I had run out of water and stopped at one of the main campgrounds to fill up. Unfortunately, they must not open the campground until after Memorial Day as the pump was locked up, as were the bathrooms. Fortunately I only had a couple more miles to hike and didn't suffer from too much dehydration. As I completed the loop, I could pick out my undisturbed footprints from the previous day. I'm sure that the summer brings more visitors, especially the four-footed variety.
In summary, the Sand Ridge State Forest is a special area in Illinois. If you really want to get away, this isn't the hike for you. However, if you just want to withdraw for a quiet overnight trip or want to test your mettle on the sand trails, this is an excellent opportunity. I did take a few friends home with me. I discovered three ticks when I got home, two of which had attached. I found a fourth tick a couple of days later. I wore a hat and all these visitors were found at or below my waist. I've heard that it is a horrendous year for ticks, but I've also heard that this park is particularly bad for ticks anytime. So be cautious and check yourself thoroughly after completing your hike.
