Exploring the World with Pokémon Go: Des Plaines River Trail 6
As I promised, I found time to explore more of the Des Plaines River Trail. Specifically Des Plaines River Trail 6 in regards to this blog. I started on the other side of the flooded bridge from last time. And as the picture that will be the first anyone sees when reading this, it was still flooded. In fact it was more flooded than before. But I made sure to get a photo of the other side so that you would know what I skipped.
I hate skipping segments but nature wasn’t cooperating. And only a fool thinks that they can get nature to do what they want. Anyway, this was the first segment of the trail that was not one I had traveled on when I was much younger. Now that I am past nostalgia, its all untreaded ground. I couldn’t have been more excited.
Mile Marker 13
Beyond a flooded bridge, Des Plaines River Trail 6 moved far enough away from the river that it was no longer flooded. In fact there were few pictures to be found of the river itself. Instead I focused on the greenery around the trail. Like I mentioned in earlier posts it looks like I am far from civilization and deep in the swamps and marshlands of Illinois. Looks can be deceiving of course because once away from the river, you would realize how close I am to civilization.
But no need to worry about what lies out of sight. The point of this post is to look at what I saw. And Mile Marker 13 wasn’t too far down from the flooded underpass. But the number of pictures I took tell only a small story about how lovely this hike was. The Des Plaines River Trail has been a nice change of pace after the swamp lands of Florida. Perhaps its because I am taking in new sights still, but it feels like the Illinois marshes are more varied.
Mile Marker 13.25
Not even a quarter mile farther down Des Plaines River Trail 6 took me into a very different set of landscapes. First through a tunnel of trees like something out a Fae realm only to lead into open fields. And the electrical lines that run through that opening did not take away from it. I know that some people find electrical grids unsightly. But they don’t bother me. In fact standing under them and listening to the static sounds they make is calming.
Benches dot this landscape, giving people a chance to rest. The trail is long after all. I’m more than 13 miles through at the point of those pictures with many more to go. And some people hike far more of the trail in one sitting than I do. Anyway, you can see a few more views of the river in these photos. And it doesn’t look nearly as flooded as that initial picture makes it seem. Leaves you wondering if the underpass is just to close to the water.
Oh and there is one more feature I want to talk about, even if they are a relatively small one. There are hills on this trail. Illinois is flat don’t get me wrong. But Florida was even more flat. So even these tiny rolling slopes have me excited. And they are steep enough that there are signs warning bikers to slow down. That has to count for something right?
Mile Marker 13.50
I took plenty more pictures as I hiked another .25 miles on Des Plaines River Trail 6. The power lines vanished, and the forest returned. And in turn that gave way to a marshy wall on both sides of the path. The river meanwhile vanished to my right. I wouldn’t see it again for the rest of this hike. But perhaps I’ll find the river again the next time I hike the trail?
Something I noticed as I walked the path was that several trees have fallen down. But none of them obstructed the trail. In fact the fauna seems to be left alone so long as it doesn’t obstruct the walkway, allowing nature to sort of do its own thing. Its wonderful. And it allows for each little part of the walk to be magical in its own way.
Mile Marker 13.75
Yep another mile marker was only another .25 miles down. The scenery here was similar to the above. And so it looks like I took less photos for this section. I do like the different shrubs that dot this part of Des Plaines River Trail 6. It helps break up the different formations instead of making me go mad by writing about the same things again and again. Maybe that is why I’m enjoying this hike so much.
Mile Marker 14
Logically Mile Marker 14 came next on Des Plaines River Trail 6. And the power lines returned. Well what really happened is that the trail kept zig-zagging following the river though farther away than before. Remember I couldn’t see it at this point in the hike. But this back and forth motion put me under the power lines several times.
But I also got to go back into tree cover. Which was a good thing as this hike took place around noon. The summer here isn’t as hot as the one in Florida, but I was still in a marsh and my sweat was attracting pests. In fact, I’ll be using bug spray before I come out here again. The gnats and mosquitoes were excited to see me. I did not feel the same.
Mile Marker 15
Despite the pattern of mile markers up until this point, I went right from 14 to Mile Marker 15 on Des Plaines River Trail 6. There were not smaller segments to break up the photos so the above is from a much larger area. And a few other things caught my interest as I went past here. Notably the start of another trail that I intend to check out at some point.
As I drew near the end of my day hike, I approached a remarkable park. The next section shows that a little better, but just know that I’ll be featuring this place in several upcoming posts. Anyway, back to this section. Something else I need to compliment the trail on, is the signage. Many trails I hiked in Florida lacked important clues on where I was, which trail I was hiking, and where I could go next. None of those issues exist here. Some of the signs above show what I mean.. There has never been a point where I feel lost on this trail.
One other tidbit you might notice is that there is another trail that followed this one before actually merging with it. And funny enough, the gravel and paved trails did not engulf one another, but merged into a strange walkway. I’ll be exploring that other trial soon. In the opposite direction from where I walked today so that I can get another perspective on old sights while going somewhere new.
Mile Marker 15.25
The very last part of my hike down Des Plaines River Trail 6 ended at Mile Marker 15.25. And all around this section is the park that I’ll start exploring next time. Its called Independence Grove. And there is so much to do here that one blog post will not suffice. It will take at least two if not more for me to show everything this sprawling complex has to offer. I’m excited to take a deep look into this place. I barely came here as a kid and I’ll be remedying that mistake soon.
Anyway, not much else to talk about that won’t be relevant in a future blog post. So for now, I think I’ll save my thoughts on Independence Grove for when I properly focus on it. But those of you here for my Des Plaines River Trail adventure should worry not. Soon enough I’ll be back on that hike as well.
Pokémon Go
Anyway, I have talked plenty about Des Plaines River Trail 6 in the real world. But how does it measure up in Pokémon Go? Well compared to Independence Grove, or at least the small taste of it I got during this hike, not so well. And compared to other segments of the same trail? Also not so well. There were non stop spawns, although few in number each time they popped up, but the real issue was that most of this segment lacked Pokestops and Gyms. They only appeared in the sections near the park. Once I was away, they too vanished.
I walked quite far, and there was an event ongoing that cut egg hatching distance in half. As a consequence, I hatched a lot of eggs. Too bad none of them were anything special. Oh well, the stardust is useful at least. And some of them have candy that I can make use of. Plenty of duds when it comes to eggs. But that makes the good hatches all the more special.
Here I am with a picture taken by the flooded water near the underpass. I once more was looking towards the sun so look unhappy. You must ignore this as I just take terrible pictures. Instead, let the pictures I took be a better guide. And the writing I did afterwards showcase how I was actually feeling.
I’m looking forward to exploring Independence Grove. There is a lot to see and do there and plenty of Pokémon Go to play.