Labor Day snuck up on us again. The calendar moves forward.
While we may bemoan continually losing summer days until the fall equinox later this month, it also gives us the chance to tackle the Lake County Forest Preserves’ annual Hike Lake County, which kicked off in mid-August. Low humidity, sunny afternoons and walks in the woods can turn a grumpy rut into a pleasant disposition. Or so I’ve been told.
Hike Lake County gives those of us who like to leisurely stroll through natural spaces the chance to explore up to a dozen designated walking trails throughout the Forest Preserves’ extensive trail network.
Not on the choice of hiking trails in Mill Creek Forest Preserve, at the intersection of Stearns School and Hutchins roads in the Grandwood Park area. One of the last purchases the county’s Forest Preserve Districts made with the last of a $185 million bond issue Lake County voters overwhelmingly approved in 2008.
Instead of trails, Mill Creek preserve has a nice stand of corn growing on acres and acres of property owned by county taxpayers. It is a choice Forest Preserve District commissioners, who double as Lake County Board members, make. They lease district property to the diminishing number of farmers until the preserves are developed.
About a thousand acres of district property — out of some 30,000 acres — is devoted to farming. Once, as most of us recall, Lake County was mainly an agricultural county, where a lot of hay and alfalfa was baled; tons of corn and soybeans harvested.
There were few, if any, forest preserves back then. That is until the district was formed in 1957 and commissioners began buying properties, some of which were ecologically and environmentally sound purchases; others to stop municipal development.
Since then, though, residents have a fine system of forest preserves present in every region of Lake County. Preserve access, habitat restoration and land acquisition need to continue.
That’s so future Hike Lake County offerings will be available for the yearly tour, through Nov. 30. Hikers can even bring their canine companions on dog-friendly trails.
Walkers keep track of their woodsy pilgrimages with a travel log, and if one completes seven hikes they can receive a zipper pull (dog tag for canines) or walking stick shield from the district. This year’s icon features a cicada.
Trail journeys offered this year at forest preserves include Half Day off Route 21 in Vernon Hills (1.1 miles); Lake Carina, nestled between Route 21 and the Tri-State Tollway in Gurnee (1 mile); Lyons Woods off Sheridan Road in Waukegan (2 miles); Sun Lake off Grass Lake Road, Lake Villa (1.4 miles); Raven Glen off Route 45 near Antioch (1.4 miles); and Sedge Meadow on Wadsworth Road, east of Route 41 (1.4 miles)
That’s just a sampling of the 12 trails. None are hardy treks, although longer trails are counted as two hikes. More Hike Lake County information is available at LCFPD.org.
Medical professionals tell us people that have run-of-the-mill aches and pains can usually be helped through movement. Especially those of us leading sedentary lifestyles. Motion is lotion.
Like the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz, our bodies “rust” if we don’t get out there and flex those joints and stretch sinew on a regular basis. Physical activity reduces the risk of a host of chronic diseases such as heart disease, dementia, Type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers, and improves mental health and is mood enhancing, physicians say.
One of the easiest and most accessible forms of exercise is walking. Twenty to thirty minutes of walking a day, and longer treks on weekends, can yield significant weight loss and healthy life choices. Walking is an underappreciated exercise, doctors are fond of pointing out.
Or maybe those are mine who preach the impact of walking on one’s overall health. The effects of aging begin to accrue in our 40s and 50s. That means you, Generation X and Millennials.
So put the remote down, get off the couch or out of the Lazy Boy, put on a pair of comfortable shoes — like “trainers” as the Brits call them — and take a hike on nearby pathways.
Charles Selle is a former News-Sun reporter, political editor and editor.
sellenews@gmail.com
X: @sellenews