IL > Shawnee National Forest for the eclipse

**microlambert** · 07-23-2017, 09:26

Hi there,

So, I had this plan (which yet may or may not come off) to fly out to Chicago, then get down to Southern Illinois to view the eclipse on 21 August. Shawnee National Forest looks like it's slap bang in the path of the eclipse. Does anyone know about hammock camping out there? I saw there are some campgrounds, but I'd really like to camp wild in the forest if possible. Here in the UK wild camping is technically illegal, but widely tolerated as long as you don't cause a nuisance and clear up after yourself. What's the situation in US National Forests?

I'm also interested in the possibility of doing some multi-day hikes around the area, so if anyone can give me tips on a good starting point, I'd be very grateful. From the map it looks like the area actually has quite a lot of roads, so I'm not sure how easy it is to get away from traffic on trails, and feel like you're in the wilderness.

And finally: is there any risk from a) bears and b) hunters? I have zero experience of either of those things...

Thanks!

Will

**fugalster** · 07-23-2017, 09:45

In US national forests "dispursed" camping, or camping where there's no designated site, is permissible given that you:

Are more that 200 feet away from any water (river, lake, etc)
Are more than 1 mile away from any designated site (campground or otherwise)
And I think 100 feet off the trail

There's technically a form you supposed to print, fill out, post at your site, and leave there when you leave, but I've yet to see that happen anywhere.

I can't speak to Illinois area specifically, but in Michigan there's a lot of roads that show up on the maps that can hardly be called roads in real life.

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**TrailSlug** · 07-23-2017, 10:30

I would recommend flying to Atlanta (or any other city near the mountains) and heading north to the mountains to view and hike as August 21st is as dead in the middle of our summer as you can get and if you do not like to hike in temps that most likely will be pushing the 100° F mark then you need to find some elevation. This week alone we've had 5 days that have been near or over 100°F with real feel temps in the 115-122° range. That's hot.

**Big Sweets** · 07-23-2017, 13:06

Ive camped at Shawnee (Red Bud Campground) twice in the last 2 years now. Hammocks are allowed anywhere. Youre looking at around a 6 hour drive from Chicago each way too.

**microlambert** · 07-23-2017, 14:09

Thanks for the advice. It's a good shout about the weather, but unfortunately it looks like I have left it too late for flights to Atlanta that I can afford. I'll just have to be prepared for heat, and take it easy.

Youre looking at around a 6 hour drive from Chicago each way too.

I was planning to get the train to Carbondale, IL, and hire a car there to get out to the forest. I got very excited when I found out the train was actually The City Of New Orleans (if anyone knows that song...)

**TrailSlug** · 07-23-2017, 14:17

Check out flights to Charlotte,NC or Nashville,TN as well as these both are a lot closer than Chicago.

**microlambert** · 07-23-2017, 14:39

Thanks, will do!

**microlambert** · 07-24-2017, 04:14

Right, looks like Chicago > Shawnee is my only option (I reserved the price a week ago, and everything else is now too expensive).

So any more tips about trekking/hanging in Shawnee gratefully received!

**cbwoods** · 07-24-2017, 21:17

If you are looking for more remote places to camp, I would check out the wilderness areas around here. Plenty of established trails and definitely your best bet for seclusion. My favorite area is the Bald Knob Wilderness, which butts up against Clear Springs Wilderness to make about 10,000 acres of forest, separated by a small creek. Hiked in there quite a bit and only seen a few people. Camped a couple times and there is definitely plenty of places to hang. Most of the wilderness hiking trails are also used for horseback riding, so you'll want to watch out for the manure.

Also, most trails are pretty over grown this time of year, so be prepared for chiggers and ticks!

I haven't done any multi-day hikes here but I know of a couple. Other than the 160 mile long River to River Trail, there is a 20 something mile loop in the Garden of the Gods, and several trails around Cedar Lake that could be connected into a 15-20 mile hike one way.

As far as hunting goes, by the time the eclipse is here, squirrel will be the only game in season as far as I know.

No bears, but there are plenty of coyotes and bobcats, and reportedly the occasional mountain lion. The biggest issue will be raccoons/opossums/armadillo sniffing around at night.

I hope that helps.

**microlambert** · 07-25-2017, 09:05

This is incredibly helpful, thanks very much! Looks like I should do some research into raccoon-proofing - a colleague was telling me how they ate through two layers of her tent to get at a bag of bagels in upstate New York...

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