Friends, it’s time for our annual talk.
The weather has turned cold — sharply, bitterly, bitingly so.
But are the hiking trails closed? Have the woodpeckers retreated to their man caves, pecking at beer nuts? Have the deer put their hair up in curlers, slopped on face cream and taken to their beds for the winter?
No, fresh-air friends; the outdoors is still there. Sometimes even frosted with snowy icing.
And we must stay out there too.
Every year at this time I preach the outdoor winter gospel. I urge myself, and anyone who will listen, to take advantage of the magic elixir that is the winter outdoors.
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It’s the cure for the Chicago winter blues; the antidote to cabin fever; the secret to not just enduring winter, but loving it.
A few years ago I realized that it can even turn you into an elite extreme outdoor athlete, at least in your mind. Those mountaineers and adventure junkies who seek out long treks over ice through freezing winds? They can eat their hearts out; we do that on an average walk across the Loop in January.
Out I go, I tell myself.
But alas — I don’t always listen to myself.
Sometimes I need a reminder of the exhilaration of a winter walk in the woods. So I prodded my memory last week at the Thorn Creek Woods Nature Preserve in Park Forest, which came highly recommended as a source of beauty and solitude.
First I suited up. Fleece leggings under snow pants, a merino wool base layer under a wool turtleneck topped by my major league down parka, a faux fur-lined cap with the snap-down earflaps. I looked awful.
But I felt wonderful, especially with the ultimate outdoor winter accessories: chemical hand and foot warmers. My hands and feet toasty, I headed out into the woods.
The site — about 900 acres, most of which is an Illinois Nature Preserve — features woodlands, flood plain forests, ravines and pine plantations. It is jointly owned by the communities of University Park and Park Forest; the Forest Preserve District of Will County; and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
There are 3.5 miles of trails across the creek, past vernal ponds and into wetlands. They are admirably marked at regular intervals with full maps and “you are here” arrows — and, currently, signs warning that one of the bridges over Thorn Creek is closed due to flood damage. Instead of the full loop, I would have to hike out and back. But all the trails are open, and even without that bridge you can cover almost the entire loop.
The trail twisted into the woods, and within moments the hum of street traffic had melted into silence. Up the side of a ravine it went, into woods that were suddenly flecked with fast-moving chunks of white.
For a moment I thought there was a road in the distance and I was seeing cars. But it was a herd of deer.
On I went, with a few helpful words on avoiding the washed-out bridge from a woman who was also walking the trail — the only other person I saw out there.
Much of the preserve is flood plain; long sections of the trail were boardwalk. At the end of the longest boardwalk stretch, I turned onto the wetland trail and found myself walking a straight trail through tall pines whose branches touched one another far above my head.
This is the “pine tunnel,” as volunteers with Friends of Thorn Creek Woods call it. The pines had been planted when much of this area was used as wood lots.
The wetland trail, which takes you to the farthest point from the Nature Center, ends in a loop around a small pond. I headed back, passing two red-headed woodpeckers in the trees.
I finished with a stop at the Nature Center, a charmingly low-key spot in a white clapboard former church with nature exhibits, a local history reference library, an upstairs children’s activity area — and coffee and tea.
Most fetchingly, the center has an indoor bird-viewing window with one-way glass overlooking multiple bird feeders, a speaker system to bring in sound and two comfortable chairs.
“You get your coffee or tea, you sit here and watch the birds,” said Judy Mendelson, secretary of Friends of Thorn Creek Woods.
There was a photo of a pileated woodpecker — think Woody Woodpecker — on the wall, with the handwritten words “Sighted in our woods!”
It’s a big bird. “When it pecks, it’s not ‘peck, peck, peck,’ it’s ‘boom, boom, boom!”’ Mendelson said.
That would lift me out of any winter doldrums. But after this winter hiking preview, I may not descend into any.
IF YOU GO
The Thorn Creek Nature Center is at 247 Monee Road, Park Forest 708-747-6320. There are no indoor bathroom facilities; a portable bathroom is outdoors, though the door doesn’t lock.
The center is open Friday through Sunday, noon to 4 p.m. The trails through the surrounding woods, which start at the center, are open from dawn to dusk.
More information is at bit.ly/IwTJYb
WINTER OUTDOORS TIPS
Dress warmly, in layers. Use chemical hand warmers and foot warmers (the full-sole kind).
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Take along a thermos of hot tea. Choose hiking spots with places to warm up, like a nature center. Remember that exposed paths, like the lakefront, will be especially cold in high winds.
Use trekking poles. The increased aerobic workout will keep you warm — and in the snow, will feel like skiing.
NIGHTTIME WINTER EVENTS
There is something particularly magical about winter in the woods at night. Some suggestions:
Friday, 7-9 p.m, Candle Lantern Walk, Sand Ridge Nature Center, South Holland. A trail walk by candlelight — lanterns provided for adults — looking at the night sky and listening for owls. This event, which requires reservations by Wednesday, is so popular that the nature center turns people away every year. But try making a reservation at 708-868-0606.
Friday, 7-9 p.m. Evening Owl Walk, Crabtree Nature Center, Barrington Hills. For reservations, call 847-381-6592.
Dec. 30, 7:30-9 p.m., Night Hike, Herrick Lake, Wheaton. No reservations required; information at 630-206-9581.