Chicagoland Trailblazers Hiking Group

Next 4 weekend hikes

11/02 10:00 hosted by Cathy L.
Hike at Grassy Lake Forest Preserve 3 trail options (2.5 - 3.8 mile trails)
https://www.meetup.com/chicagoland-trailblazers-hiking-group/events/304249818

11/03/24 10:00
Fall Colors Hike at Ryerson Conservation area in Lake County, 5.5 miles or 3
https://www.meetup.com/chicagoland-trailblazers-hiking-group/events/303710920

11/10/24 10:00
Des Plaines River hike 4.5 - 8 miles, outdoor fire at (Polish) Log Cabin Bar
https://www.meetup.com/chicagoland-trailblazers-hiking-group/events/303710977

11/17/24 10:00
Hike Silver Springs State Park 8 miles option for 3, 5, or 6 miles
https://www.meetup.com/chicagoland-trailblazers-hiking-group/events/303515769

2025 Camping 09/04/25 thru 09/07/25
Lets hike Governor Dodge State Park, optional camping on group site H
https://www.meetup.com/chicagoland-trailblazers-hiking-group/events/303829835

About our Group
The Trailblazer group has been hiking since 2010, going into the 14th year. We have had over 1,900 events since the group formed in 2008 and I estimate that at least 1,700 were hikes. Safety of all is most important and hikes are planned with that in mind. The cost is free and we hike all year long.

I'm so grateful for the leaders who came before me and set up this hiking group! Lynn led the group for over 6 years and shared her expertise of ecology and nature we saw on the trail. I try to share fun stuff about areas we hike and keep the group aligned with Lynn's original vision for it.

This is a great group for all adults married or single who want to get outdoors walking and hiking with others. Deep friendships have formed in this group.

We are a diverse group of people who love nature, this is our common bond.
Some members hike regularly and others occasionally. There are new first time members on every hike. Since we hike in so many different areas the people who choose to hike that day will be a different group than the week before. You will never be stranger in an established clique of hikers.

Depending on the pace of the individual hikers, the group can spread out so that everyone can hike/walk at a comfortable pace. The pace will range from 2.8 mph to 3.0 mph on level terrain. On hilly/rough terrain we’ll slow down to accommodate all.

Herrick Lake daily walks, excessive emails/notifications
Meetup has no way to turn off daily Herrick Lake walk reminders. Please just turn off your notifications as mentioned below.
To turn off notifications from meetup on your mobile (iPhone example):
While you are in the meetup group, look for three dots on the top right hand side
Select "Change Push Notifications" and turn off whatever you don't want
Select "Change Email Updates" and turn off whatever you don't want

To change email updates from your laptop:
On the far upper righthand side click on your profile picture
Click on settings
On the left-hand side column you will see a menu item that says "Email Updates".
Click on it to update email preferences
Scroll down to the individual meetup groups that you are a member of.
Select a specific meetup group (In this case Trailblazers) and click Edit button
These are Account Settings and they apply to any meetup group you join, not just this group.

Policies:
It may sound like a lot of "rules" but I'm really just trying to make hikes go smoothly.
We had chaos in the past (Mid 2020, all of 2021 up thru Feb 2022) with the group getting separated into as many as 3 different groups. Different people calling or texting others to figure out where people were. And sometimes never found the others. I've had a lady who hiked with us only once before demand that the group follow her and her app because she felt she knew better than us flat landers being from CA. It only takes 3 or 4 people (out of thousands who have hiked with us) to create chaos. But sometimes a single person is responsible for most of it.

• Lets prevent the chaos of the past when people hiked far ahead of me. It happened once again recently in Sept 2024.
• Let people enjoy things I want to point out on the trail without being led off in an entirely different direction by someone.
• Lets not have multiple versions of the same hike occurring spontaneously the day of a formal scheduled hike.
• Lets not have 'private' unpublished hikes with a big group of members of this group.
• The trail must be a safe place for women and everybody to hike. I have a “rule” about removing people from the group if sexual harassment is reported. I know the difference between good-natured flirting and harassment because it happened to me. I felt unsafe in other meetup groups in 2016-2017 because he followed me out to my car and tried to get physical. I was even afraid to go on a hike because of this guy.

I genuinely care about everyone’s safety and want a positive, fun, safe experience for all.

I prefer to plan as best I can in advance instead of winging it. For sure Nature can throw surprises at us and we'll deal with it if it happens (trail inaccessible, sudden storm).

Follow the organizer / Nobody left behind
If you want to go off ahead and explore on your own wherever you want at whatever hiking pace you want then please communicate that so we know someone didn't get lost. As an organizer I do not want the rest of the faster hikers following you. Stop and wait at a trail split if that happens. People may encounter conditions not described in the meetup writeup. They may end up on a much longer or more difficult hike.

Let the Organizer lead the hike
If you want to go off ahead and explore on your own please do. Do not insist that you know which way to go and demand that myself and the group follow your app or your own plan. Several former members would not let me lead the hike.

No Show
We start hiking on time with whoever's there and wait 10 minutes.

Attendance
There are no attendance requirements however camping trips may be limited to people who hiked with us a few times that year.

Stop and smell the roses
Some of us enjoy observing nature as it happens and stop to take pictures. In the interest of all, we cannot stop too many times. Those who do wish to take photos should try to catch up with the group.

Hike Frequency / Difficulty:
We hike from 2 to 12 miles. Whenever possible we schedule hikes with multiple distance options.

Photos:
When you participate in an event, a picture of you may appear on this meetup website and maybe a private Facebook hiking group. Please let the group know in advance if you do not wish to be in a photo.

Music:
Please wear headphones if you wish to enjoy music while you hike.

Sharing phone numbers of members:
It is never ok to share phone numbers of people in the group with others without their permission. Do not share any other personally identifiable information about others such as last name or address.

Unnecessary contact by the Organizer:
If you choose to share your phone number with me I will respect your privacy and not contact you unless a situation occurs that prevents me from leading a hike.
I will never text you to remind or convince you to come to a beautiful hike.

Cause for removal from this group:
Any expressions of hatred or demeaning comments based on political party, race, ethnicity, LGBTQ, religion, handicap (mental or physical), age, or gender will cause a person to be removed from this group. This includes comments I happen to see in other meetup groups. Please let me know if anyone offends you in this group due to any of the above. We are a hiking community and only twice out of hundreds of hikes experienced this.

Anyone using this group to hook up with others by sending unsolicited messages or sexual harassment of our hikers will be banned. Please message me if you receive meetup messages from people you do not know in this group. Let me know if anyone acts inappropriately toward you or in a way that makes you uncomfortable.

Singles or Married?
This is not a singles group but sometimes relationships form and people start dating. At least eight couples met through this group from 2020 thru current.

Please be a nice person and not offensive to others
Its not intentional. I think a few people simply don't know that what they say (and how they say it) is interpreted by others. Please let me know if something is said to you and I will have a conversation with the person.

• Don't gossip about other people's personal business (their health, kids, finance ... )
• Don't talk about religion or politics.
• Don't get drunk on camping trips and become offensive to others. Those who did in 2023, I already talked to you. If it happens again your not permitted to go on future trips.
• Please be culturally sensitive to others and take care how you ask questions about our member's ethnicity.
• We have members from all different ethnicities, religions and backgrounds. I expect our members to respect other people's culture and what they choose to wear.

Is it a social event or can I have solitude?
Your choice. If you want to enjoy nature but not chat, just drop back a bit and take it in. A smile to others is enough, let them know your intent. You can hike with us for any reason, forest bathe, healing, enjoy nature, exercise, see a new preserve, and the list goes on. For those who wish to chat, feel free to drop back and forth along the trail and chat with others as space permits. This is a great way for the group to connect to one another and everyone to have fun and socialize on the trail as they choose!

Dogs: 
Dogs are welcome on nearly all hikes. I will rarely schedule a hike unless dogs are allowed. In the rare event that I do, it will be clearly posted that dogs are not permitted.

Guests:
We welcome our members to bring guests with them on most hikes and activities except for when specific conditions limit the size of the group.

Children under 12: 
It depends on the hike and if your children are used to hiking. Young children are more than welcome if the trail is flat. However, some of our hikes are in rough areas and can include steep ravines, dams and dangerous areas. Please take this into account and your children's ability to listen to directions and not go off trail in hazardous areas. Some trails are not suitable for young children and as their parent you must decide what's appropriate. Mine tried running down ravines at a young age so lessons learned.

Summer: 
Always bring water to hydrate! The amount of water should be equivalent to the length of the hike. 32 ounces for a 4 mile hike is a bare minimum recommendation when temperatures are in the mid 80s or above.

Winter:
In Winter, there is always ice on some part of any trail. You will most certainly encounter ice and it is your responsibility to get a great pair of cleats that can help with traction. https://www.amazon.com/Yaktrax-Walk-Traction-Cleats-Walking/dp/B01LJ6FX3C You may need trekking poles because it helps with balance on uneven ground surfaces and hills.

Be prepared for changes in weather conditions especially on longer hikes. There are always risks involved in hiking and more so during Winter. We may reduce the length of a hike if weather conditions dictate.

Informal hikes with a few friends versus creation of your own private hiking group:
Its unlikely that this will happen again but it did happen once. A former event organizer was collecting dozens of people's phone numbers. She was using this group that I pay $198 a year to host her own private hikes outside of meetup. I asked her to stop and limit her hikes to a small group of friends for informal hikes and she refused.

If you have a desire to create your own hiking group then please do. And then pay the $198 yearly meetup fee for it. And do all your own work to find hikes.

Its never ok to collect dozens of people's phone numbers from an existing hiking group then organize your own hikes outside of meetup.

Its not right to piggy back off all the work I've done to circumvent this group.

This is also exclusionary to members of this group who may wonder why they weren't invited to a hike. Its how cliques form.

History of the group 
This group was founded in November 2008. It started out as Near West Suburbs Movie group. I figured this out by looking at old photos and saw a dark haired lady wearing a meetup shirt that said "Near West Suburbs Movie meetup group". They went to movies at first and then expanded to other social activities such as bowling and dining out. They held their first meetup on 11/30/2008 and saw the move "Four Christmases". I do not know the original organizers name, but a few of their members tagged in photos were Jennifer, Marine, Mary, Cat, BJ, and Chris. Enid. Many of their events were held in the Melrose Park area but they did venture out to Great America for Fright Fest night as well as other venues.
On 10/31/2010 I saw in our history that Enid, a member of Near West Suburbs Movie Group, led the very first walk in Morton Arboretum. I then found a picture of Enid wearing a shirt that said "Suburban Walking, Hiking, and Social Group". The transition of leadership to my understanding occurred on 10/31/2010. Enid and probably others led the group on mostly hiking, biking and some social events.
Enid is the person who first transformed this meetup group into what it is today. After Enid took ownership the group had a heavy emphasis on hiking and the outdoors though they did do other activities. I reviewed some of her meetup descriptions and found them to be of very high quality. Unfortunately like countless others, she is no longer a member and history is lost.
05/25/2013 (maybe just a little before), Lynn took over from Enid. I have no information that tells me that a different person was running the group. I do believe that a few others were organizing hikes and Enid was still financially responsible for the meetup group when Lynn took over.
Lynn ran this group longer than anyone else. I took over in June 2019 when Lynn announced that she would be closing down the group. I will never have her level of expertise about the natural habitats and ecology of areas. Some of our members are very knowledgeable about native habitats, plant and tree identification and all things ecological. Tom Vilardo is our expert in this area and is one of the earliest remaining members of the group. He led a hike in April, 2012! We do have a handful of members who joined before Tom. I hope to see the pioneers of this group out on the trail sometime!

Release and Waiver of Liability Terms for everyone who participates in an event:
Everyone, whether they are or are not a member of Cook, DuPage, and Collar County Trailblazers (hiking) meetup group agree to all of the following when they make a decision to participate in an event held by Cook, DuPage, and Collar County Trailblazers (hiking) meetup group.

In the language below, the term “this group", case insensitive, refers to Cook, DuPage, and Collar County Trailblazers (hiking) meetup group and all of its organizers regardless of meetup-defined specific roles. "organizers" refers to any person who chooses to plan and lead a hike in this group as a formal posted meetup event regardless of their specific meetup defined role.

1. I understand that hiking and walking is an inherently risky activity and unforeseen situations can happen including but not limited to acts of nature, falling limbs, weather events, wildlife/insect encounters, tripping hazards, and weather-related stresses on the physical body.

I release and forever discharge and hold harmless organizers from any and all liability, claims, and demands of whatever kind or nature, either in law or in equity, which arise or may hereafter arise from my participation in an event.

I understand and acknowledge that this discharges organizers of this group from any liability or claim that I, the participant, may have against organizers of this group with respect to bodily injury, personal injury, illness, death, or property damage that may result from my participation in an event.
I also understand that this group does not assume any responsibility for or obligation to provide financial assistance or other assistance, including but not limited to medical, health, or disability insurance, in the event of injury, illness, death, or property damage.

2. Medical Treatment. I hereby release and forever discharge this group from any claim whatsoever which arises or may hereafter arise on account of any first-aid treatment or other medical services rendered in connection with an emergency during my time with this group.

3. Assumption of the Risk. I understand that my time with this group may include activities that may be hazardous to me and that there are certain risks of injury in any position, particularly in outdoor programs or activities. I will make reasonable efforts to ensure my own safety and the safety of others. Any damage or injury to third parties due to my own acts is my responsibility and liability insurance for such damages or injuries is my own responsibility. I hereby expressly and specifically assume the risk of injury or harm in these activities and release this group from all liability for injury, illness, death, or property damage resulting from the activities of my time with this group.

4. Other. I expressly agree that this is intended to be as broad and inclusive as permitted by the laws of the State of Illinois in the United States of America and that it shall be governed by and interpreted IN accordance with the laws of the State of Illinois. I agree that in the event that any clause or provision shall be held to be invalid by any court of competent jurisdiction, the invalidity of such clause or provision shall not otherwise affect the remaining provisions of this Release which shall continue to be enforceable.