Bikepacking the Old Plank Road, the I&M and Hennepin Canals
This is a post that is long overdue documenting my first bikepacking journey starting on March 28, 2021. I wanted to attempt to reach the Quad Cities and return over a 3 day journey, starting from home in Chicago.
Packed my bike the night before with all the goodies. Will list out all my gear in another post.
Woke up early to take the Metra Electric from train out to Matteson from Millenium Station. For those of us adventurous cyclists who live in downtown Chicago, the Metra (and Amtrak) trains are a blessing as they whisk us away to less urbanized areas away from car traffic. I would recommend this mode of transit...it's the way to really fly :)
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| (The old rig on the Metra Electric) |
(Mattheson Metra Station, bye bye train!)
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| (Old Plank Road Trail and Grainery in Frankfurt, IL) |
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| (Western Terminus of the Old Plank Road Trail in Joliet, IL) |
After getting off the OPRT, my route took me through Joliet, which wasn't very busy. As my usual convention, stopped into the Joliet McDonalds curbside pickup to get some breakfast. This was super convenient on my rides in 2020 during the darker days of the pandemic, as I could order and pay directly from my phone. Saves me from having to leave my bike as well.
Thereafter, I joined the famous Illinois and Michigan (I&M) canal trail starting a bit to the southwest of the city, which there is immediately a crushed limestone trail. After leaving the outskirts of Joliet, the first picturesque lock and lockhouse at Channahon comes into full view.
(Channahon State Park)
Then down through McKinley Woods Forest Preserve, which I thought would be a good place to try camping; but on an earlier reconnaissance mission, I saw that the campground was closed. Maybe reopened now in 2022?
(Ducks on the Des Plaines River in McKinley Woods Forest Preserve)
The views along this portion of the trail following the Des Plaines River were wonderful, and then....the signs for the Dresden nuclear power plant (still operational) pop up on the opposite bank of the river. A bit unnerving, but at least there are red barns on the this side of the river across from the canal that sooth the soul a bit. Apparently these used to house the mules that pulled the barges along these very same towpaths that we pedal down today.
(Mule barns at Dresden)
Further down, the Aux Sable lock and lockhouse are also very well preserved.
(Aux Sable)
Rolling into Morris, I knew from my previous rides down the I&M that the aqueduct across Nettle Creek in Gebhard Woods State Park was out (and had been for years). Looks like they will finally start building a new one this year (2022). Given I am my adventurous self, I tried to find a shortcut through the woods. Unfortunately, I got to the creek and saw there was no easy way to ford it. And in all of the downed branches, one got stuck in my back wheel and bent a spoke! Thank goodness the wheel stayed fairly true and I was able to straighten out the spoke. Onwards onto regular town streets across both forks of Nettle Creek, back into Gebhard Woods and back onto the towpath! If I wasn't in such a rush, downtown Morris seems like it would be a great place to grab a bite to eat.
(A taste of rolling along the I&M canal towpath)
About 5 miles past Morris, a gorgeous arched wooden bridge comes into view, carrying Old Stage Road over the canal. Looks old, but upon further research it was built in 1995 to replace an old truss bridge. I'll be passing over this bridge a bit later in the year on the Great Lakes Ultracycling / Randonneurs (GLUC/GLR) Nature's Metropolis 140 ride.
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| ("5 mile bridge" between Morris and Seneca) |
Stopped off in Seneca for a short rest under a shelter next to the trail with a view of a large multistoried red barn. Apparently, the last grain elevator standing along the I&M. Right next to the shelter is a Casey's General Store, which we used for refuel stop on the GLUC/GLR ride and also the Out Our Front Door Starved Rock ride which I did later in the summer.
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| (Grain elevator in Seneca) |
There was a small section of looser gravel after Seneca, and close to Marseilles there was a really bad section of mucky mud (after rain) which was a slog. The clip-on fenders and rim brakes did not help with the caking of the mud on my tires, and this section slowed me down quite a bit. Had to stop and clear the tires frequently. This trip was one of the reasons why I decided definitely to get disc brakes on my next bike. There is a road in this area between Seneca and Marseilles that can be utilized if the trail is muddy (which I certainly did on some other rides).
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| (Small plank bridge near Marseilles) |
Rolled into Ottawa, where Lincoln practiced law for a bit as a magistrate, and site of one of the Lincoln/Douglas debates. Surprise, surprise, lunch in the Ottawa McDonalds parking lot!
The next section was through the Buffalo Rock State Park, with 3 on-river primitive campsites, and sounds of gunshots from the nearby Buffalo Range & Gun Co. Then through Utica, where just beyond the turnoff for Starved Rock is a small bike repair station. The last stretch of the towpath brings us into Lasalle, where the I&M canal empties into the Illinois River.
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| (Split Rock, near Lasalle) |
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| (End of line! Er, canal, I mean) |
Routed around town along the river into Peru, and then up this steep gradient to the top of the river bluff.
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| (Bye bye, I&M! In Peru) |
Followed US-6 into Spring Valley, on which there were some pretty darn big hills. Wasn't used to load on the bike, so this is was a definite slog. It didn't help that this was a fairly busy highway, so that was a bit frightening as well, especially because I didn't have my Garmin Varia yet (one of the best bicycle accessories I've ever bought).
After the climb into Spring Valley, I followed IL-29 through DePue into Bureau Junction. The road after DePue was wide open, great pavement, without much traffic, and the sun was nearing the horizon. There was a mild headwind, but it felt good...I was getting pretty tired though. In hindsight, I probably could have taken the "bicycle-friendly" route offered up by Google maps in this area to avoid traffic.
After descending into Bureau Junction, I turned off onto the Hennepin Canal towpath. To my surprise, the Hennepin Canal itself was in much better shape/maintenance as compared to the I&M. The towpath was really wide, but there were quite a few potholes I had to dodge. It was dusk, and I was nervous to find a place to camp.
The Lock 6 campground was the first I came upon, but I wanted to get as far as I could, so I trudged on. The sun had set, so the last part of my ride was lit by my headlamp and my headlight. I decided to take the next campsite I came upon, which was at Lock 11. I arrived in darkness.
I quickly got off the bike and started to set up camp. Apparently, rangers can come by to collect camping fees ($8). I was prepared, but I never saw one. The tent went up quickly, as pitching in the dark is my usual practice...I'm never at camp early enough. Thank goodness my Big Agnes Fly Creek UL2 is easy to pitch! Given that I had been riding all day, and was now stationary, I was getting quite cold. And hungry at that. I wrapped myself in my Enlightened Equipment Revelation quilt, I set up my camp stove on the picnic table and proceeded to light it.
OH NO!!! MY QUILT IS ON FIRE! Thank goodness I was able to put it out quickly and there was a small silver dollar sized hole. I continued on with my cooking, ate quickly, and settled into the tent for the night.
The pump sack for my Thermarest NeoAir Xlite is functional, but man...so slow. I yearned for electric minipump at that time, and still do to this day. Spotty cell signal here, glad I have my Garmin InReach Mini and feel pretty safe. I was super tired, and pretty damn cold as well. I left my legwarmers on all night. Before going to sleep, I decided to at that point to call it, and try to get home in the morning. I was able to get some cell service and saw that there was an Amtrak station in Princeton, IL about 5 miles away, hurray! There was a train mid morning back to Chicago.
I think it probably dropped down into the mid-upper 30's overnight, as there was significant frost on the ground when I awoke. My legs were super tired. Still super cold. Quickly packed up the gear on the bike, and routed to the Princeton station. I was soooo happy to to see that train. I was packed, but I could still find a seat, and there was a place for the bike.
On the train home, I noticed that my mid thighs were itching pretty badly. Hmmm, my legwarmers were still on. I peeled them back to see that I had a line of blisters where the silicone grips had been on my legs for > 24hrs. Note to self, don't leave legwarmers on that long. I still have a very faint line of discoloration on my thighs to remind me of this trip.
Of course, that nice warm shower after returning home is one of the best feelings ever. I was disappointed that I didn't see the Mississippi on that trip, but felt proud that it was a good first attempt.
See the Google Map below for the route. It's the one in Yellow. As you can see, I was able to complete the journey this year. I'll post that adventure soon!
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