PJ's Run: Five States! Five Trails! Four Days!

Along the Erie-Lackawanna Trail

I saw this plaque along the first trail of my quest - and it made me laugh...exactly what each of my Big running adventures has done for me. Made me laugh - enjoy life - enjoy the world I find myself in. And so this new quest has begun!

First, a prelude to the quest: a visit to Lake Michigan on the way to the trailhead and just minutes from our campsite. It was a bit of a breezy, foggy, chilly day. Great for running! Wild for visiting the southern shore of the Great Lake whose northeast shore I called home while growing up!

State #1, Indiana and the Erie-Lackawanna Trail (Hammond to Crown Point, Indiana)
Chosen for location (not too far from where we dropped Paul off to visit a college buddy, and heading in the direction of our second trail), distance (14 miles), and because everything I had read about it seemed to indicate that it is a well-loved trail by those who maintain it and ride/run/walk it. All true! Besides that, I just love saying "ErieLackawanna."

The start at the Hammond Indiana Welcome Center

One of TWO! doggy drinking fountains along the trail

A trail-side Little Free Library

Indeed, the Erie-Lackawanna Trail

The Erie-Lackawanna neighborhood elephant

Indiana & the Erie-Lackawanna: Done!

State #2, Illinois and the Rock Island Trail (Alta to Princeville, Illinois)
Chosen because it is my long-time running buddy Connie's favorite trail. She discovered it when her son moved to Peoria and has been singing its praises ever since. Of course I was going to run Rock Island as my Illinois trail! Traversing farmland and prairie, it is as peaceful as peaceful can be.

Running buddy's son, Stephen, and family joined me for the early miles

Interesting sights near Dunlap village mid-way

Prairie farm beauty all along the way

Illinois & the Rock Island Trail: Done!

State #3, Wisconsin and the Pecatonica Trail (Calamine to Belmont, Wisconsin)
Chosen because it is pretty much the closest trail to the Illinois border just north of where we picked Paul up - and it is described as running along the twists and turns of the Pecatonica River. Sounded like fun! With the exception of 10 polite ATVs (5 individual and 5 in a group), it was just me and the birds out there. And in the absence of the ATVs, I thought my feet were making too much noise...certainly enough noise to startle many a large bird - one that seemed to be a mutant, white-faced giant goose, and several others that looked and sounded like turkeys...for what would a run in Wisconsin be without wild turkeys!
Unlike the prior two trails where Taz could accompany me for the early miles of the run, there was no place for a mid-run rendezvous to drop him off with Kendall, so I was doing this one solo. It also turned out there was no cell service along the way, so I was really solo. This made for a very quiet morning! Bonus features: very soft surface - thus very easy on the legs. And! 22 bridge crossings, presumably over the twisty turny Pecatonica (each of the bridges is numbered - so easy to keep track).

Ready to start the Pecatonica trail, Wisconsin!

First snake siting of the quest. A teeny thing.

The Pecatonica.

There is a critter climbing this tree.
I was hoping badger; son Devon researched & concluded groundhog. Other ideas?

Wisconsin & the Pecatonica Trail: Done!

And what is a trip to Wisconsin without a snapshot of a cow statue?!

State #4, Iowa and the Pioneer trail (Reinbeck to Grundy Center, Iowa)
Another trail chosen for location (near highway 20, which we prefer over I80 and west of Dubuque where we would be entering Iowa). Also for its description: through farmland and wildlife preserves. It sounded like a good combo to me! There are two points along the way where the trail stops and one has to travel along the highway. Given my fatigued legs, and that this would be my second run of the day (Wisconsin in the morning, Iowa in the afternoon), I decided that I would forego the 10-mile trail with highway segments and just run the 6 miles between the highway sections. Good choice - and one that offered a startling contrast of scenery. The first two-thirds or so of the distance paralleled the highway with farmland as far as one could see, then one road crossing later and I was in the midst of the wildlife preserve beneath a canopy of trees with birds, deer, and a raucous chorus of frogs to accompany me. Delightful!

Pioneer Trail! Iowa!

Pioneer Trail Farmland

Pioneer Trail Woodland

Iowa & the Pioneer Trail: Done!

State #5, Nebraska and the Dark Island trail (Central City to Marquette, Nebraska)
Dark Island got my vote primarily because of The Bridge. Quoting the Rails-to-Trails description of the trail: "The centerpiece of the trail is undoubtedly its 1,072 ft. long bridge, which was originally built in the 1880s by the Republican Valley Railroad. The bridge, which spans the Platte River south of Central City, is now one of the longest railroad trestles converted to a hiking/biking trail in the state of Nebraska." I simply had to check this out. It turns out, when running the trail from Central City to Marquette, the bridge comes very early in the run and the remainder of the trail is barely marked - but easy enough to discern because it is the quintessential rail-to-trail: slightly raised bed covered with cinder, chopped up rock, some grass, some more finely crushed rock and dirt. A rather challenging run in the more rocky bits and it is fairly remote, right through the midst of farmland with nary a human to be seen or heard. Again, a trail of contrasts given the exhilarating 1,072-foot run over the Platte to start things off!