I see that most guys here are from out west or out east, but are there any midwesterners on here? If so any good places to go? Not many mountains around here!

Tons of spots. I'm from Ohio - don't know if you consider that lower Midwest or not. What states did you have in mind?

Next weekend our group will be starting at Garden Of The Gods in southern Illinois and backpack along the River To River Trail. We don’t have our details down yet which direction we’re going.

There’s a couple of fun spots in central Illinois if you’re interested. I also like the MO Ozarks and all over IN. Southern WI has some good Ice Age trails.

Just let us know where which state you would like.

-Barry

Barry: ever been to Shades Park, near Crawfordsville? A bit small, but pretty and it has a backpack-only campground - great place for that spring shakedown hike, just to make sure everything's working OK.

Minnesota has the Superior Hiking Trail and the Boundary Waters Canoe area (with several trails). Michigan has the Porcupine Mountains. South Dakota has the Black Hills and the Badlands. North Dakota has the Roosevelt Grasslands. Cutting across the Midwest is the North Country Trail.

Does a Mid-East exist?

I'm in the stateline area of IL/Wi. Also have some property in NW Wi. I know about boundary waters and it's been on my bucket list for some time. I know of places to go camping, but seems like wilderness areas where you can actually get more "backcountry" are more rare.

It's a bit harder to get to, but you should really try to go to Isle Royale NP, in the middle of Lake Superior. You can catch a ferry from Grand Portage, Minnesota, or from Houghton or Copper Harbor, Michigan.

There are no motorized vehicles on the island (except one small tractor, at the resort.) The only "developed" areas are at Windigo (an outpost) and Rock Harbor (which has a rustic, no-frills lodge, restaurant, and camp store. There are two "family" type campgrounds, one at Rock Harbor and the other at Daisy Farm; they're both primitive, but tend to be where the base-camp-and-day-hike folks cluster. The rest of the island is very much untouched backcountry, and very beautiful. There are moose to be seen, and occasionally you'll hear a wolf or see a track - but wolf sightings are rare. Loons are the big soundtrack.

I've been there twice, so far, and can hardly wait to get back.

If you're willing to drive 6 hours or more, I can also recommend some spots in Kentucky, Indiana, southern Ohio, and the western tip of Virginia.

Thanks Glenn! Trying to remind myself not to be so busy with life and get out and enjoy it. I've planned out entire routes in the boundary waters and just never gotten around to it.

Heartily second the motion for Isle Royale. I worked a project there for a couple of weeks some years ago, and I would love to get back for some hiking. Isle Royale is a bit of the West that somehow wound up in the middle of Lake Superior.

If you want a lot of wilderness, I am afraid you must listen to Horace Greeley and Go West, young man.

There are both units of Kettle Moraine that's not too far north of you. Not exactly wilderness, but a few days worth of hiking.

Then, there's Whisker Lake wilderness in northern WI next to MI. Also, of course, there's Pictured Rocks nat'l park. A lot of the UP is remote enough to get away from the crowds.

Canada isn't too far, either. There are several gems all around Lake Superior. Killarny, over on Lake Huron is nice, too.

I have property in the NW corner of Wi. that I really haven't had a chance to spend much time at yet, but it would be a good staging area to get to a lot of those places you guys mentioned. I think there are also some national forest areas around there though not sure of the size of them. Just have to work a little harder to get to the good stuff than the guys with backcountry in their backyards!

No, I haven’t. It does look small.
For shakedown we usually take boys on an 18 mile backpack trail at Jim Edgar Panther creek http://dnr.state.il.us/lands/landmgt/parks/R4/jepc.htm#Hiking
The trail goes around ‘Prairie Lake’.
-Barry