More Than a Hike: How Two Couples Turned a Local Challenge Into a Beloved Tradition
Posted on June 20, 2025
Every weekend in July, you’re likely to find four friends—and a pair of happy dogs—walking the winding paths of a Chikaming Open Lands preserve. To outsiders, they might just look like hikers. But to Tim Sullivan (Sully), Mike Humphrey, MK Czerwiec, and Cindy Homan, these trails are something more: a gathering place, a wellness practice, a sanctuary, and over time, a shared ritual that’s deepened their connection to each other—and to the land.
The four have been close friends for more than 25 years, originally brought together by a mutual friend who lives near what is now the Jens Jensen Preserve. Back when they first met, they walked that land when it was just a local secret—a fitting start to a friendship rooted in a love for nature and nurtured by miles of trail. “To see it preserved now, knowing we’ve walked these same paths for decades—it means something," Mike remarked.
Each summer, as Chikaming Open Lands unveils the preserves for the 10Trail Challenge, this tight-knit crew springs into action. Mike and MK, the team’s logistics duo, pull out a paper calendar and start color-coding weekends, mapping out trail groupings to maximize time and mileage. Five hikes in a day? Absolutely. Throw in a stop at a historic site—like the Chicago World’s Fair homes near Indiana Dunes—and you’ve got a full-blown adventure.
“Ten trails? No way. We do the extreme fifteen!” they joke, recalling muddy hikes, selfie-station scavenger hunts, and even that sweltering, bug-filled day when they had to call the COL office for backup mid-hike.
MK and Cindy have completed the 10Trail Challenge every year since it began in 2018. A few years in, they invited Mike and Sully to join them for a hike—and the foursome have been an unstoppable (and endlessly entertaining) trail team ever since. Spend just one hike with them, and it’s easy to see why they’ve become inseparable. They’ve tackled the Challenge together for years—sometimes in matching shirts, occasionally bringing other friends along, and always with snacks, songs, and plenty of laughter. While Mike and MK take the lead on logistics, mapping out routes and packing essentials like animal crackers and gummy bears, Sully and Cindy keep the mood light with their humor. Cindy might break into a Camp Fire Girls song mid-hike, and Sully once showed up to a dog-themed hike with a stuffed pup filling in for their real dog—who clearly isn’t as committed to the hiking challenge as his humans are.
Their reasons for returning year after year are as personal as the trails themselves. For Sully and Mike, who spend their weekdays in the bustling city of Chicago, it’s about escaping the constant noise—both the chaos of city life and the digital distractions. “It frees your mind and body,” Tim says. “You just feel better.” For Cindy, it’s about honoring the harmony between people, animals, and plants: “We need to do our part to ensure there are some spaces in this crazy world where that balance holds true.” And for MK, an artist and end-of-life care nurse, it’s a source of spiritual grounding: “Retreating into the woods is my church. I cherish watching the seasons unfold with their annual cycles of birth and death.”
Their favorite trails mirror their personalities and the stories they’ve written together on the land. Tim delights in the quiet surprises of Robinson Woods and the wildflowers tucked along Sugarwood’s paths. MK is drawn to the shifting terrain and mossy cisterns of the Chris Thompson Preserve, where the landscape feels both sacred and alive. Cindy’s heart belongs to Burns Prairie, especially when it bursts into bloom. And Mike finds peace in places that still feel untouched, where nature hasn’t yet been edged out by progress.
“Even here in Harbor Country, we’re seeing more and more development,” Mike says. “Zoom out to a global level—deforestation, habitat loss, species disappearing—and it can feel overwhelming. That’s why it matters so much to protect what we still have.”
“We support COL because we want these trails to be here—always,” MK adds. “For ourselves, for others, and for the generations who’ll follow us.”
For Mike, Sully, MK, and Cindy, the 10Trail Challenge has become more than a checklist. The miles they log celebrate nature, create memories, and offer space to laugh, reflect, and recharge. In a world of growing development and constant distractions, they’ve built something enduring by walking forward—one trail, one selfie station, one gummy bear at a time.
Learn more about #10Trail and sign-up for this year's challenge: www.chikamingopenlands...
