Getting to Hammond from Crown Point is normally a quick trip on I-65N to I-80/94W, but construction on Broadway in Crown Point caused detours and slowdowns. The I-80/94 stretch is full of potholes and is not a pleasant drive.
I got to Cabela's in south Hammond in 30 minutes, parked on the north end of the store near shipping containers, and walked north on the trail, just before the tunnel where I left off a few days ago. A man walking his two frisky Golden Retrievers welcomed me as I entered the tunnel. Zeke wanted nothing to do with Maxwell, the exuberant Golden.
The trail through Hammond is not as bad as I had imagined. While it is very urban, there are many green sections with flowers and mature trees. There was no literature on the Erie-Lakawanna railtrail (ELT) through Hammond on any site I found online, so I didn't know what to expect. The Hammond city website just mentions the trail and its location, but doesn't talk about parking and other amenities. I had to discover everything on my own by walking this trail.
A sign telling users that a water fountain is straight ahead welcomes users to the Hammond section of the ELT as one exits the tunnel going north. The first 2.35 miles follows a general northwest-southeast direction, covered by mature trees. It's easy to follow and is well-marked. The trail is cracked by tree roots and frost heave, but is still passable. Two kids were riding the trail and tossing aluminum cans as I neared the water fountain on the south side, then trying to ride over the cans to crush them. They then rode off, leaving their cans on the trail. There was plenty of tossed trash on this section: beer and soda cans, plastic bottles, cardboard. The ELT in Hammond is the trashiest of the entire section.
Gavit High school is to the west as one exits the tunnel on the north side. Gavit was my high school, Morton Senior High, biggest rival, being the only other Hammond high school. I ran a horrible 3000m race here as a sophomore. Southwestern Avenue flanks the trail on the east side until it meets with Columbia Avenue two miles into the trail. This is a residential neighborhood with busy west-east streets. A parks crew was busy trimming trees and removing fallen branches a short distance into my walk, and all the guys on the crew mentioned what a handsome dog Zeke is.
Hammond gets gritty once one crosses 169th street. There is much urban decay in Hammond. The old Elmwood cemetery seems so out of place between two busy streets. The Stardust bowling alley, where I went many times with college friends from Purdue-Calumet, is now a skeleton of a building. The nearby watertower appears to not have been painted since I left the Region in 1984. I walked past all these buildings that brought back memories of a time in my life that were not the happiest. I knew as a teen that I could never settle down in this part of the country. The air is always migraine-inducing here, to the point of even tasting it in everything I ate. I needed mountains, blue skies, and open space.
Carol's elementary school, from which she retired after 26 years, is off 165th street. The ELT hugs the school grounds on the east side. School parking on the north end of campus could be parking here for trail users on weekends, and is the only parking I saw for the trail on this entire stretch. A block north of 165th I neared a "Trail closed" ahead sign by Kenwood Avenue, and here is where I turned around to return to the start. An overpass was being repaired and it looked like two blocks of street closure and detours.
I then decided to continue the trail on the north side and walk south and then walk as far as the street closure from the north end. I normally prefer walking a trail in sections in the same direction, but this street closure was an exception. The drive through Hammond gave Zeke a break before resuming the walk.
The 18th Street brewery is a block east of the northern trailhead. I hadn't planned on stopping by, but again the proximity to the trail made me check it out quickly. The brewery is in an old warehouse, with one end being the distillery with an open window, and the brewery is on the north end. Both have separate entrances. I was welcomed with loud metal music as I walked to the bar. I knew then that this was going to be a quick visit, especially as I was ignored by both beer pourers and had to ask if I could have a beer. I tried the wheat ale (too waxy) and the cherry wheat ale (better) and walked out as fast as I could without making a scene. I can't stand loud metal music in a restaurant. The interior was dark and open and I don't plan on coming back to this brewery. Mission accomplished. The next time I want an 18th Street Brewery beer, I can buy it canned at the local Strack and Van Til's grocery store.
There are several original mile markers along this middle section of Hammond. Some are hidden by tall shrubs, but a few stand out.
I parked the Honda across the street from the county court house and walked the trail south from Simbley road. An old train depot seems to mark the northern trail head. I only had to walk 1.7 miles before I came to the road closure. Most of the trail was along a wide, grassy section that at once probably was a train track. The two sections out-and-back measured 7.33 miles, making the Hammond section just 3.66 miles long. I'll add .34 miles to make up for the closed section.
I was now in downtown Hammond. There was nothing here to excite me. The First Baptist Church of Hammond is a block away. That church is one of the largest church in Indiana and one of the largest Baptist churches in the country, and perhaps one of the most powerful ones. I had attended at least two Sunday sermons in the mid 1970s, but found the preacher too hateful, especially toward women. Just looking at that old building brought back bad memories of determined missionaries knocking on our apartment door so that I can get on their blue bus and get sent to Sunday sermons. I think that experience as a 15/16-year-old forever turned me off to organized religion.
I didn't want to stay in Hammond, but was tempted by Wolf Lake five miles to the north. I wanted to check out improvements down to the shoreline over the years.
The Whiting refineries are visible from Wolf Lake, and the chemical smell very strong. This area was always dirty, trashy, and its roads badly potholed. Why would anyone want to live here? During shift change at the steel mills or refineries, this area gets congested with traffic, but it was quiet when I went through. I parked north of the Pavilion and walked north and was pleasantly surprised at how well-marked the trail is, with mile markers, benches and trash cans along the way. School kids, young mothers with strollers, dog walkers and cyclists were using the trail. It was noticeably cooler here, being close to Lake Michigan. I had to wear my fleece sweater to keep warm. Canadian geese thrive on this lake and leave a mess on the path. Lakeside homes also lined the shore near Forsely Park
I would have wanted to walk around the entire lake, but after seven miles on the ELT, I was too tired and I'm sure Zeke was, too. If I have a free day left I may tempt walking the lake. The lake extends into Illinois but the trail is not continuous into Illinois. The Monon trail starts on the Illinois side and goes south.
I drove around old neighborhoods off Kennedy Avenue and 169th street. The old apartment complex we lived in for two years, Briar East Apartments, is now the Kennedy Crossing. The forest behind the complex now is bordered by tall, mature trees. The Jewel grocery store is now a Save-a-Lot grocers and the Pizza Hut is now a Mexican place. There was nothing else I remembered or recognized from my time here in the mid 1970s. It's a gritty, dirty town but for many blue-collar workers, this is their home and I learned years ago to never disparage a person's home.
I had spent the entire day in Hammond. Hammond is not a tourist destination. It still smells of sulphur and other chemicals of the oil refining business. I didn't want to stay longer than necessary. I was hungry and didn't want to eat in Hammond because I didn't want to have my food taste like chemicals. I bought the groceries Carol asked me to get for her, added a few for me, and had a big garden salad when I got back to Crown Point.
https://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/January-2013/Let-Us-Prey-Big-Trouble-at-First-Baptist-Church/
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