The extreme weather systems affecting the Midwest did not keep local senior citizens in Lake County from venturing outside on Tuesday to taste locally made maple syrup.
Maple syrup hikes at the Edward L. Ryerson Conservation Area in Riverwoods included the seniors-focused hike that drew several attendees from Lake and Cook counties.
Tuesday’s Senior Series session began in the program room and concluded with a hike along walkways and through the snow. It will be the only one offered for seniors this maple syrup season, according to Jen Berlinghof, environmental educator for the Lake County Forest Preserves.
Reaching out to senior citizens, she said, is “important because they’re part of our population and it’s nice to give them sections of our programs where they’re among peers. Sometimes we can adjust and modify the program and maybe make it a little less walking, or modify it for their interests.”
Berlinghof said this year’s maple syrup season has been “erratic,” with fluctuations in weather this winter into spring impacting syrup production.
“Around Valentine’s Day is when the average daytime temperatures rise above freezing, but the nighttime temperatures are still below,” she said. “In an ideal world, you have many days, back to back, of warm and sunny above freezing, still below freezing at night.
“But when you have record-breaking 70-plus degrees on one day, and four days later you have snow and 20 degrees, that’s not really conducive to syrup making,” Berlinghof said. “It does make it a little challenging.”
Berlinghof said that approximately six gallons of Ryerson maple syrup have been made this year to be used for sampling and for volunteers at a thank-you meal at the end of the season, when French toast is served.
Attending the event were Jeff and Susan Jacobs of Northbrook, Paul Odell and A.J. Crane, both of Riverwoods, Judy Swanson of Vernon Hills and Helen DeWitt of Mundelein.
“I just thought it would be kind of cool to do,” Swanson said.
Susan Jacobs said, “It’s wonderful. We come often.”
“It’s just a nice excuse to get out,” Jeff Jacobs said.
DeWitt retired a couple of years ago, “and when I was working, I thought, ‘Oh, all the things I missed that are fun to do during the daytime.’ Now I can do them.”
For several decades, educators and volunteers at the Lake County Forest Preserves have provided annual maple syrup hike programming popular with families, school groups and scout troops. In all, the maple syrup sessions and hikes draw as many as 3,000 people a year.
Weekend sessions started in early March, requiring registration. This weekend, a number of hour-long maple syrup and hike sessions are scheduled for paid registrants. After that, people can take self-guided maple syrup tours through the end of the month.
