The following table lists the feedback that the Society receives from the Trail Stewards. This information is made available for use by hikers, FS employees, other Trail Stewards and / or anyone interested in the conditions of the Trail.

Section No.	Section Name	Date of Last Inspection	Steward	Trail Stewards Report
18	Panther Den Section	20230523	Clint Stevens	Hello, I am the trail steward for the Panther Den section of the trail. I walked it yesterday. There is one part on the western side where the map doesn't match the trail, and there a few broken signs along the trail and a few places that could use signs to prevent confusion. I will be happy to redo the map and to fix the signs, but I will just need to know how. Right now, it doesn't look like I can attend the annual picnic, so please let me know how I can go about getting these problems fixed. thank you, Clint Stevens
All	All	20230320	Karl Van Scyoc	As a result of this report and the excellent weather conditions on Saturday May 20, 5 members of the Society got together to clear the worst of the blockages reported. Points 6-9 were cleared between Iron Furnace and Bassett Road with point 6 being by far the worst. Point 6 turned out to be a 70 yards long area of about 12-15 blown down pine trees. After our efforts the trail is now passable, however extreme caution should be taken when hiking the area because there are still about 5-6 pine trees significantly leaning over the trail that we were not able to clear. Similar to the blowdowns in the Dutchman Lake area, point 6 will need to be watched in the future. The following report documents where all of the trees are and which ones have been reported to be cleared. R2R-0001 37.538257 -88.234007 Along Battery Rock Leg R2R-0005 37.581346 -88.300432 R2R-0004 37.581814 -88.299955 R2R-0003 37.588995 -88.304398 R2R-0002 37.582353 -88.248617 Along Battery Rock Leg R2R-0008 37.526056 -88.308643 Cleared 4 trees May 2023 Trail Society R2R-0007 37.533965 -88.310009 Cleared 1 tree May 2023 Trail Society R2R-0006 37.545844 -88.322228 Cleared 10-12 pine tree blow down May 2023 Trail Society R2R-0009 37.51559 -88.311304 Cleared 1 tree May 2023 Trail Society R2R-0010 37.545532 -88.49584 R2R-0011 37.496945 -88.615588 R2R-0013 37.504857 -88.770275 R2R-0012 37.503264 -88.769229 R2R-0015 37.48821 -88.905562 R2R-0014 37.484784 -88.807339 R2R-0017 37.595974 -89.160174 R2R-0016 37.597191 -89.136127 R2R-0021 37.60882 -89.285085 Cleared Mar 2023 Forest Service R2R-0020 37.607049 -89.283914 Cleared Mar 2023 Forest Service R2R-0019 37.605095 -89.284889 Cleared Mar 2023 Forest Service R2R-0018 37.602975 -89.284829 Cleared Mar 2023 Forest Service R2R-0023 37.605771 -89.296282 Cleared Mar 2023 Forest Service R2R-0022 37.605817 -89.296295 Cleared Mar 2023 Forest Service
6	GoG Section	20230206	William Gilmour	Hiked from Eagle Creek Road to Backpackers parking lot on Feb 6, 2023. Most of the trail was in great shape except for a few trees over the trail. Trees were encountered at (N37° 35.257' W88° 25.911'), (N37° 35.695' W88° 25.087'), (N37° 35.776' W88° 24.870') and 100 yards before getting to Backpackers. Most of the trees were 18"-24" in diameter and trunk only, no crowns over the trail. The main purpose for the trip was to look at the steep hill that was the complaint of the horse groups. This problem is occuring just west of the intersection with trail 152B at GPS Coordinates N37° 36.324' W88° 24.024'
3	Lee Mine Section	2022/12/19	Chris Drone	Bill, here is much Much late trail report, for the section from Bassett Rd to Cadiz Rd to Karbers Ridge blacktop, with Cathy Jennings, on Mon. Dec. 19th, 2022. We left Cathys' pickup on the Karbers Ridge rd. crossing area (lane). We saw the 're-route' signs, but, went ahead with the planned hike. We quickly noticed several trees along the trail painted a turquoise color on their trunks, and did not know what it was for. That color of tree trunk paint was Not observed in Dec. 2021 when I hiked this section of the trail. (You asked me to go check a section last year, which I did, but, I did not check it this year.). I don't think there was quite as much trash this year, totally, as I picked up last year. We only hiked this section "1 way"., vs. last year I was by myself and hiked it both ways. There were no real problems at all. We did find a open well about 100 ft. off the trail though. It was pretty deep. No real big problems, a tree down here or there, but nothing major. Chris Drone
21	Cedar Lake Section	2022/04/18	Lindsey Roberts	Some large trees over the trail approaching Cedar Lake from the east at 37.60290° N, 89.28490° W and 37.60530° N, 89.28440° W. Reported to the FS om 5/1/2022.
2	Basset Road Section	2022/04/18	Lindsey Roberts	Some large trees over the trail located near the intersection of the R2R and Forest Road 1917 at N37° 32.163' W88° 18.658'. Reported to the FS on 4/18 - Confirmed removed on 5/1/2022
1	Elizabethtown Section	2022/04/18	Lindsey Roberts	Some large trees over the trail is just north of Lake Tecumsah at N37° 29.202' W88° 19.602'. Reported to the FS on 4/18 - Confirmed removed on 5/1/2022
22	Godwin Section	2022/04/19	Sam Morales	Hiked section 22 Godwin Section on 04/19/22. Found no issues with this section of trail. All trail signage and trail markings are in excellent shape. The trail path is in good shape and there is no need for any type of dirt work and or repairs. No trees needing to be removed from the trail. Whoever is taking care of this for the Forestry service is doing an excellent job.
15	Dutchman Section	2022/04/01 Mar - Apr	Marcus Owens and Various Others	We got various reports and photos from thru hikers of downed pine trees on the trail between Dutchman Lake Road and Tall Tree Road. Both before and after the lake boat ramp. All downed trees were reported to the FS and the FS reported back early this week that all trees have been cut and the trail is now clear.
1	Elizabethtown Section	2022/04/15	Chris Drone	Friday, 4-15-2022 Report on River to River Trail Section 1. Lots of erosion, as you can see from my pics, just as we left Watson lane and headed into woods. 2 downed trees at 37.479098,-88.319290. Markers were all pretty good. We did find an old marker or 2. From entering the woods at the North end of Watson lane, until we got past Tecumseh lake, there was a Lot of trash. Once we got past Tecumseh lake, the amount(s) of trash fell off considerably. There were several areas that we passed where, in the last 6 months, there had been prescribed/controlled burns, which enabled us to see more trash. We ended up hiking/bushwacking along Big Creek for almost an hour, because we couldn't find a good place that was shallow enough to cross or a downed tree that wasn't too high over the creek, to cross.
14	Tunnel Hill Section	2021/12/31	Chris Drone	On Fri. Dec. 31st, 2021, I walked the Section 14/Tunnel Hill River to River Trail. I called ahead (the day before), and received permission to park my vehicle at Brittons' Wrecker service property, about 300 ft North of the U.S. Rt. 45 trail entrance. I notified them when I got there, and then again when I left, and make sure to say "Thanks". Most of this section, 3.9 miles one way, was some form or another of an old road bed(s). In several places, I could tell that ATV's/ side-by-side vehicles often made use of the trail. This made it pretty easy to find & use, but, of course, I used the Avenza app, with the 2 accompanying map pages. I picked up about 1/3 bag of trash. The Trail crosses the Tunnel Hill bike trail, and, just West of the bike trail, offers an excellent view of Little Cache #1 lake. At 37.487854, -88.875611, there are several Large potholes, but, nothing that cannot be easily 'walked' around. This part of the trail crosses/utilizes several Electric/gas line 'rights-of-way". Trail markers are visible, and fairly easy to find. Submitted by Chris Drone
10	Petticoat Section	2021/12/26	Chris Drone	On Sunday, Dec. 26,2021, I (along with 6 others, David Simmons, Lori Lance, Tom Logsdon, Melanie Kasson & Rick & Susan Asaturian) hiked the section of the River to River trail from Eddyville Post office to Cedar Grove Church Rd. We went East, to West. Most of the trail was marked well. There were a few spots where, it seemed, there were no "West-bound" trail markers in the close vicinity of "East-bound" trail markers. Much of the trail was wide & easy to find. There were no 'challenging areas' that needed to be cleared, or any other major problem. We did 'check-out" Crow Knob Ecologic area. We picked up about a half-garbage bag of various pieces of trash during our total journey. (There was little to no trash on top of Crow Knob, thankfully). Again, using the Avenza smart phone app, and having the River to River Trail bundle, made it very easy to navigate the journey. Respectfully submitted, Chris Drone
15	Dutchman Section	2021/12/11	Marcus Owens	I hiked the River to River Trail section at Dutchman Lake from Twinz Lane to where to trail exits the woods on Dutchman Lake Road. The trail was wide and clear the whole way. I only picked up 2 plastic bottles and 1 aluminum can. All of the trail reassurance markers were visible and up to the remark standards. The Avenza App worked perfectly. Section 15 Marcus Marcus Owens
3	Lee Mine Section	2021/12/22	Chris Drone	Today, Wed. Dec. 22, 2021, I hiked the Lee Mine section (Section 3 ) of the River to River Trail. Much of the trail from Basset Rd, to Cadiz Rd, is pretty wide, and quite easy to see. I looked back at every major turn, and at each creek crossing and made sure that I could easily find trail markers. It is easy to follow. It also gets used by either pickup/SUV type vehicles at times, or ATV vehicles. It is also where I found most of the various pieces of trash that I picked up. In places, there are some good stretches of erosion, down the middle of the trail, for several hundred feet. The part of the trail from Cadiz Rd to Karbers Ridge road is different. It is mainly a barely used footpath At times, with leaves, it was a bit difficult to find. During green foliage season, without using Avenza mapping software, it might be challenging to find the trail or see the trail markers. There were trail markers, but, again, it is a narrow, leaf-filled footpath. But, there was very little trash on this small part. No major problems were found on any stretch of the trail. Submitted, Chris Drone
2	Basset Road Section	2021/12/20	Chris Drone	I (Chris Drone) along with Sam Morales, Tom Logsdon & Bob Mulcahy, met on Basset Rd then proceeded to North Iron Furnace rd, intersection with the River to River Trail. We hiked back to Basset Rd. There were trail markers on either side of the 2 larger creek crossings. There was 1 large pine tree down, but, the trail had been re-routed around the South side of it for several years. There was 1 other small tree, of about 4-6 inches in diameter, but no other major problems. We did encounter 2 'trash dumps. A) about 1/4-1/2 mile North of the start. We did go 'in' and pick it up in the after noon [ there were So Many bags(7-8), that Bob went back to get his truck, drove around the gate, to help bring the trash out, otherwise, we would have had to make 2 trips walking.] B) the 2nd was much smaller, about 1/4 mile west of Basset rd, that Sam & I cleaned up on our way out. There were several places that the main part of the trail was severely eroded, and several large 'potholes' full of water. Otherwise, no real problems encountered to easily walk the trail.
4	High Knob Section	2021/12/08	Sam Morales	Bill I hiked section #4 0n 12/07/21. Trail looks to be in good condition overall. The section between the horse camp and Knob Hill Lane still needs to have some dirt work done to it. Someone has hauled in some gravel and has piled it in the lower parking lot below high knob lookout. I picked up a lot of beer cans and beer bottles along the trail, I filled up a large trash bag completely and started on a second bag. Someone needs to talk to the folks who run the horse camp so the folks who run the horse camp can talk to the folks who ride the horses to stop littering the forest floor with beer cans and beer bottles. There is probably a lot of litter on the secondary trails in the area of this section.
25	Camp Cadiz Section	2021/12/08	Sam Morales	I hiked section #25 Battery Rock on 12/07-08/21. The trail from where it intersects the R2R trail to where it intersects Sparks Hill Rd is in good shape. I did not find any litter on it. Information for the mind on two items. 1) There are wooden signs on both ends of this section of the trail. The wooden sign located at the intersection of the R2R trail with the Battery Rock trail has the Battery Rock trail identified as Trail 001E, The wooden sign at the intersection of the Battery Rock trail and Sparks Hill Rd has this trail identified as Trail 001. 2) I Found two each notices attached along the trail of the Battery Rock trail which gave an indication that the Forest Service was going to have a prescribed forest burn. The first notice was at GPS 37.590373 -88.306291 and the second notice was at GPS 37.590948 -88.394180. The phone numbers on the notice were 618-658-1314 and 618-253-1034. I called the 618-658-1314 and Naite stated they were going to have a 350 acre prescribed forest burn either in December or February depending on the weather. On the section from Sparks Hill Rd to Camp Cadiz I came across these issues. 1) Found 3 large rutted areas in the area of GPS 37.588580 -88.281900 this will take a front end loader with a lot of dirt to fix. Found other rutted areas but I did not get a fix on them. 2) Found a tree across the trail larger than 6” diameter, this tree can be easily crossed by stepping over the downed tree. Will take a chain saw to remove it. GPS 37.588183 -88.254613. 3) The trail through the forest is well marked by looking at the worn path. Between GPS 37.586405 -88.252816 heading towards the creek the worn trail path has been filled in with the fall leaves and the trail is not so distinct up to the creek and beyond the creek to GPS 37.583114 -88.248817. The trail is marked at the creek crossing. I had to actually use the Avenza map to find the actual trail on the east side of the creek. The reason I bring this up is I was told yesterday that there are some folks riding mountain bikes along the R2R and Battery Rock trails. If they do not see the worn area of the trail and or markers they may not know which way to go and they may have an issue. 4) Found a tree across the trail larger than 6” diameter. This tree can be easily crossed by stepping over and bowing under the downed limbs. Will take a chain saw to remove it. GPS 37.582173 - 88.248343. 5) Found a tree across the trail larger than 4” diameter. This tree can be easily crossed by stepping over it. Will need a chain saw to remove it. GPS 37.580417 -88.245663. 6) There are areas along the trail where the brush from both sides is growing and the trail walking area is narrow, one person wide. This is between GPS 37.583110 -88.248746 and GPS 37.580456 -88.245664. 7) Very little trash found on the Battery Rock trail.
4	High Knob Section	2021/04/20	Sam Morales	All GPS taken from Avenza Map Hiked the High Knob Section, Karbers Ridge Rd to High Knob Rd 04/20/21. The Trail from Karbers Ridge Rd to High Knob Ln is in real good shape, I could have drove a vehicle down it. It has been re-rocked in numerus places recently. I saw four wet areas (possibly natural springs) along the trail between Karbers Ridge Rd and High Knob Ln which have not been re-rocked. Who ever did the re-rocking may not have wanted to mess with these possible natural springs. The longest of the four wet areas was at GPS 37.597441 N, 88.312708 W and it is in excess of 100-ft. As for Trail Reassurance Markers the trail was marked well except at two trail junctions. GPS 37.596169 N, 88.318045 W Good wooden signs but no Reassurance Markers at this trail junction. GPS 37.598594 N, 88.323429 W, No Reassurance Markers at this trail junction. In my opinion in both of these areas (the R2R trail is very defined by its width and gravel trail bed) I do not see a need to install Trail Reassurance Markers unless we have an over supply of markers. The Trail from High Knob Ln. to the Horse camp and High Knob Road is marked. The trail itself from High Knob Ln. to the Horse camp is very torn up. In one section the single trail turns into three different paths for over 200 plus feet. This is due to all of the horse traffic and them trying to navigate the rocks and small ledges in the area. It will take a lot of dirt work to fix this area and will the horse riders not tear it up again. Is this private property? I found very little trash, but I did find an un-opened gallon of antifreeze sitting off approximately 10-ft from the trail. It had been there a while, the label on the container was completely faded away. The horse camp let me dispose of the trash in their bend. Sam
18	Panther Den Section	2021/03/26	Clint Stevens	I hiked the Panther Den Section yesterday. The trail was in good shape and there wasn’t much trash, but I picked up what I found. There is one small section where the trail doesn’t match the map. This is unlikely to cause a problem, but it should be noted for when the maps are updated. There was one significant deadfall that made the trail impassable. Coming from the east, the way around is fairly obvious. But coming from the west leads the hiker to an old section of the River-to-River Trail for 200 yards or so. There is also a part where the trail forks with no marker. I remember this caused me a little confusion when I hiked the whole trail in 2019. None of these problems is significant, and I think posting a few more trail markers will solve the problems. I can give you more details the next time I see you at a hike. I am hoping to make that hike at Millstone Bluff. Hope all is well, Clint Stevens