September 22, 2018 Activities

For all those that are interested, 2 activities will be ongoing on that day which just happens to be National Public Lands Day.

 

The first will be the installation of the final River to River Trail sign in front of Back Packers Parking lot.  This will be a celebratory event documenting the completion of a successful 2017 Grant and the work accomplished as a result of it.  All those that helped on the various sign installations last year are encouraged to show up for a group photo celebrating the completion of the project.

 

For the second event, the Forest Service asked if the Society to support the Trash Blast occurring that day in the Garden of the Gods area.  This activity is being done in conjunction with the Friends of the Shawnee and the Forest Service.  Details of the event are shown below:

 

Join Friends of the Shawnee for their fall Trash Blast. Enjoy outstanding autumn weather and scenery at Garden of the Gods while volunteering to help one of the most beautiful spots in the Midwest, free of trash. Participants should meet at the Observation Trail parking lot between 9:30 AM and 10 AM. Wear long pants, sturdy shoes and bring water and a sack lunch.

 

The proposed area for the Trash Blast is the area below Indian Point.

New R2R Trail Map 5 in Garden of the Gods area released

For all those interested in the R2R trail maps, the new official map 5 in the Garden of the Gods area has been uploaded to the Trail Societies website and is now available for download.  The geo-referenced PDF file has also been uploaded to the Avenza map store and will be available in about a week.  The map bundle has also been updated and will also be available in about a week.

 

This update was done for safety reasons at the request of the Shawnee Trail Conservancy (STC) to eliminate the trail crossing of Garden of the Gods Road on the curve coming down hill from the primary visitor parking lot.  For this update the trail now crosses at Pack Packers parking lot and heads down what used to be trail 108I over to the intersection with the R2R.  Basically the R2R and 108I have been switched.  The trail markers were officially changed on August 17, 2018.

Upcoming work days packing rock

For anybody looking for opportunities to volunteer with in the Shawnee National Forest, The Shawnee Trail Conservancy, The Forest Service and the Society are doing some rock hauling for the River to River Trail in Garden of the Gods Wilderness.  The details are as follows:

 

Friday August 17, 2018, meet at 8:30 AM at Backpackers Parking lot.  Work will be on trail 108i which will be converted to the R2R trail when work is complete.

 

Saturday August 18, 2018, meet at 8:30 AM at the Hitching Post parking lot east of Herod.  Work will continue on placing rock in washouts along the R2R trail.

 

The work involves filling buckets with gravel so that those buckets can be dumped into the pack horses packing gear.  Others may be dumping the packed gravel and leveling it at the other end.  Shovels, pails and other tools are normally provided.  Bring gloves, lunch, bug spray and other gear as you feel appropriate.  The work time usually goes about 4 hours but may be more or less depending on the team working.

 

Thanks for supporting the Shawnee National Forest and the River to River Trail.