What a Grrreat day to finish up the Fall 2021 hiking season. Melanie Kasson was our leader at Wildcat Bluff, southwest of Vienna, IL. She led 23 hikers down the trail towards the Cache river, intending to cross it & head to the Bost cabin and other points of interest….But..there was a “ca(t)che”…the water was too high to cross the river. After a quick conference with her hiking buddies Cathy Jennings & Bob Mulcahy, an alternative plan was “hatched”, we would head back, go out to the overlook to the Southeast, eat lunch there and then drive over to Heron Pond,do the board walk and see the Illinois state champion Cherry Bark Oak tree. 19 total hikers participated in the 2nd part of the day  A total of 6 miles was covered in the 2 parts of the day.  People today came from Danville, Beecher City & Champaign, Illinois.

We, again, had several people with us, who were not ‘new’ to hiking, but, new  to the River to River Trail Society.  We had 159 total participants in our hikes this fall.  Mr. John O’Dell would be happy & proud. 

If you have ideas, suggestions, or questions, or even want to lead a hike, please feel free to contact us through the website, or even my email at chris.drone@gmail.com. We are always looking for new hike leaders. 

Until next spring, See Ya on the trail.

Respectfully submitted,

Chris Drone

On Sat. November 13th, 2021, Mart Watson led 25 hikers into the Splatterstone Falls & Cove Hollow area. We started the day with introductions, as usual, but, it was also noted, by Mart and others, of the passing of John O’Dell, founder, in 1992, of the River to River Trail Society. John was very influential in getting the River to River Trail completed, and wrote the first 4 published guidebooks. He was President of the Saline County Tourism board, the Saline county Historical Society, and the River to River Trail Society. He also helped start the River to River Relay race. Mart Watson noted that John Always wore hiking shorts, no matter what the weather was like. He then “passed the hiking pole” on to Eric Johnson, Bill Gilmour, Mart Watson & Gillum Ferguson. Now, we ‘newer’ members of the Trail Society need to ‘take up the mantle’ and carry it & push it forward.  We had a ‘moment of silence’ in remembrance of Mr. John O’Dell, and “took off down the trail. Mart led us to Splatterstone falls, which was dry, then on down into Cove Hollow, by the railroad that runs through Jackson Hollow, and we were able to see a train of empty coal cars heading North. We met up with a large group of horse riders, then observed a few rock climbers. We hiked just over 4 miles, in about 4 hours.

There will be NO hike on Saturday, November 20th, as that is part of the 1st Shotgun Deer hunting season.

Our Last scheduled hike will be on Saturday, November 27th, at Wildcat Bluff, about 5 miles Southwest of Vienna, IL.

Until then, “See Ya on the Trail”

Respectfully, submitted,

Chris Drone

On a wonderful sunny Sat. November 6th, Fred Scott led 29 other hikers out of the Upper High Knob parking lot.  We had, again, probably 5-7 ‘new’ hikers. A ‘whole truckload’ came from the Metro East area. We initially headed East on the River to River Trail and found the old cabin & other structures, and then used several other trails during the day. We crossed several dry stream beds.  There were several spots that were difficult to ‘navigate’ due to rains and other challenges. 2 different equine groups were out enjoying the day and trails.  1 hiker did encounter a nest of bees and got stung, but was able to make it to the end of the hike. We returned on the River to River trail, hiking. in total,  about 5.6 miles, finishing just about 2 pm. Small amounts of trash were picked up by various hikers. Please remind everyone you see about “Leave no trace”.

Next weeks’ hike (Sat. Nov. 13th, 2021, 10 am) will be in the Cove Hollow area, just North of Trigg Tower, led by Mart Watson.

Specific directions will be posted on the River to River Trail Society facebook page later this week.

No hike on Saturday November 20th, due to Shotgun deer hunting season. The last Fall 2021 hike will be on Sat. November 27th.

Until then, “See ya on the trail”.

Respectfully submitted,

Chris Drone