Backcountry Horseman Pack Day

On Wed. May 24th, 3 members of the River to River Trail Society, along with 4 U.S. Forest Service personnel and over 10 people from the Southern Illinois Backcountry Horsemen, gathered at Franks’ tract to cooperate to do some trail maintenance and upgrade work. There needed to be rock moved from a stockpile out, about 1 mile, to fill in some mud areas. There were 3 groups….”dumpers/spreaders” who were out at the area to be filled in…they simultaneously dumped the bag on each side of the horse, and then spread the rock, there were horse riders, who, while riding 1 horse, led 1-3 other horses which had a “saddle bag” of about 80 lbs of rock on each side of the horse, and then “loaders” at the stockpile of rock, who loaded buckets, then loaded those buckets into the saddle bags. This is all done because the trails are in a Wilderness area. We gathered about 9 am, soon went down about 1/4th mile to the small stockpile and everyone “picked” their job. It was a decent day temperature-wise. The Backcountry Horsemen were led by Cricket Simons, the Forest Service personnel by Alyssa McCuiba, and Bill Gilmour, Sam Morales and Chris Drone were from the Trail Society. We got done with the ‘section’ about 3 pm. All working, together, with a plan, cooperatively. got a nice amount done. 

Respectfully submitted, 

Chris Drone

Texas hikers give back to the R2R Trail

The River to River Trail Society would like to extend a sincere THANK YOU to Karl Van Scyoc and his 4-5 buddies that came to Southern Illinois to hike the R2R trail in March 2023 from the Houston, TX area. Karl is the President of the LONE STAR HIKING TRAIL CLUB which is proponent for the 130 mile long Lone Start Hiking Trail north of Houston. As an active member of the club, Karl recognized the difficulty of maintaining a long trail and the challenge to know where maintenance is required, especially because of downed trees that can be anywhere along the trail. As a result, Karl captured GPS coordinates for 23 areas where trees were impacting their ability to hike the R2R. Karl also described one area that was difficult to get through because it was a pine tree blow down. He also expressed difficulties following the trail for the first mile after Rock Creek due to excessive brush in the area.

Karl and his buddies didn’t just hike the main R2R trail, but started at Battery Rock and hiked to the intersection near High Knob and then down to Elizabethtown and back before continuing to Grand Tower. This resulted in a hike of about 201 miles instead of the 160 miles most thru hikers do. Karl also documented his entire hike in a very thorough Journal which and be viewed https://www.trailjournals.com/VanScyocR2R2023/. Although very long and thorough, it is interesting and highly recommended reading about how they did the hike.

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

A request to all future section and through hikers would be for them to similarly capture GPS coordinates for downed trees and trail problems and report that data at the end of the hike. The only other thing that would be helpful. is if a photo of each area is captured so crews know ahead of schedule what the problem looks like.

Thanks again Karl Van Scyoc for the above and your donation to the Trail Society.

Trail Society Annual Meeting / Picnic

Hello All!!

The 2023 River To River Trail Society Annual meeting will be here soon. It is scheduled for Saturday, June 3rd, 10 am, at the Vienna, IL. City Park, which coincides with National Trails Day The park is adjacent to the Tunnel Hill Trailhead along IL Route 146 midway between I24 (exit 16) and the US Route 45 intersection downtown. We have reserved the Rams Landing shelter which is located in the back of the park. (See photo below)  As a result, the Society will be providing grilled brats and hotdogs, buns, table service and bottled water. The rest of the picnic will be a potluck and everyone is asked to bring their favorite dish to pass such as a fruit, vegetable, side dish and/or dessert.  If you want something to drink besides water you will have to bring your own. Only picnic tables are included with the shelter so if you want something more comfortable it is suggested you bring your own lawn chair.

For the meeting, there will be reports from various board members about the accomplishments from the past year and possible future projects. During the business meeting, the Society will also be electing Society officers and board members for the next year.

 Following the business meeting, the Society has arranged for Susan Wygant to speak on a geology topic relative to the area.  We have also invited the Hoosier National Forest Supervisor Mike Chaveas to attend, but since he is out of the office on a detail we have been informed that Ellen Bogardus-Szymaniak who is the acting Forest Supervisor may attend.  Her topic would be the relationship between the two forests.

Please, come join us, learn what being an officer or board member might entail. No hikes are planned for the event. You are welcome to bring a friend interested in hiking, or a significant other.

As we did last year, several members brought bikes and enjoyed a ride on the Tunnel Hill state trail to work off the meal.

For those that are interested, the American Discovery Trail Society is also having an event that day called “The American Discovery Trail Challenge”. Since the Tunnel Hill Bike Trail is part of the ADT hiking of biking the trail would meet the challenge.  For details see https://discoverytrail.org/american-discovery-trail-home/trailchallenge/

Saturday May 6, 2023 Hike Summary

On Saturday morning May 6th, was our last hike of the Spring 2023 hiking season. Fred Scott was our leader. We met at Taylor Methodist church parking lot on U.S. Rt. 45, North of Vienna, We then moved to the trailhead at the end of Taylor Ridge rd. Fred led 7 of us out, and our 1st pause was at the Taylor Ridge Overlook. Fred had cautioned us about some of the trail being “wooly’ and other thoughts, so we all ‘sprayed down’  profusely with insect repellant.  Green foliage was abundant, which did limit our views somewhat. But, it Was a very pleasant day for hiking. In a crevice, 1 hiker found an orange salamander that was about 3 inches long. We did find a few small waterfalls…that were…..alas…dry. We got to Max creek, crossed it …then recrossed it several times. Bill led us to “Gay Cave”, which had a “fortress’ built in it… Quite substantial.  We ate lunch at a ‘horse parking’ area, then went up to the main waterfall, which was dribbling and we took the group picture. On our way out, we did find an old house spot, which was evidenced by a large area of daffodil plants. 

We, the Trail Society board, wish to say “Thank You” for choosing to hike with us this spring. We have had hikers from several surrounding states and far points in Illinois. 

If you have a suggestion for a hike, or, anything else, please let a board member know. We are already thinking about the Fall 2023 hiking season.  We are also always looking for people who might be interested in leading a hike. 

I also want to take space to Thank Everyone who helped in some way…from all the hike leaders who planned and pre-scouted their hikes, to people who helped shuttle hikers with their vehicles and anyone I might have missed. Without your help & assistance, it just doesn’t flow smoothly. 

Our next ‘event’ will be our annual meeting, which will be held on Saturday, June 3, 2023, at the Vienna, Illiinois city park.  We will have a speaker, a short business meeting and then a meal. There Will be an official notice sent out via email through the website. and then posted to our  facebook page.  We encourage people to bring their bikes for a ride, or walk, on the Tunnel Hill trail afterwards. 

Until then, “See Ya’ll  on the Trail”.  I am looking forward to it. 

Respectfully submitted, 

Chris Drone

R2R Trail Detour Resuming

We have just been notified by the Shawnee National Forest Service that work is restarting on the timber harvest between Bassett Road and Cadiz Road. They have reissued that attached detour R2R Trail hikers in the area. Road work in this area begins today May 12, 2023 and the timber sale work is expected to last throughout the summer.

Saturday April 29, 2023 Hike Summary

Saturday morning, April 29th, 17 hikers, with Chris Drone as guide leader, gathered at the old Shawnee mart at Eddyville, Illinois.  We had new hikers from Livingston county Illinois, and, from Northwest Tennessee. In fact, we had as many New hikers with us today, as returning hikers.   We then ‘cara-vehicled’ out to the Sand Cave parking area.and headed towards Sand Cave, but then veered South, along several trails “03_” during the course of the hike. Using the switched-back trails, we made it ‘down’, crossed a creek, then veered left onto a trail. There was just enough water to make small streams flow a bit. We crossed the River to River trail, and an old roadbed, which eventually ended up at a stream. We had wondered if we might get some rain during the hike, but, we stayed completely dry. At 1 stream crossing, an observant hiker saw a crawfish, which, although looking dead, had a bunch of eggs on its underside. We ate lunch at Ruby (Holmquist, a well known equestrian) Falls. We then headed on down the trail, making our way along the upper part of Bay creek, which forms Millstone lake. We made our way to Maxwell Ford. Some hikers had been up the creek kayaking just a few weeks before, and remarked that the water level had dropped 6-8 ft. or more. We took the group picture at the big horseshoe bend in Bay creek against the backdrop of a small bluffline. We made our way back to the “split point, where, just prior to that, we took a look at some nice low shelter bluffs, including Fern cave, with 1 last trickling waterfall. Upon arriving back at the Sand Cave trail, many took the short trek to Sand cave, and then all headed out.  We totalled almost 7 miles today .

Next Week, Saturday May 6th, Fred Scott will lead our last hike of the Spring 2023 hiking season, meeting at Taylor church on U.S. Rt. 45, just South of the Ozark turn off. Until then, “See ya’ll On the Trail”.