Saturday, April 6, 2024 Hike Announcement

The River to River Trail Society announces its 6th public hike of the 2024 spring hiking season on Apr. 6th. Hiking: Cove Hollow/Splatter Stone Falls (Pope County). This hike is free and open to the public. This will be a difficult loop hike 4 miles in length (3.5 miles trail, 0.5 miles bushwacking), 3.5 hours hiking time. The leader of this hike can be reached at 618-384-1321 for more information. Hikers should meet at 10:00 am at East Trigg Trailhead. This hike is intended for people in good health who have done some hiking. Hiking sticks and boots or sturdy shoes are recommended. Hikers should bring their own water and snacks. No dogs please. There is a steep grade hikers will need to navigate on this hike. There are two stream crossings which requires hikers to walk rocks in order to cross. If it rains prior to this hike, hiker’s boots/shoes may become wet when crossing the streams and a section of the hiking trail may also become muddy. For a map to the meeting location at East Trigg Trailhead click this blue link East Trigg Trailhead and a map will open up, and then click the Directions button and a driving map will be created which will allow you to plan your driving directions to the meeting area. Prior to participating in any hikes, the River to River Trail Society requests that all hikers read the 2023 Trail Society Waiver which can be found on the River to River website at the following link River to River Trail Society Information and then sign off on this waiver prior to the beginning of the hike. A copy of the waiver will be at the East Trigg Trailhead meeting area for your signature.

Saturday March 23, 2024 Hike Summary

On a windy, somewhat cool Saturday morning, Bob Mulcahy got started early.  He, Debbie Townsend, and Sam Morales met at the West end of the Godwin trail to park 2 vehicles to bring hikers back to the start of the hike…the East end of the Godwin trail, which is a few miles West of Alto Pass, Illinois. (Did you follow all that, hehe??). Bob led 14 other hikers on a 7 mile trek. It was a blustery day, but, as usual, once we got started moving, and into the trees, we warmed up and the wind was much less noticeable. We had 2 New hikers from the Carlyle area. We kept a pretty good pace. The trail was easy to see and a lot of it, but not all, was on a ridge. We did descend a few times into creek areas, that had some water, but nothing that impeded easy crossings. The creek beds are of different substances in this area, still sedimentary rocks, but of much finer material than sandstones that are found in the middle and eastern parts of Southern Illinois. We did meet up, in the afternoon, with 4 young gents from the Bloomington area of Illinois, doing the exact opposite hike we were doing They had parked vehicles at the East end, and started from the West end. The hike was 7 miles. The ride back to the starting point…was 12 miles. 1 group did go on out to Inspiration point to take in that view.. 

Next weeks’ hike is “out of state” at Mantle Rock in Kentucky, part of the Trail of Tears. For the meeting point, and directions, be sure to consult the post sent out Saturday March 23 from the website. Cathy Jennings will be our leader.  Mantle rock is The Largest Natural Arch East of the Mississippi river. And, just a few hundred feet from the parking area, is a neat, sandstone glade waterfall..if there has been enough rain.  Come along and join the fun. 

Until then, “See ya’ll On the Trail”

Saturday, March 30, 2024 Hike Announcement

The River to River Trail Society announces its 5th public hike of the 2024 spring hiking season on Mar. 30th. Hiking: Mantle Rock (Livingston County KY.). Longest Arch/Natural Bridge east of the Mississippi River. This is a bucket list hike. We will also visit some petroglyphs. This hike is free and open to the public. This will be a moderately difficult loop hike with a total of 5 miles in length (4 miles of trail, 1 mile of bushwacking), 4 hours hiking time. The leader of this hike can be reached at 618-759-1924 for more information. Hikers should meet at 10:00 am at Berry’s Ferry Home Site (KY). This hike is intended for people in good health who have done some hiking. Hiking sticks and boots or sturdy shoes are recommended. Hikers should bring their own water and snacks. No dogs please. Hikers will need to shuttle for this hike. Hikers will need to walk rocks to cross streams and if it has rained hiker’s boots/shoes may become wet. There is a steep grade on this hike if you plan to hike to the top of the arch. For a map to the meeting location of Berry’s Ferry Home Site click this blue link Berry’s Ferry Home Site and a map will open up, and then click the Directions button and a driving map will be created which will allow you to plan your driving directions to the meeting area. Prior to participating in any hikes, the River to River Trail Society requests that all hikers read the 2023 Trail Society Waiver which can be found on the River-to-River website at the following link River to River Trail Society Information and then sign off on this waiver prior to the beginning of the hike. A copy of the waiver will be at the Berry’s Ferry Home Site meeting area for your signature.

Saturday March 16, 2024 Hike Summary

On Saturday morning, March 16th, 16 hikers met with Steve Melville at the Rim Rock parking area. We moved out, some vehicles to the end spot on Black Ridge rd, and then we started from a spot on Thacker Hollow Rd. We walked down Thacker Hollow road for over a mile, We had 1 hiker who was unable to complete the hike, so Dave Cooper stayed with him, while Chris Drone went back and retrieved a vehicle to drive to the spot and get both hikers and go back out. During the rest of the day, the hikers saw a bat in a cave, several equestrians, 1 of whom used Scott Simons’ camera to take the group picture. 

Next weeks’ hike on Saturday, March 23rd, will be led by Bob Mulcahy, starting from the East Godwin Trail head, west of Alto Pass. It will be approximately 7 miles. 

Until then “See ya’ll on the Trail”. 

Saturday, March 23, 2024 Hike Announcement

The River to River Trail Society announces its 4th public hike of the 2024 spring hiking season on Mar. 23rd. Hiking: Godwin Trail (Union County). The Godwin Trail is a long wooded segment of the R2R trail and would be a good chance to add this segment to your list of completed hikes. This hike is free and open to the public. This will be a hike of extreme difficulty, 7 miles in length, 4 hours hiking time. This will be a thru hike. The leader of this hike can be reached at 708-471-7500 for more information. Hikers should meet at 10:00 am at Godwin Trailhead East. This hike is intended for people in good health who have done some hiking. Hiking sticks and boots or sturdy shoes are recommended. Hikers should bring their own water and snacks. No dogs please. Hikers will need to shuttle back to Godwin Trailhead East once this hike is completed. Some vehicles will need to be shuttled to Godwin Trailhead West. There is one wide stream to be crossed. Hikers may need to walk rocks while crossing the stream if it has rained. Hiker’s shoes/boots may become wet when crossing this stream. For a map to the meeting location of Godwin Trailhead East click this blue link Godwin Trailhead East and a map will open up, and then click the Directions button and a driving map will be created which will allow you to plan your driving directions to the meeting area. Prior to participating in any hikes, the River to River Trail Society requests that all hikers read the 2023 Trail Society Waiver which can be found on the River to River website at the following link River to River Trail Society Information and then sign off on this waiver prior to the beginning of the hike. A copy of the waiver will be at the Godwin Trailhead East meeting area for your signature.

Saturday March 9, 2024 Hike Summary

Saturday morning, March 9th, was cloudy and cool, as hikers met at the Garden of Gods camping parking area. The leader, Chris Drone, led 12 other hikers, with 1 new hiker. We consolidated vehicles, and moved over to the Backpackers parking lot, then headed NW out onto the trails. The 1st stop was “The Big H”, a rock formation about 30-40 ft. above the floor of the main trail. Several hikers had never been there before. Some took the opportunity to climb up to the formation, and ‘into” it.  We then continued down the stream, crossing it back and forth several times, then turned and went up a long hill. We walked thru the woods, until we got closer to some sandstone rock outcrops, where we ate lunch and took the group picture. We then continued, and, with the help & guidance of Sam Morales & Steve Melville, found formations such as Noah’s Ark, Starry Rock, Anvil rock, and, one rock that didn’t have a name for but, it was by Unanimous consent vote Not to name it after the hike leader. We met several hikers & couples during the day. We then turned, and mainly took a ‘walk thru the woods’ for a mile or so, and, we did something that Rarely happens…we “Gained” a hiker. He was out on the trail, and decided to follow us back. We had enough rain over the preceding 36 hours to make streams flow a bit, and to make some small waterfalls. We finished the day seeing the “Arch of the Gods. and then walked across the road to the Backpackers parking lot.. We hiked a bit over 5.5 miles, depending on whose app was checked. 

Next weeks hike will be led by Steve Melville meeting at 10 am at the Rim Rock parking lot. We will be “spotting” vehicles, because it will be a “one-way” hike. Steve has said the hike will be less than 5 miles. 

Saturday, March 16, 2024 Hike Announcement

The River to River Trail Society announces its 3rd public hike of the 2024 spring hiking season on Mar. 16th. Hiking: Thacker Hollow (Gallatin County). This hike is free and open to the public. This will be a moderate thru hike of 4.75 miles in length, 3.5 hours hiking time. The leader of this hike can be reached at 314-223-3061 for more information. Hikers should meet at 10:00 am at the Rim Rock Recreation Area. This hike is intended for people in good health who have done some hiking. Hiking sticks and boots or sturdy shoes are recommended. Hikers should bring their own water and snacks. No dogs please. Hikers will need to shuttle for this hike. There will be four stream crossings and hikers will need to walk rocks in order to cross streams. Hiker’s shoes and or boots may become wet when crossing streams if it has rained. For a map to the meeting location, Rim Rock Recreation Area, click on this blue link Rim Rock Parking Area and a map will open up, and then click the Directions button and a driving map will be created which will allow you to plan your driving directions to the meeting area. Prior to participating in any hikes, the River to River Trail Society requests that all hikers read the 2023 Trail Society Waiver which can be found on the River to River website at the following link River to River Trail Society Information and then sign off on this waiver prior to the beginning of the hike. A copy of the waiver will be at the Rim Rock Recreation area for your signature.

Saturday March 2, 2024 Hike Summary

Saturday March 2nd , 15 hikers gathered at the East Trigg trailhead, including 5 new hikers. Bill Gilmour, hike leader, welcomed everyone, introductions were made, then we loaded into vehicles and moved about 2 miles North, to head into the forest. We first came to the Top of “Reunion” rock.  It was a cloudy day, but there was a nice view of the bare trees to the South. We then found Little Cedar Falls. That area is less than 1 mile East of Camp Ondessonk property. It was lightly flowing. We moved along a nice bluff wall, beside a creek that did have some water in it, over to Crevice Falls. Great stair-stepped rocks down to the base.  We ate lunch and took the group picture here. A very interesting & unique area was the stream bed just adjacent to Crevice Falls. It had a small amount of flowing water along the edge, but the main part was just plain flat, barren rock. We followed some small streams that were very easily crossed, then found “7 trees”, several were joined together at their base. Then we started heading back, and along the way, we were at the base of ReUnion rock, then found the rock where the name of “Nathan Lawrence, 1923” was inscribed, followed a small bluffline, found a spot, climbed out and back to the vehicles. We covered just over 5 miles. 

I am sorry for this late write-up. It just kept slipping my mind all week long 

The next hike will be led by Chris Drone, meeting at the lower parking lot of Garden of Gods at 10 am on Saturday, March 9th. 

Saturday, March 9, 2024 Hike Announcement

The River-to-River Trail Society announces its 2nd public hike of the 2024 spring hiking season on Mar. 9th. Hiking: Garden of the Gods Wilderness Big H and Arch of the Gods (Saline County). This hike is free and open to the public. This will be a moderate loop hike of 5.5 miles in length, 4 hours hiking time. The leader of this hike can be reached at 618-926-3250 for more information. Hikers should meet at 10:00 am at the Garden of the Gods picnic area. This hike is intended for people in good health who have done some hiking. Hiking sticks and boots or sturdy shoes are recommended. Hikers should bring their own water and snacks. No dogs please. Hikers will need to shuttle for this hike. There are six stream crossings and hikers will need to walk rocks in order to cross streams. Hiker’s shoes and or boots may become wet when crossing streams if it has rained. There are also some rocky areas hikers may choose to go on and if it rains these rocky areas may become slick rock. For a map to the meeting location at the Garden of the Gods picnic area click on this blue link Garden of the Gods picnic area and a map will open up, and then click the Directions button and a driving map will be created which will allow you to plan your driving directions to the meeting area. Prior to participating in any hikes, the River-to-River Trail Society requests that all hikers read the 2023 Trail Society Waiver which can be found on the River-to-River website at the following link River-to-River Trail Society Information and then sign off on this waiver prior to the beginning of the hike. A copy of the waiver will be at the Garden of the Gods picnic meeting area for your signature.