Saturday May 3, 2025 Hike Summary

On a cloudy Saturday, May 3rd, 7 hikers gathered at a spot in Alexander county that most of us had never before been to. It was Trail 220. There was a possibility of rain, so, many had stuffed into their backpacks some sort of rain garment. All of the days’ hikers had experience. The vegetation, with the warmer temperatures and plenty of rain, had fully “greened” out, so, with  the cloudy and moist conditions, it was somewhat like traipsing through a jungle. We followed Horse creek for quite a while, crossing it back and forth several times.  The rocks on this side of the state are still sedimentary rocks, but, often in the form of chert, a much finer grained rock than sandstone. This trail and area is not on the “list” of places for people to go, and so at times, the trail could be difficult to find. And, there were quite a few old, downed trees to cross or go around. The streams were easy to cross. We ate lunch, then later found a big, downed log to take the group picture and kept moving along. We did have some precipitation for about 30 minutes or so, but, nothing too heavy, since everyone was prepared for rain. Often, over the last couple of miles, the trail was on a narrow ridge, with very steep, downward slopes just a few feet away from either edge. We did about 6 miles for the day.  You Just never can tell what a hike that you have never been before might might show you in Southern Illinois. 

This was the last hike of the Spring 2025 hiking season, and, the smallest number of hikers. We had yet another excellent season of hiking. Glad Everyone came out to see the beauty & wonder of Southern Illinois. Hope you enjoyed every hike that you participated in. 

Respectfully submitted, 

Chris Drone

Trail Society Annual Meeting / Picnic

Hello All!!

The 2025 River To River Trail Society Annual meeting will be here soon. It is scheduled for Saturday, June 7th, 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 Teresa Steckler of University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Dixon Springs Agricultural Center. Teresa has been studying ticks in and around the Shawnee and anything and everything you wanted to know about ticks. She is working on a grant that is studying the impact on ticks by invasives in the Shawnee. We have also invited a couple of the senior Forest Service managers to talk about the impact the current political environment is having on the Shawnee National Forest.

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. Since the Tunnel Hill State Trail is the bicycle alternative route for the American Discovery Trail through Southern IL because bikes aren’t allowed on the River to River Trail. As a result, anyone enjoying the trail on that day may consider registering for the The American Discovery Trail Challenge which can be done at this website.

https://discoverytrail.org/american-discovery-trail-home/trailchallenge/

Saturday April 26, 2025 Hike Summary

On Saturday, April 26th, 14 hikers gathered at the main waterfall parking lot at Ferne Clyffe State park, just south of Goreville.  Cathy Jennings was our leader for this hike. We had 1 new hiker, the rest of the hikers had all been with us several times previous. We started out by “heading up and out on the Blackjack Oak Trail, then down to the lake and on the Ferne Clyffe lake trail, then the Round Bluff nature preserve trail. We paused & ate lunch at the picnic shelter, then back Up on the Blackjack Oak trail to the parking lot. Most then went up to the main waterfall on the Big Rocky Hollow trail. Once back to the main parking area again…some chose to do the Hawk’s Cave trail. One or 2 chose to “test themselves” on the Goreville Boy Scout Tral. Most everyone got in 4 miles, some got in 5 miles or more for the day.