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