In response to numerous recent comments on Facebook, the Society has developed an official policy that is now posted on our website. This page also includes a link to the official Forest Service national trail assurance installation policy which our policy is based on.
Official River to River Trail Blazing Policy Page
For future reference, a link to this can be found by scrolling down on the main R2R Trail page.
For our last hike of the Spring 2024 season, we had something new…a new hike leader, Cody Evans, from Carterville. We met at the Goreville City park, and had a few new hikers, a father & son pair, and a dad with his young daughter, who wanted to just see what one of our hikes was like. We vehicle-pooled out to the parking area, southwest of Goreville. We started out with 17 hikers, but the father & daughter pair soon turned back. We headed to Borks Falls, crossing several streams, but, since recent rains had been on the ‘light side’ we had no real trouble making those crossings.. We headed out on an old roadbed/trail. We were ‘on trail’ a decent portion of the day, but, at times we also bushwhacked along the base of small bluff lines, and streams. We made it to Borks’ Falls for our lunch stop and the regular group picture. At the falls, several friends of the hike leader joined up with us, to go back to the starting spot, which meant, that for the 2nd time this season, we “gained” hikers as we came back to the conclusion of the hike. We did take a “straight-line’, bushwhack, shortcut over the last mile getting back to the parking lot. It was a pretty warm & humid day for early May. We ended up, depending on whose GPS tracking system that was checked, hiking a bit over 6 miles for the day.
We are Glad to have all the hikers this Spring 2024 season. I have not yet totaled up the numbers for this spring. We want to say “Thank You” to All the leaders who take the time to plan and “advance scout” each hike. We hope You enjoy your hike time with us enough to tell and bring others to hikes.
We Do have 1 more “event’ this spring, which is the annual meeting that is held on National Trails Day at the Vienna City park, on Saturday June 1st. We will have a business meeting, at least 1 guest speaker and then a potluck meal afterwards. You can look for announcements or updates on our Facebook page (River to River Trail Society) or on the website. Some will probably bring bikes to take a ride North or South along the Tunnel Hill bike trail after the meeting. Until then, “See ya’ll On the Trail” and have a safe, enjoyable summer.
Carmen submitted to us a Youtube video that he created for his 2024 R2R through hike at the age of 71.
Our review of this video found that a few video segments were out of sequence with the actual trail. Overall though, it still represents a through hike along the trail very well. The only exception is the section of the video where he shows his day hike through the Giant City State Park trails when he took a zero day from the R2R Trail.
Enjoy.
I just posted a short trail story written by Darral Ward on his April 2024 adventure to hike the R2R Trail from Grand Tower to Elizabethtown, IL. Give it a quick read.
16 Hikers met leader Bil Gilmour at the east end of Illinois Rt. 147. It was sunny and a bit windy. We then vehicle-pooled North on Cedar Grove church rd, a few miles and turned West on a lane into the forest We had 3 new hikers, 1 from West Frankfort and a mother-daughter pair from the Cobden-Makanda area. There were lots of people using the area today…plenty of equestrians, and then the River to River Relay race was also today. Much of our hike was on Trail 032, but, the last mile or so was on the River to River Trail. We ate lunch, and took the group picture at a nice little water fall…no name for it…that had a small amount of flow to it today. It had about a 10-12 ft. drop into a nice pool. No one chose to go swimming though. It was another Great day to be hiking. A couple of gents even did some “trail marker maintenance ” by using their big Sharpie pens to re-mark some Trail 032 signs that were fading out. Next weeks’ hike will be led by Fred Scott at Bell Smith Springs. We will meet in the main parking area.
Until then, “See ya’ll On the Trail”.
The River to River Trail Society announces its 8th public hike of the 2024 spring hiking season on Apr. 20th. Hiking: Trail 32 (Johnson County). This hike is free and open to the public. This will be a hike, 6 miles in length, 4 hours hiking time. The leader of this hike can be reached at 270-331-1553 for more information. Hikers should meet at 10:00 am at the intersection of Hwy 147 and Cedar Grove Road. 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 will be some small stream crossings. If it rains prior to this hike, hiker’s boots/shoes may become wet when crossing the streams. Hikers will also need to shuttle for this hike. For a map to the meeting location at the intersection of Hwy 147 and Cedar Grove Road click this blue link Intersection of Hwy 147 & Cedar Grove Road 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 intersection of Hwy 147 and Cedar Grove Road meeting area for your signature.
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”
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.
We have just been notified by the Shawnee National Forest Service that the timber harvest between Bassett Road and Cadiz Road has been completed 100%. As a result, the Forest Service has removed the requirement to detour along Bassett and Karbers Ridge Roads as shown on the map below.
As a result of this news, the Trail Society has updated the Avenza Map 3 and the River to River Trail Bundle to reflect the original route. We recommend you check for updates in the Avenza App. We have not been able to verify the condition of the trail in the work zone so we would appreciate any feedback from those planning to use it in the near future.
On Saturday, October 28th, we gathered at the Godwin East Trailhead. Bob & Sam had already spotted vehicles at the West end. 9 hikers gathered and Bob promptly got us started at 10:01 am. We were all keeping an eye and ear out for the possibilities of changing, inclement weather. There were 2 new hikers, 1 from Columbia, IL, and 1 from Rock Island, IL. 1 hiker almost did not come with us, as he had not brought anything to wear in case of rain. A fellow hiker was glad to help with an extra poncho found in his backpack. We started out with and kept a brisk pace. There was quite a bit of color to be seen, which would have been nicer with sunshine, but, it was still good. Our 1st thing we found was a big, huge clay well casing, that was several feet wide, but, the well was filled in with debris, so no water to be found. All creeks had no running water, just pockets, which are probably wildlife watering spots during a dry period such as we are experiencing. When we got to Hutchins creek, we took the group picture, including the hornet/wasp nest that Bob and Sam had found earlier in the week. With the cooler temperatures, we did not observe any activity. Once past there, it was a slow, steady upward climb. We took a few minutes for lunch and of course Bobs’ delicious muffins….mmmmm, soo good. (I should have taken a picture). We got to the trucks in about 3 hrs. and 17 minutes after we left the original trailhead. My tracker showed over 7.5 miles. We then went to Inspiration Point. I had never been there. We all went out to the Point, several climbed the rock, and all exited safely. There were a few other people there. We took our time getting out to the point and back, adding about another half mile to the days’ hiking.
Next weeks’ hike will be at Kinkaid Lake. It will be about 75 miles for those coming from the east side. For more information, call 618-791-3086.