Saturday November 30, 2024 Hike Summary

On the cooler, cloudy morning of Saturday, November 30th, 15 hikers gathered in the camping ground of Giant City State Park to be led on the last hike of the Fall 2024 hiking season, by Bob Mulcahy. We had several new hikers, some who were camping, and even 1 hiker got dropped off by a friend. Vehicles had been spotted at strategic places. Bob had it planned so that hikers could do about 5.5 miles, 9 miles, or even the full round trip of 12 miles. We crossed several streams that had a small amount of water, but, no real challenges. We did see a few scattered “frost flowers” since the temperatures had dropped enough. The sun never really broke through the clouds for the day. Most all the leaves were off trees. The 1st hiker left when we got close to the River to River trail, and he hiked on back to Makanda. We continued on, above another trail offering some nice views. There were a few small, low bluffs, but, nothing that was outstanding. We made it 5.5 miles, to the picnic table area where we all stopped, ate, and then took the group picture. Sam Morales had parked his truck out on the road, and 9 total hikers decided they had enough exercise for the day. Bob and 6 others continued on, and 4 made the full round trip of 12 miles back to the starting point. 

I will make a later post of some numbers for this fall, but we, the Trail Society want to Thank All the hikers who came for any hike this fall. I felt that we had the best “numbers of hikers’ that we have had in several years. We are already planning for next spring. I will be exploring and scouting an area or 2 over my Christmas break from teaching. If you have any feedback about hikes, Please let us the board members know, through texting, email or social media messaging. If you are interested in becoming  a hike leader, we would be glad to have that sort of help also. We look forward to seeing you All soon, and have a Peaceful, Happy, Merry Christmas and a Bountiful, Happy New Year of 2025.  Until then, as always ,”See Ya’ll On the Trail”. 

Respectfully submitted, 

Chris Drone. 

The Trail Society would also like extend a sincere thank you to Society Vice President Mr. Chris Drone for all his efforts in taking the group pictures, handling hike sign in sheets and doing all of the hike summaries for the 2024 hiking seasons.

Saturday November 16, 2024 Hike Summary

Well, this hike…we were “blown away”.  We had soooo many hikers, newbies and everyone, that we had to “revise” things. Sam Morales led this hike, North of the Lusk Creek area, on a perfect Saturday for hiking, sunny and mild temperatures. All in all, we had 33 hikers. We met at an old abandoned church well south of Oak road, down a dead-end lane. We ended up moving vehicles so that a vehicle pulling a horse trailer could turn around. We had planned on using vehicles to move the half mile north to the start of the hike, going East into the woods, but, with so many hikers, we abandoned that idea, and just walked up the road. I had not been in some of this area prior to this hike. We took a ’round-about’ way to Secret Canyon. The rock formations today were not huge or anything such as that…they were somewhat ‘short’, but with a few interesting crevices and crawl spaces. We were ‘on trail” pretty much all the time, since we were in the wilderness area. We got to Secret canyon, where the horse tie-up cable was, and took our lunch break.  There was a big shelter, somewhat reminiscent of, but much smaller than Sand cave. We took the group picture using that as a backdrop. We then followed the trail out, and found the waterfall, which was very slightly flowing. Many took pictures. We then headed back north on the trail, wound our way around and headed west, until we reached the road and then walked back to the vehicles. It Was a Gorgeous day to be out hiking with friends. All in all, we hiked about 4.5 miles. Our next, and last official hike for the Fall 2024 hiking season, will be at Giant City State Park, led by Bob Mulcahy, on Saturday, November 30th. 

Until then, “See ya’ ll on the Trail”. 

Saturday, November 30, 2024 Hike Announcement

The River to River Trail Society announces its 8th public hike of the 2024 fall hiking season on Nov. 30th. Hiking: Red Cedar Trail (Jackson County). This hike is free and open to the public. This will be a loop hike of moderate difficulty 12 miles in length 6 hours hiking time. A shorter hike can also be done of 6 miles in length and 4 hours hiking time. Hikers who perform the shorter version will need to shuttle back to the meeting location. The leader of this hike can be reached at 708-471-7500 for more information. Hikers should meet at 10:00 am at the Giant City Campground. 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 are two stream crossings which may be flowing water if it has rained and the hiker’s boots/shoes may become wet. Some steep grades. Hikers who perform the 6-mile version of this hike will need to shuttle back to the meeting area. If you are using the Avenza app for tracking your hikes, map #21 of the River to River bundle can be used for tracking this hike. For a map to the meeting location click this blue link Giant City Campground Red Cedar Trail 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 Giant City Campground meeting area for your signature.

Saturday, November 16, 2024 Hike Announcement

The River to River Trail Society announces its 7th public hike of the 2024 fall hiking season on Nov. 16th. Hiking: Secret Canyon (Pope County). This hike is free and open to the public. This will be a moderate loop hike approximately 4 miles in length, 3 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 the New Liberty Blanchard Cemetery. 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 one wide stream which will need to be crossed and hikers may need to walk rocks to cross this stream and their shoes and or boots may become wet if it has rained. If you are using Avenza for tracking you can use map #8 of the River to River map bundle which can be downloaded from the Avenza map store. For a map to the meeting location at the New Liberty Blanchard Cemetery click this blue link New Liberty Blanchard Cemetery 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 New Liberty Blanchard Cemetery meeting area for your signature.

Saturday November 2, 2024 Hike Summary

Ok, so, the leader of the hike on Saturday November 2nd was “almost late” getting to the meeting spot on Rocky Comfort road, and, to Top that off, the leader ( and writer of these summaries) is late getting the summary written. 

First off, I want to say a Huge Thank You to Crab Orchard National wildlife refuge for letting the River to River Trail Society use their parking spot on Rocky Comfort road for our meeting & parking spot. Secondly, I want to Thank all of the hikers, old, new, returnees, first-timers for coming to the hike. We had 25 hikers. Holy Cow!! (as Haray Caray used to say). It was a Wonderful day for hiking, with temps almost perfect. We made introductions, then loaded into vehicles to move to the Panther Den parking area, with several other vehicles already there. We hit the trail then branched off onto Trail 371. We got to the “sliced rocks” area, and Bob Mulcahy guided some hikers to the upper/top area to yell back down to us. We moved on, crossing several dry streambeds. We saw several pairs of other hikers out for a good walk. Getting to the big shelter bluff, we took the lunch break, took the group picture, then climbed up, out and wound our way back to the parking lot. We all loaded back into the vehicles, back to the parking lot on Rocky Comfort road, and many dispersed towards home. A few, led by Bob Mulcahy, did a short “after-hike” finding a Huge fireplace out in the woods. It was a beautiful day for a good hike. Thanks to all who came.  Until next time, “See ya’ll on the Trail. 

   The hike of Sat. November 9th, led by Cathy Jennings, will be in the Cove Hollow area, on the West side of Cedar lake, meeting at the end of Boat Dock road, west of Rt. 127. 

Saturday, November 9, 2024 Hike Announcement

The River to River Trail Society announces its 6th public hike of the 2024 fall hiking season on Nov. 9th. Hiking: Cove Hollow Cedar Lake (Jackson County). This hike is free and open to the public. This will be a moderate through hike approximately 5 miles in length, 3 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 Cedar Lake Trail Head. 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 and some vehicles will need to be shuttled to Cove Hollow Trailhead. For those who want to track this hike, the Pomona & Cobden topo maps can be downloaded from the Avenza store. For a map to the meeting location at Cedar Lake Trailhead click this blue link Cedar Lake 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 Cedar Lake Trailhead meeting area for your signature.

Saturday October 26, 2024 Hike Summary

It was a Beautiful day for a hike on Saturday, October 26th. 19 hikers gathered at the Little Grand Canyon trail head parking lot to be led by Cody Evans. This was Codys’ 2nd time for leading a hike and he did a Great job. Thanks Sir!!  We had 5-6 new hikers to the Trail Society, including a couple from just across the river in Cape Girardeau. The parking lot filled up with many other hikers. Fall leaf colors were on Full display with greens, yellows, reds & orange prominent. We went down the trail “counter-clockwise, heading down and into the  canyon.  We got to the bottom, crossed the dry streams, saw a cotton-mouth snake on a log, (3rd hike out of 4 this fall we have seen a snake of some sort).  Then, we started working our way up. There were so many hikers out, that we met several who had been at the parking lot and went out “clockwise”. We took the group picture at the scenic overlook, and didn’t need any tripod setup…we just asked another hiker to take the pictures. We then, “added” 2 hikers. They had taken a wrong turn, got to the parking lot about 10 minutes late, and joined up with us, so, net, we had 21 hikers in our group for the day.  We got back to the parking lot just after noon, where some left, some ate their lunch, and some went on an “afterhike”, led by Bob Mulcahy.  The regular hike covered about 3.5 miles for the day. 

One hiker did a very nice deed. David Cooper had a wire coat hanger, and helped a woman & her 2 sons, who had locked all their keys in their vehicle. He stayed, and “worked” the wire to get the job done. 

Next weeks’ hike, is in the Panther Den, led by Chris Drone. Until then, “See Ya’ll on the Trail. 

Saturday, November 2, 2024 Hike Announcement

The River to River Trail Society announces its 5th public hike of the 2024 fall hiking season on Nov. 2nd. Hiking: Panther Den (Johnson County). This hike is free and open to the public. This will be a medium loop hike approximately 3.5 miles in length, 3 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 S. Rocky Comfort Road Trailhead area. A Crab Orchard Pass is required for parking. We will shuttle for this hike. 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 are 6 stream crossings and hikers may have to walk rocks to cross streams if it has rained. Some rock will be slick if it has rained. Hikers may also have the opportunity to hike up the bluff to view the panther’s head. Map #19 of the River to River Map Bundle can be used for tracking if using Avenza. For a map to the meeting location at the S. Rocky Comfort Road Trailhead click this blue link S. Rocky Comfort Road 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 S. Rocky Comfort Road Trailhead meeting area for your signature.

Saturday October 19, 2024 Hike Summary

Hikers met at the parking lot of the Michael Wolfe memorial wetlands. Melanie Kasson was our leader of 13 hikers for the day. It was sunny, bright, clear blue skies, a perfect day for a nice hike. Several went over to the pond before the hike began, as there was an eagle perched in the top of a dead tree on the west side of the pond.  We took off a few minutes after 10 am, after introductions had been made and headed North on the trail. We branched ‘left’ at the Y and headed into Tupelo swamp. Conditions are very dry. It was very easy to observe the “knees” on the cypress trees. This was the 1st hike this fall that we have not seen a snake, even though we were near a swamp, and it was the time of the year for them to be moving to their winter dwelling areas.  Bill Gilmour took the group pic near the swamp. We hiked about 3.4 miles, and ended back at the main parking area/pond observation spot, where most took the opportunity to sit, chat, look at the pond and eat lunch. 

Next weeks’ hike will be at Little Grand Canyon. 

Until then, “See ya’ll on the trail”. 

Saturday, October 26, 2024 Hike Announcement

The River to River Trail Society announces its 4th public hike of the 2024 fall hiking season on Oct. 26th. Hiking: Little Grand Canyon (Jackson County). This hike is free and open to the public. This will be a loop hike approximately 3 miles in length, 3 hours hiking time. This hike is rated difficult. The leader of this hike can be reached at 618-559-0686 for more information. Hikers should meet at 10:00 am at the Little Grand Canyon 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. If it rains prior to the hike the trail may become muddy and the rock will be slick. The Gorham Topo map can be used for tracking if using Avenza. For a map to the meeting location at Little Grand Canyon Trailhead click this blue link Little Grand Canyon 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 Little Grand Canyon Trailhead meeting area for your signature.