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 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.

River-to-River Trail Society Announces Spring, 2024 Hiking Schedule

The River-to River Trail Society announces its schedule of free guided hikes in and about the Shawnee National Forest for Spring, 2024. All hikes are open to the public free of charge. No reservations are required except where noted on schedule. These hikes are of at least moderate difficulty, and are intended for people in good health who have done some hiking. Boots or sturdy shoes and a walking stick are recommended for all hikes. Hikers should bring their own water and a snack. No dogs, please.

2024-Spring-Hiking-datesDownload

The River-to-River Trail Society is an Illinois not-for-profit corporation founded
in 1993 by John O’Dell to promote completion of the River-to-River Trail, which now
runs 157 miles through the Shawnee National Forest between Elizabethtown on the Ohio
River and Grand Tower on the Mississippi River. The Society engages in trail
maintenance and advocacy, and it offers free guided hikes to members and the public
during the spring and fall hiking seasons. In addition, the Society has a Trail Guide to the
entire River-to-River Trail, which can be downloaded for free from the Society’s website:
http://www.rivertorivertrail.net/.

Saturday December 16, 2023 Hike Summary

On Saturday, Dec. 16th, we had our last hike of the Fall 2023 hiking season. 20 hikers met the hike leader, Steve Melville, at Rim Rock parking lot and left out, with the possibility of sprinkles. Steve and 3 others had “spotted’ pickups at the end of the hike, to bring us back. We had about 4 new hikers, along with some peeps who had not been with us all fall. We headed right toward the main Rim Rock trail, then veered left, and followed a well worn path along the West base of Rim rock, exploring along, until we got to Ox Lot cave.  It is Always neat, to “view from a different direction. We then crossed the ‘dry” creek, headed to the bluff to the north side, and again turned “left” or west, and followed that bluff line around. We walked over to a “lonely” rock outcrop, and many walked on top, then around the base. We then went back to the bluffline, followed it, found a very nice, open-to-the-north shelter bluff, then made it to the “Initial Tree” area, where we ate lunch. Some saw the rock ‘fort’ and then we headed out on a trail toward the vehicles. We were on trail 184 quite a while We stopped at 2 rock shelters, which were close together, along the side of a ridge, just above trail 184. We came out to the  vehicles parked along a gravel road. The mileage for the hike was about 4.3 miles.  We did get a very few, light, misty sprinkles, enough to get some to put on their raingear, but, within 15 minutes, they were too warm, and taking it off, and stowing it in their backpacks. 

We want to say “Thank You” to all the hikers who came out to enjoy the sights of the Shawnee National Forest and surrounding areas this fall. We Do Enjoy putting on these hikes for you. and Hope you will come back next spring of 2024. Several of us will be hiking often this winter, for exercise and friendship, and, to scout for hikes for 2024.  Look for our Spring hiking schedule in about 6 weeks, And…bring a friend.

Tell ’em who you hiked with, and how much fun you had. Until then, “See ya’ll On the Trail”, 

Sunday November 12, 2023 Hike Summary

Sunday afternoon, Nov. 12th, 2023, Vicki & Gillum Ferguson led 8 other hikers on a trek into Secret Canyon. 5 of the hikers were new to hiking with the Trail Society. We met at Cedar Grove church on Rt. 145, then proceeded to move to Blanchard/New Liberty Church. From there we went down the roadway, found the creek bed and generally headed west. We worked our way down a dry waterfall, into 1 small secluded area, then back out and down to Secret Canyon. There are some nice, medium-sized bluffs, with a small shelter or two, and a large horse tie-up area. We then went pretty well back out the way we had hiked in. The sun was out and made for a great, short, Sunday afternoon exercise hike. 

Since we do Not hike on the shotgun deer weekends, our  next hike is not until Sat. November 25th, 10 am in the Jackson Hole/Double branch hole area, meeting at the old Shawnee Mart location on Rt. 145, Eddyville.  For more information (there is No limit to the number of hikers, or need to sign-up), call 618-759-1924. It might be a good way to work off a few ounces of the Thanksgiving feast. 

Until then, “See ya’ll On the Trail” and Happy Thanksgiving!!

Respectfully submitted, 

Chris Drone