This post is a follow-up to our October 4, 2023 post on the start of installing picnic tables along the River to River Trail. Since that post, the Society has completed the installation of six more tables in various spots along the trail. Tables 4-6 were installed back in October at Petti Coat Junction, Little Cedar Spillway and Crow Knob. The table at Petti Coat junction was the most difficult table to date and the one at Cedar Lake Spillway was the most unique because we coordinated with the Forest Service to us their boat to deliver the table. See additional details further down in this post. Following the installation of these the Society had to wait on the Menards Rebate check before purchasing the wood for the last three tables.

Upon receipt of that rebate, the Society purchased the remaining materials needed to complete the three remaining tables because that is all of the leg kits we had. All the table leg kits were purchased back in September. Society board members Chris Drone, Fred Scott, Sam Morales and Bill Gilmour then assembled the three remaining tables on November 25, 2023 following our Society hike.

Once again the Society enlisted the assistance of Cricket Simons of the Back Country Horseman of Illinois to help haul the tables into position along the trail on December 14, 2023. Because of the anticipated challenges getting two of these tables into position, Sam Morales and Bill Gilmour did a scouting hike prior to attempting to haul them in to scout the best route. Based on this scouting exercise, it was determined that the table at Max Creek would be the most difficult to deliver. As a result, on the morning of the 14th, five Society members and Cricket got together to install the three remaining tables.

As a reminder, the installation of these tables was in part because of the generous donations the Society has received from many different River to River Trail Through hikers. At this point in time the Society doesn’t have any plans to install any additional tables because of the following reasons:

• The Shawnee Forest Service will not allow any tables to be installed in any wilderness area. As a result, this rules out tables in Garden of the Gods, Lusk Creek, Panther Den, Bald Knob or Clear Springs wildernesses.
• Due to the fact that Illinois State Parks don’t allow disbursed camping and they already have plenty of tables in their campgrounds, we can’t put any tables in the Ferne Clyffe or Giant City State Parks.
• The Society didn’t consider any tables in the Dutchman Lake area because there is already numerous tables in the area.
• Ruling out the above locations, that doesn’t leave many available spots for anymore tables along the trail except for one possible location in the Crab Orchard section of the trail.

For though hikers planning purposes, here is a list of all of the tables installed by the Society during the fall of 2023.

Location Name	Map No.	Date Installed	GPS Coordinates	Mile*
Trail 170 Overlook Table	7	September 22, 2023	N37.54733° W88.44585°	31.4
Rocky Top Table	7	September 26, 2023	N37.52558° W88.45367°	33.5
Hart Creek Table	6	October 4, 2023	N37.56163° W88.45306°	29.7
Petti Coat Junction Table	10	October 11, 2023	N37.49585° W88.61188°	56.9
Little Cedar Lake Spillway Dam Table	22	October 13, 2023	N37.61300° W89.29013°	132.1
Crow Knob Ecological Area Table	10	October 25, 2023	N37.49863° W88.63241°	59.0
Max Creek Vortex Table	14	December 14, 2023	N37.48649° W88.80855°	76.1
Cedar Wonders Table	13	December 14, 2023	N37.50682° W88.78057°	72.4
Hippie Bus Table	11	December 14, 2023	N37.48568° W88.68919°	64.5

Trail 170 Overlook Table

This table was expected to be the easiest to install which was why it was the first installed. Due to the popularity of this spot along the trail, we were able to haul this table all the way to where it was placed on the back of a pickup truck.

Rocky Top Table

This was the second table installed and required the use of a side by side to haul the table into this very popular overlook/camping spot about 50 yards south of the trail just before One Horse Gap. The table was hauled in along an existing (1/4 mile long) user made trail created by side by side users. In the following photo Trail Society President Bill Gilmour and BCH leader Cricket Simons are testing the Rocky Top Table.

Hart Creek Table

The Hart Creek location is only about 200 yards off the road and it was carried in using a dolly. This table is ideally situated along Hart creek and just following the 2.5 mile road walk from Garden of the Gods wilderness. This is the first table you might encounter at the 29.7 mile mark from Elizabethtown. In the following photo, Trail Society board member and active volunteer Sam Morales tests out the new table.

Petti Coat Junction Table

The table at Petti Coat junction was one of the more challenging tables to install. The table was hauled in on the back of a side by side for 2.5 miles along the actual R2R trail. The first 1.7 miles was easy along an old forest road, however the last 0.8 miles was along the narrow R2R trail. This table is ideally located at a popular camping spot / horse tie-up right next to Hayes Creek. This table is approximately 3 miles from downtown Eddyville and at mile 56.9 from Elizabethtown. The following picture is where the table was installed.

Little Cedar Lake Spillway Dam Table

The installation of this table required the most coordination because of how it was hauled in. Shawnee National Forest employees Chad Deaton and Austin Davidson assisted Trail Society members Bill Gilmour and Sam Morales when this was hauled in. The Forest Service allowed us to us their john boat to haul the table across Cedar Lake to the spillway, from there it was a short carry up the spillway to the camping spot. The table was placed at the popular camping spot on the east side of the spillway. There is a second campsite on the west side of the spillway. These camp sites are very popular with hikers and kayakers, in fact there was a couple of guys that had kayaked in and were camping the day we delivered the table. In this first photo, Chad, Austin and Bill with the table in the boat and in the second photo Sam Morales is installing the table anchor.

Crow Knob Ecological Area Table

Similar to the first table installed, Sam Morales and Cricket Simons were able to drive this table along a Forest Service road right to the entrance to Crow Knob where the table is located.

Max Creek Vortex Table

The Max Creek table was the first of three installed on that day. This was also the most difficult table installed to date because it was hauled in from Cedar Lake Campground along trail 435. After going as far as we could, the table was moved the last 1/2 mile using a dolly and manually carrying in across the Max creek several times. We had 5 Trail Society and 1 BCH members show up to help get these tables installed. They included BCH member Cricket Simons and Trail Society members Cathy Jennings, Steve Melville, Bob Mulcahy, Sam Morales and Bill Gilmour. The following photo shows Sam Morales installing the table anchor and others watching.

Cedar Wonders Table

After installing the Max Creek table, the crew loaded the Max Creek table onto a side by side and were able to drive it through a farmers field and through the woods and along a short section of the R2R trail all the way to its final location along the creek at a popular camping area and horse tie up. Several fallen trees had to be cleared to get into the final location. In the first photo Cathy Jennings, Bob Mulcahy, Bill Gilmour, Sam Morales and Cricket Simons test the table before heading back out of the woods. The second photo shows how the table was hauled in the back of a side by side.

Hippie Bus Table

The hippie bus table was the third of the day and installed by Cricket, Sam and Bill. We again used a side by side to haul the table to a point just across the Millstone lake Dam about 50 yards down the hill from the final table location. In the following image, Cricket watches Sam install the table anchor.