I first heard of the Shawnee National Forest (SNF) in a magazine article. The February 1998 issue of Backpacker magazine had a story of the River to River Trail (R2R) that traverses the forest east to west. The author of the piece, Larry Rice, described an inviting hardwood and old growth forest on a landscape that is uncharacteristic of the Midwest. Rice cited unusual rock formations, caves, archeological and historical sites, and the well-marked R2R trail as attractive reasons to hike the SNF. The R2R sounded like the perfect place for my next wilderness hiking trip.
Everything I read about the R2R trail led me to believe that it was a backpacker's dream. Two short, descriptive articles and one web site aren't much to go on. One won't easily find detailed information about the the R2R trail. I have not seen it, but I'd recommend buying a copy of the River To River Trail Society's guidebook. It is probably the best source of information that one can find about this area.
I began my trip on Saturday, October 3rd, 1998. My chosen route to the SNF took me through the Missouri towns of Cameron and Hannibal. I crossed over into Illinois, where I stopped at a drive-up bank teller machine, near Quincy.
I had only been in Illinois a few minutes when I lost my ATM card to a greedy electronic beast. The wretched thing gave me money, and then it started howling and flashing the message, "Please take your card." But my card was still in the machine! I probed every opening on the noisey box, asking "Where is my damn card?". The only response I got was something that sounded like a gulp. This was not a good sign.
Taking the River Road (IL-96 & IL-100), I headed toward Alton. I wanted to avoid urban traffic and take the most direct route on State Highways. But I didn't want to get too far away from places to stop for fuel or coffee, so I drove through East St. Louis and Bellville on IL-111. After that, I took IL-13 to IL-152 to IL-148 to Marion, where I decided to look for a motel room. There wasn't a vacancy to be found in Marion, so I pushed on to Harrisburg. I found a room there, for $35, in nice little motel around midnight.
I left Harrisburg at 7:00 AM. I was full of anticipation as I drove through the damp, foggy morning air to Herod. The trip to the trailhead was only about 20 miles, so it passed rather quickly. The first item on my agenda was to locate the Trails Emporium in Herod. The Emporium is (was) a store that is owned and operated by John O'Dell. He is the founder of the River To River Trail Society, and the author of their guidebook on the trail. I had figured that finding this place would be easy, because the "business district" of Herod is located entirely on IL-34.
My first impressions of the R2R trail were not good. The trail head at Herod is located at the intersection of Eagle Creek Road (County Hwy. 156 & 308) and Illinois Highway 34 (IL-34). My plan had been to hike east from Herod to the Garden Of The Gods, but my plans began to change as I examined the route firsthand.
Hiking east out of Herod, one follows a narrow asphalt road for about one-half mile. I believe that this is the most treacherous part of this section of the trail. The pavement is wide enough for vehicle traffic, to be sure. But with the absence of a shoulder and the amount of commercial traffic it carries, I feel that this road is unsafe for hiking. As I followed the road, looking for the point where the trail splits off from the road, I found that the trailhead at Herod would be my only option for parking unless I was willing to alter my route. There wasn't anyplace to park my truck along the road. I had made up my mind. I would not hike any part of Eagle Creek Road.
My travel plans also included a round-trip hike from Herod to the Lusk Creek Wilderness. So, I decided to investigate that route. On the large Forest Service maps (7.5 Min. Quadrangles), the trail appears to follow IL-34 south to the first gravel road on the right. But the trail actually follows the gravel road north of there, which is just offset from Eagle Creek Road. Where the trail leaves that road, I do not know. The only convergence of the trail and the gravel road that I found was at Concord Church.
I killed a couple of hours by scouting the roads for trail crossings. The only store I found in Herod was "The Gap", a soda pop and liquor package store. It was Sunday, and the store would open at 1300. I decided that I should return to The Gap after its appointed opening time to ask about John O'Dell. Perhaps they sold guidebooks at The Gap, or they could tell me where to get one. I wasn't about to set off on this trail without more information.
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