Souther Illinois B-packing, what's there ?

“I've been to/through the area a few times but I don't really know much about it.

I have heard of River to River but that is it. Same with Garden of the Gods and the Little GC. If anyone here knows anything about those and more, please share. If you have any good links, well, those would be helpful.

Thanks. :)”

“whattaya think this is? a backpacking website?

please!”

“The nerve of some people!”

“lol”

“no seriously....

your better off going to the magazine website if you want any real info. I don't think there's anyone left on this board from that area.”

“you mean like the front page of this place?

and where did they all go? is there a GL hiking forum out there?”

“nah - backpacker mag's forums

go to backpacker.com and navigate to the forums. they have pretty good regional coverage.”

“I was about to make a snarky comment about checking the Trip Page, but I did check and found nothing for Illinois, but plenty for IN.


Phil's list:

Illinois
Nafai
Jake
M-nutz
Muktuk
Future ranger
Stumprider
Prosecutor
Hubcap
last edited: 10/29/09 2:34:17 PM”

“thanks RA.. i see prosecutor's there... why would they move on though? this place has great quirkiness to it. :D”

“I'm sure the "defectors" check in here occasionally, especially if you list a trip here and tell them about it on the other site.

Regarding the R2R, you can get good info from their website at http://www.rivertorivertrail.com and their trail guide is okay. I'd recommend getting your own topos though if you're going to hike it. Also, pay attention to hunting seasons as there's a lot of hunters down there.
last edited: 10/29/09 3:35:04 PM”

“I may be able to get some info for ya. Most of the trails I know of are pretty short though, more for dayhiking.”

“Yogi, WK, Chin Music and many others are from the Indiana/Illinois area.”

“the best place to backpack illinois is in indiana and wisconsin. forget it!

river to river trail would be the one thing that comes to mind. great climbing in southern illinois... way southern. might as well go to kentucky kind of southern.

5-7 hour drive basically from chicagoland and even then the hikes get tiresome after many years.”

“Crazymike has hiked in that area”

“Well if you like backpacking through rows of corn then you are in heaven. Lots of dayhiking of lesser quality. Backpacking here is more like a short walk to a camp site with stuff strapped to your back. The adventure element is hear zero. The climbing scene is outstanding in Southern Illinois, however. It aint Red River Gorge kind of good but the rock quality is excellent and there are lots of trad and sport routes.”

“I theenk the Appalatcheen Trale is aroun ther to. You can prolly walk to Wyodaho to. Do not for get yer pakpak tho and a tent and a sleepy bag.”

“so, this confirms that IL sucks worse then IN. damn.


:D”

“It further confirms it sucks as bad as North Mississippi.”

“well in has the knobstone trail which kicks anything illinois has big time. the kt offers some oustanding backpacking, however it's really just a stripe of wilderness in a sea of farms. i joke that if you get lost on the kt you should walk AWAY from the trail because you will wind up in a clearing where you will see a road or farm house...
last edited: 10/30/09 9:43:12 AM”

“Southern Illinois has fine backpacking. Sheesh! go search for it on the other forum. I think Ron may have packed down there not too long ago. Shawnee National Forest is pretty and rocky and NOT full of corn. LOL! You guyz....!!!! SHEESH... LOL”

“so, what are these trails you speak of in Shawnee? thanks”

“Last March I did 26 miles backpacking in southern Illinois which included parts of the River to River Trail. But to go any distance, you have to do road walks.

Sand Ridge State Forest has a grid of hiking and backpacking trails just south of Peoria:
http://s231.photobucket.com/albums/ee281/prosecutor104/Sand%20Ridge%20State%20Park/?albumview=slideshow

Forest Glen just south of Danville, Illinois has a nice short week end backpacking loop:
http://outdoors.webshots.com/slideshow/555367914wbqcTy

The Adventure Hiking Trail in southern Indiana has a fine loop that is not too far from southern Illinois:
http://outdoors.webshots.com/slideshow/563072112CNRJyc

The Knobstone Trail in south central Indiana is good also:
http://outdoors.webshots.com/slideshow/137712190InpKan”

“Offtrack - If you plan a trip, I may join you. I'm just across the river from Southern Illinois.”

“There is a 12 mile trail around Giant City Park...close to carbondale. I don't know of any others. That's pretty lame since I'm so close.”

“thanks prosecutor. we just did the AHT. will do KT in the future, i am sure.

i'll look into the others, for sure. thanks.

stomper, are you in cape or stl? i'll look into the one you mentioned too. may have to look up a bud of mine who spent some time at SIU... he's the one who told me about the little gc.

thanks guys.. i'll post up a trip, when we decide on something. you guys post up too, eh?

not sure when i'll be back as my 'puter took a big bad dump.. having a little luck making it go again... ugh.”

“I'm in Paducah KY just across the river from Metropolis, IL. I went to the little grand canyon last week. It was beautiful but definitely a dayhike. I have a friend from So IL who shows me around the forests of the area but everything we've done has been 5 miles or less. Sometimes we hit several of them during the day and then end up at a winery.”