New edition of the 'River to River Trail Guide' is out
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[The fourth edition of the "River to River Trail Guide Across Southern Illinois" is hitting shelves after at least two years in the works.
The guide is an invaluable resource to those planning to hike the trail that stretches across Southern Illinois an estimated 151 miles from the Ohio River in Elizabethtown to Devil's Backbone State Park in Grand Tower on the Mississippi River. While some trail sections use roads by necessity, the majority of the miles are spent in the Shawnee National Forest, state parks or property of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The trail is marked with signs feature a blue letter "i" on a white diamond.
The new edition covers reroutes of the trail in recent years in the Lusk Creek Wilderness Area, Crab Orchard Fish and Wildlife Area and Pine Hills region. But the most notable difference in the new guide from the previous guides is the size.
"I think the advantage is, number one, it allows us to ensure we aren't squeezed for space and north is always at the top of the page," author John O'Dell said.
The arrangement of maps in the third edition was confusing for some readers, but O'Dell believes that confusion is solved.
The edition not only features larger maps, but they are more accurate and it is easier than previous editions to determine where trails follow roads.
The trail alignment on the maps came from cartographers working for the U.S. Forest Service.
"The Forest Service gave us the trail. They had it on a disc so it was a lot easier to put down and make divisions on it," O'Dell said.
The guide is more than a trail section to trail section guide for backpackers. It gives information on legends of the area, such as a brief history of Anna Bixby who was credited with the discovery of milk sickness, a discussion of weirdness associated with the Max Creek Vortex, information on canoing opportunities and a chapter on the American Discovery Trail from the Atlantic to the Pacific coasts of which the RTR Trail is a part. Those passages may not be vital to someone looking to the next turn in the course of a multi-day trek, but may help pass a few minutes at an end-of-day campfire.
The trail now officially begins in the east at Elizabethtown, but there is a desciption and map of the old route that began at Battery Rock.
O'Dell expects after four editions this latest is his last and most comprehensive.
"I tell you, I'm so pleased with this. I'm sure people think it's too big, but you can still slip it down into a pack and I know the cover is a lot more waterproof than any cover we've had," O'Dell said.
The trail guides have been stocked at Big John's in Eldorado are or will be sold through the Shawnee National Forest Supervisor's Office in Harrisburg, Bookworm in Carbondale and can be ordered through O'Dell at (618) 252-6789.
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DeNeal receives e-mail at mailto:bdeneal@yourclearwave.com.</li>
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