The Midwest’s ‘rugged beauty’
Southern Illinois’ River-to-River Trail “defies preconceptions” that hikers may have of the Midwest as a “featureless lowland,” said Backpacker. While most of the region was “scoured by glaciers” eons ago, this 20-some-mile stretch of the American Discovery Trail was spared. No matter the season, the hike is one of “myth-bustingly rugged beauty.” The trail weaves through the “high, castellated bluffs” that overlook Illinois’ southern prairie and past “swirling brown and red” boulders with names like Noah’s Ark. As the trek continues, hikers slip beneath overhangs and slither through narrow canyons. Ten miles in, the course squeezes into One Horse Gap, a tiny crack in the bedrock that leads to a 50-foot-tall waterfall. The trail finally descends the 100-foot walls of Lusk Creek Canyon into Indian Kitchen, a large alcove believed to be an ancient Shawnee Indian cooking area. Source: Rivertorivertrail.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Fallout: one of the 'most faithful – and best – video game adaptations'The Week Recommends This 'genre-bending' new Amazon series is set in a post-apocalyptic wilderness where survivors shelter below ground
-
'Test of faith for Trump Media's investors'Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
-
Will Iran attack hinder support for Ukraine?Today's Big Question Pro-Kyiv allies cry 'hypocrisy' and 'double standards' even as the US readies new support package
