River to River Trail Intermediate Trip

The River to River Trail is a 160-mile path between the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers in southern Illinois, mostly through the Shawnee National Forest. We’ll be doing a 2-night/3-day 25-mile loop trip in the Lusk Creek Wilderness, part of which will follow the River to River Trail, where we’ll walk through hilly terrain near (relatively) undisturbed waterways and see lots of rock formations and evidence of pioneer settlement along the way. The trail map is available at https://www.rivertorivertrail.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Lusk-Creek-Loop_Brochure.pdf.

This trip is for intermediate backpackers who have experience doing multi-night trips. Participating in one of the group’s introductory trips is the best way to show this, but other backpacking experience is fine. Email the organizers if you have any questions about your readiness. Please, no pets or children.

Each participant is expected to provide their own backpacking gear, food, etc. We will hang our food at night to deter critters, so please bring a sack for that purpose. Water sources should be regularly available through most of the trip for collection and filtration.

The weather in November could be sunny and mild or it could be wet and chilly. Please bring appropriate clothing. The trail has several stream crossings. Participants should be prepared for this.

Each Day
The trip begins with everyone meeting at the Lusk Creek trailhead on the afternoon of Saturday, November 8. We’ll hike counter-clockwise approximately 2.5 miles to the first campsite. On Saturday we’ll go ~14 miles to the next camp, followed by the last ~9 miles on Monday.

Guidelines
We practice Leave No Trace and expect that everyone attending is also committed to these principles. Read more at https://lnt.org
Participation is at the discretion of the event organizers.
And, as always, participants will need to sign a waiver prior to the trip.
Meetup messaging is unreliable, and we use email for pre-trip communications. You will be asked to enter your email when you RSVP. Respond to organizer emails in a timely manner or risk forfeiting your spot on the trip. Participation is at the discretion of the organizer.
While the group does not organize carpools, we will have a quick Zoom call prior to the trip to discuss trip details and allow participants to arrange rides.

Acknowledgement
As a member of the Chicago Backpackers Group, by registering (RSVPing) for this event, you accept that Hiking & Backpacking can be a dangerous sport and fully assume all risks associated with such participation, including travel to and from the event. You agree to be responsible for your own safety and equipment. You realize that conditions, obstacles, and weather are always changing, and your personal safety cannot be guaranteed. You understand the [Meetup.com](http://meetup.com/) Terms of Service agreement which you signed when you joined Meetup (link below) and accept that participation is at your own risk. You agree to communicate with event organizers to plan for the trip and sign the Release of Liability provided by the organizers prior to participation.
Click here to review the [Meetup.com](http://meetup.com/) Terms of Service. (https://www.meetup.com/terms/)