THE NATURAL WONDERS OF ILLINOIS

 

 

We arrived at the campground at Ferne Clyffe State Park well after dark on Friday night.  I’d picked this campground (despite the pretentious spelling of the park’s name) because it was conveniently located and reservations are accepted.  I would’ve preferred camping near Garden of the Gods, but those campgrounds are small and are first come first serve.  I was afraid we would have trouble finding a spot arriving late on a Friday evening.  Ferne Clyffe State Park was a bit too civilized for our tastes, but it is nice to take a shower every now and then.

 

I got up at first light on Saturday morning and let Christy sleep in.  My goal was to visit the park’s namesake before the sun came up and ruined any chance of getting good photos.  This was a bit unpleasant after getting in late the previous evening, and ultimately not worth it.  I had the trail to myself, and enjoyed a quiet stroll up a peaceful canyon to the headwall.  Ferne Clyffe Falls drops 60-70’ here (the park officially lists it at 100’, but that appears to be overstated).  In understand that it is an impressive sight when the water is up.  The water was not up during my visit.  Although there had been numerous storms earlier in the week, that water was long gone.  The waterfall was just a trickle on Saturday morning.  If you want to visit this one, make sure to go during or right after a good rain.

 

I made the most of the hike, exploring the base of the cliffs and scrambling through the cavern behind the falls.  Afterwards I explored up a side drainage, which features more cliffs (including the park’s official rock climbing area) and two minor, low-volume waterfalls.  The wildflowers were fantastic in this area, making the early start worthwhile. 

 

After my hike I returned to the campground and made breakfast.  Then we drove to the far corner of the park to check out Bork’s Falls.  This is a lesser-known waterfall, but it is on a larger stream.  I was hopeful that there would be enough water there to make it worthwhile.  Fortunately a decent dirt road leads right to the top of the falls.  We rock hopped the creek where to road fords it, just above the brink of the falls.  There was decent volume in this creek, which drains a much larger area than Ferne Clyffe Falls.  Luckily, it wasn’t too high.  At least one car has been swept over the 40’ waterfall while attempting to cross the creek during high water.

 

We picked up a path on the far side.  We followed the brink of a cliff away from the falls until we found a break.  A short, easy scramble led to the base of the cliff.  We followed the base of the cliff it back to the falls.  While Ferne Clyffe Falls had been disappointing due to the low water, Bork’s Falls is a beauty!  I was amazed at how cool this spot is.  The waterfall is a 40’ sheer drop into a lovely green pool.  The pool is surrounded by cliffs, and there is a cave behind the falls.  The mid-morning light was marginal for photos, but I made the best of the situation.  We ended up spending a full hour there enjoying the place and taking photos.

 

Next up on our grand tour of southern Illinois was a hike in Jackson Hollow, a sandstone canyon with interesting cliffs, caves, and boulders.  My friend Mitch and his friend Bob were driving all the way from St. Louis to meet us for the hike.  We were still a little ahead of schedule, and Mitch was running a bit late.  We decided to squeeze in one more waterfall.  We’d passed signs for Jackson Falls shortly before reaching the trailhead, so we headed that way.  Unfortunately one sign was missing and we took a wrong turn.  Once I realized our error, we were almost at Burden Falls.  We decided to hit that one instead.  Burden Falls is a popular spot.  It was swarming with people when we arrived.  Like Bork’s Falls, a decent dirt road leads right to the top of it.  I took a couple of photos from the rim of the canyon and considered scrambling to the base.  However, the scramble down looked a bit involved, and conditions were poor for photography.  We’d be late meeting Mitch if I did it, and I was eager to start our exploration of Jackson Hollow. 

 

We drove back to the trailhead, which is just a grassy spot on the shoulder of Trigg Tower Road.  They weren’t there, and there was no cell signal.  We kept driving down the road and found Mitch and Bob at a parking area popular with horseback riders.  It was great to see Mitch!  He had missed his annual Spring trip to South Carolina in March, so it had been over a year since I’d seen him.  His buddy Bob was a friendly guy who had done a lot of hiking in the area.  However, neither of them had been to Jackson Hollow.

 

Apparently not many people go to Jackson Hollow.  Although it features impressive cliffs, boulders, and caves, it seems to be largely off the radar.  After moving our cars back to the side of the road we bushwhacked through the woods and down into the canyon.  Most of Jackson Hollow is guarded by cliffs, but the west end offers a gentle approach.  We found breaks in the cliffs, and before long joined a prominent trail.  It connects Jackson Hollow with a point to the south, possibly on private property.

 

Jackson Hollow is a broad, forested canyon with a stream running through the middle of it.  The path follows the stream, but all of the canyon’s interesting features are along the cliff walls to the north and south.  We decided to explore the north side first.  We headed that way, and scrambled up through a maze of giant boulders to the base of the cliff.  My plan had been to follow the base of the cliffs all the way around the canyon.  However, our approach had been a bit inefficient.  We had missed some sections of cliff back to the west.  After a bit of debate, we decided to double-back.  Christy decided to hang out in the shade of a big boulder while we explored.  Mitch and I temporarily lost Bob along the way, but we eventually regrouped back at the meeting spot.  The extra exploration turned out to be worthwhile.  We found some impressive overhanging cliffs and a couple of small caves.  One of them hosts a population of Filmy Ferns, an endangered species.

 

After regrouping we followed the base of the cliffs to the east.  This stretch of the canyon featured more giant boulders, overhanging cliffs, stone passageways, and small caves.  We took our time and enjoyed the exploration.  Eventually the cliffs ran out, and we found ourselves at the bottom of a steep railroad embankment at the east end of Jackson Hollow.  Here, it is possible to wade through a culvert (or climb up and over the railroad tracks) to access the Jackson Falls area.  Originally I thought we might do that, but it was much later than I’d anticipated.  Exploring a boulder playground can be time-consuming!  Also, Christy was not at all interested in wading through the culvert.  I suggested following the base of the cliffs on the south side of the hollow on our return.  However, it was getting late, and I still wanted to visit Garden of the Gods that evening.  In the end we decided to take the direct route back to the car by following the trail along the stream.

 

Jackson Hollow was a really cool place to explore!  If I’m ever in the area again I’d like to visit some of the other canyons in the area.  Jackson Falls is a popular destination.  Also, the next canyon to the south, the Promised Land, is a popular rock climbing area.

 

A rather long drive brought us to the Garden of the Gods.  It is a touristy place, and the crowds there were a bit startling after having Jackson Hollow to ourselves.  We parked and did the short hike along the rim of the cliffs.  Garden of the Gods features cool rock formations, impressive views, and lots and lots of tourists.  Originally, I’d planned to catch sunset there, but the horizon was clouding up.  We were also worn out from a long, fun day of exploring.  Christy and I decided to head back to the campground, while Mitch and Bob drove up to Carbondale to hit a brewery.  It was nice meeting Bob, and great hiking with Mitch again.

 

We returned to the campground before dark.  First, we scoured Goreville looking for firewood.  We stopped at the most promising gas station.  They didn’t have any, but tipped us off on a stash of firewood owned by a Boy Scout Troop in a local church parking lot.  The wood was cheap, and payment was by the honor system.  We took a couple of bundles and dropped the money in the box before returning to the campground.  We showered, had dinner, and spent the rest of the night relaxing by the fire, as we had a long drive ahead of us on Sunday.

 

I got up at first light on Sunday and drove back to Bork’s Falls for more photos.  Although the light was better, there wasn’t much difference in the photos.  Go figure.  I returned to the campground and we packed up and hit the road.  We drove to Paducah, Kentucky and stopped at a Cracker Barrel for breakfast.  We used the last of our gift cards there.  From Paducah, we drove all the way to Asheville with only minor stops along the way.  We had an early dinner in Asheville (having skipped lunch) and then drove the last two hours home.  That final drive was long, but it had been worth it.  It was a great road trip, and I would definitely return to most all of the places we visited.  The Ozarks of Arkansas are particularly compelling.  There is a lot more to explore in southern Illinois, and I still need to hike in Louisiana.  We had also been very close to Oklahoma on this trip, but had skipped it due to a lack of time.  We’ll get there on another trip!

 

There are still a few states I haven’t hiked in.  In no particular order, they are:  Idaho, North Dakota, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Delaware, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island.  I should be able to hit the three New England states in a single trip at some point in the future.  All of the western states are compelling in their own way.  It’s actually pretty surprising that I haven’t gotten to Idaho or New Mexico, and North Dakota has Theodore Roosevelt National Park.  Oklahoma has several mountain ranges and even a couple of waterfalls.  Delaware and Louisiana will probably be the biggest challenges.  Where to next?

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