Forty-three Starved Rock Walkers (+2 dogs) Took the East Bluff trail out to LaSalle Canyon and came back along the River Trail. A great December day for a walk in the Park!

 

 Fifteen minutes from the Lodge we enter upper

Wildcat Canyon.

 Here the group is leaving the Wildcat rim boardwalk headed for Sandstone Point.

 Trying to avoid the mud on the rim of Basswood Canyon is always tricky.

 The walkers arriving onto the exposed bedrock at 

Sandstone Point.

 Leaving Sandstone Point.

 A view down the headwall notch to the west wall of Lone Tree Canyon.

 The tree that was part of that stump on the left was cut off the staircase this week. The trunk is on the right and the broken handrails have been replaced with new wood.

 The bottom step of the Sandstone Point staircase is a challenge no matter what direction you encounter it.

 I always use this 2014 derecho gust victim as an example of how deeply rooted the Park's trees are NOT.

 That's a carp boat in the Starved Rock Pool gunning its engine to drive Asian carp into the nets they just put out.

 The confluence of LaSalle Creek and the Illinois River is a good pic in any season.

 None of the newly cut wood from the beaver sign we are now seeing along the River Trail is ending up here on the abandoned lodge in LaSalle Creek.

Yes! We walkers use binder clips for lots of things that 

do not involve paper!

 

Walking the east wall trail into LaSalle Canyon.

The LaSalle Canyon headwall falls are my favorite!

The lower LaSalle Canyon falls and plunge pool.

This walker claims to have been in this canyon some 500 times since April, 2012. Maybe!

Walkers rounding the base of Sandstone Point

on the River Trail.

Climbing the stairs at Eagle Cliff back towards the Lodge.

Even before we finished the heavy morning frost was turning the trail back into mud.

 I have to agree with Paul Dudley White who said,
"A vigorous five-mile walk will do more good for an unhappy but otherwise healthy adult than all the medicine and psychology in the world."  

Mostly forty Starved Rock Walkers (0 dogs) parked in the Hennepin Canyon parking lot and walked the East Bluff Trail out to the Owl Canyon staircase and back again. All were much warmer at the end than they were at the beginning.

 It was a cold blustery trek from the parking lot to the East Bluff Trail.

 Walkers arriving at the old coal mine site behind the Hennepin Overlook.

 The trail is mostly single file as it traverses the 

rim of Hennepin Canyon.

 From here on the bluff blocked most of the 

"in your face" wind

 A trail view into the east branch of 

Hennepin Canyon.

 Not all trail bridges can pass a rigorous inspection!

 The front of the line has reached the west rim of Hennepin Canyon.

 A trail bridge view of the Rt. 71 bridge over upper Hennepin Canyon.

 Another trail bridge view down onto the floor of Hennepin Canyon.

 An upslope view of the East Bluff Trail.

 Like all forest trails, the East Bluff Trail 

just pulls you into the woods.

 A trail view down through the mouth of Hidden Canyon 

into the Illinois River.

 Another trail view from the rim of the 

St. Peter Sandstone bluff out to the river.

 Most of the forest canopy is now carpeting 

the forest floor.

 A trail view of the staircase leading to the 

LaSalle Canyon parking lot.

 Beginning the return walk across the 

headwall of Owl Canyon.

Can you please take our picture on the Hennepin Bridge?

Absolutely! 

This day felt like Indian Summer so:

"With beauty before me, may I walk. 
With beauty behind me, may I walk. 
With beauty above me, may I walk.
With beauty below me, may I walk.
With beauty all around me, may I walk.
Wandering on the trail of beauty, 

May I walk."
-  Navajo: Walking Meditation   

Thirteen intelligent looking SR Walkers (0 dogs) braved the All Hallows Eve blizzard conditions to see Council Overhang, Kaskaskia, & Ottawa Canyons. It was not the usual walk in the Park.

 We began during a lull in the precipitation.

 The overnight accumulation was enough to turn "the boot" next to the overhang into a snow boot.

 The "Autumn" view out the Council Overhang window.

 The snow began again as we entered the mouth of Kaskaskia Canyon.

 The invigorated Kaskaskia waterfall did its best to fill the creek bed.

 Note that while our sanity can be questioned, we are all appropriately dressed for the conditions. There is no bad weather, just bad clothing!

 Leaving Kaskaskia Canyon headed for Ottawa Canyon.

 A snowglobe view of the Ottawa Canyon headwall.

 A view down Ottawa Creek.

 The Ottawa waterfall was forcefully arcing out into its plunge pool!

 The two strand lines on the plunge pool indicate that the water was quite recently deeper.

 The obligatory down canyon pic from behind the waterfall.

 Note the splash patterns of two falls at the bottom of the snowglobe.

Walking towards the mouth of Ottawa Canyon.

 Yes, I am wearing my Yak Trax Extremes OVER my rubber creek-crossing boots!

 Walking through the frosted Fall foliage was totally worth it!

From the parking lot, seven Walkers decided to continue on into Illinois Canyon. I wasn't one of them.

 Why do we walk on such a day? Maybe we agree with W.J. Holland who said,

"Happy is the individual who has acquired the love of walking for its own sake!"