Shawnee National Forest - 2026
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Day 1: Warm day to start from the Lusk Creek Trailhead. Although it was only a short distance, by the time we reached Eddyville, we were already pretty thirsty. We stopped multiple times throughout the day to maintain our energy. Mid afternoon we reached our camp at Millstone Lake. We spent the remainder of the afternoon re-hydrating. It remained warm well into the night.
Day 2: Crossed the earthen dam at Millstone Lake and encountered a hiker who camped at the base of the discharge. It was at least ten degrees cooler down there. Considering our dehydration the previous day, we determined to drink more water this day. We consumed our 2 liters my midday and was in the process of refilling our bottles at Cedar Creek at the Gum Springs Trailhead. One of our party was still feeling distressed from the previous day and wisely elected to depart the trail. Through our satellite communicator, we contacted his family, who drove to retrieve him. We continued westward, but got slightly lost around Old Homestead. Using our GPS, we got back to the trail and encountered no further difficulty the remainder of the trip. At around 4pm, we reached our camp at Max Creek Vortex. It was a nice camp along a strong creek with flow. That night the temperature changed, and we had strong winds as the temperature dropped at night.
Day 3: After leaving the horse camp, we encountered more road walking on Taylor Ridge Rd and more active traffic along US-45. Finally, we reached Goddard Crossing and was back in the woods. The trail become a little soggy and muddy as we neared I-24 from the east. Then we had more road walking under the interstate. Soon after, we reached Dutchman Creek. An interesting issue occurred. The Avenza app indicated the trail went along the cliffs and waterfalls northeast of Dutchman Creek, while the pdf file advised taking most road to reach the water. We took and Avenza trail and were rewarded with a very scenic approach to the lake. It took us some time to find the large abandoned horse camp on the west end of the lake. Although challenging to find, we were rewarded with a well sited location along the lake. Even though the temperature dropped, it was a nice evening.
Day 4: A lot of road walking after leaving the lake. This was mostly gravel roads alongside farms. We did encounter a fairly aggressive dog. Although I was ready with dog spray, we didn't have to use it. Finally, we reached Ferne Clyffe, which is a very nice state park. We wisely loaded our water at the small creek after entering the park. This source was much better than others we would encounter later. The trail crosses back and forth around the cliffs and the scenery was terrific.
Day 5: We saw the Natural Arch and the Alligator Rock Overlook. Later we took the side trail to see Hawk's Cave, and I'm glad we did. This feature is one of the most spectacular of the R2R Trail. Once we left the park on the northwestern end, it was only a short amount of further road walking to reach the Happy Hollow Trailhead. About 20 minutes after arriving we were picked up and driven back to our car.