Sierra Club Cache Traditional Cache

Please do not place anything in this cache. The DNR does not allow any food items, inappropriate, offensive, or hazardous materials in caches. Since this is rather vague, I prefer to not have anything in the cache but the log and pencil. A small travel bug is OK. Additionally, under State law, state parks are supposed to provide “recreation use different from that given by the typical city park.” IMHO, city parks are for trinket exchange and state parks are for seeing neat areas.

It is the visitors responsibility to orient themselves with policies and rules pertaining to this DNR managed site.

This cache is in the heart of an area that was the subject of a landmark Illinois Supreme Court Decision: Sierra Club v. Kenney, 88 Ill.2d 110, 57 Ill.Dec. 851, 429 N.E.2d 1214 (Ill. 1981). This decision is arguably the most important environmental decision ever issued by the Illinois Supreme Court. This decision, which was issued on December 18, 1981, stopped the Illinois Department of Conservation’s “IDOC” (now the Illinois Department of Natural Resources) plans to start logging State Parks including this part of Marquette Park.

To learn more about the lawsuit: http://www.illinois.sierraclub.org/piasapalisades/ll.htm

This is a very beautiful area that I love to hike in. Part of the trail is a steep hill unless you enter from Powerline Road which I do not recommend. You can do about a 2.25 mile loop hike. The area is forested, but except near the beginning, there should not be any problems maintaining a GPS lock.

This area burned in 1974. IDOC claimed the area was “devastated” and claimed horrible things would happen if they did not log the area. The Sierra Club sued arguing logging in State Parks was illegal and that the area would recover on its own. The case was tried before Judge White in Jerseyville. (I skipped class to attend the trial.) Judge White ruled the logging was legal. The Sierra Club appealed to the Court of Appeals who reversed Judge White. (This was only one of two decisions Judge White was ever reversed on.) IDOC then appealed to the Supreme Court which held State Parks could not be logged. If it was not for this ruling, this area would have been logged and many other State Parks would also have been logged.

To get to the site go through Grafton. Right outside Grafton is the youth correctional facility. As soon as you pass the youth facility (about 50 feet) on the right (north), there is another unmarked road to the right. N38 58.314 W90 27.868 Take this road, pass through the blue gate, and go to the end of the road. (If the gate is locked, park at the Marquette monument and have a pleasant walk down the road.) There is a nice parking area and rest rooms. (You can also reach the site from powerline road, but I highly recommend this way.) Take the trail that heads North.

The fire started about 500 feet from the parking area. As you will see none of the horrible things IDOC claimed would happen did happen. Unless you really know what you are looking for, you cannot tell there was a fire in the area. It is a beautiful healthy forest. The entire area you will hike in was in the fire (which went almost to Graham Hollow Road). If you look at the base of big trees you may be able to see a fire scar. Almost all the big trees in the area you will hike were going to be cut down. Imagine what the area would be like without all the big trees.

I recommend taking a loop hike. I have uploaded a map with some coordinates and directions to make a loop hike. After you find the cache, continue North on the trail. Note: in a short distance on the left there is lots of young trees and brush. This is not from the fire. It was a field in the 70s. This should give you some ideal of what the area would have looked like if the logging was not stopped.

In case you cannot read the coordinates on the uploaded map, here they are: N38 58.845 W90 28.099; N38 58.998 W90 28.172; N38 59.050 W90 28.214; N38 59.619 W90 28.314; N38 59.436 W90 28.448 NOTE: The TopoZone map is messed up. It does not plot the cache in the right place. They said they will eventually fix the map. The topo map I have under pictures has the correct location.

The Department of Natural Resources have asked me to post this note:

FOR YOUR SAFETY PLEASE NOTE: THIS CACHE IS LOCATED WITHIN A DESIGNATED HUNTING AREA ON PERE MARQUETTE STATE PARK. ACCESS IS LIMITED TO HUNTERS ONLY FROM THE DAY AFTER LABOR DAY UNTIL THE FIRST THURSDAY AFTER JANUARY 10TH. The hunting restrictions also apply during Spring Turkey Season, which is April 12 to May 13 this year. Turkey hunting only takes place until 1PM daily, and is generally mid-April to mid-May.

I am complying. I, however, would point out that I disagree with the Department’s claim that access is limited to only hunters. One of the reasons the Supreme Court ruled the Department could not log this area was because State law requires the Department to keep this area open to all citizens. The Supreme Court has ruled the Department cannot close this area to the public in this manner. Please honor their request.