View Little Illinois Trail. V3 in a larger map: the larger map will also allow you to scroll through the rest of the trail segments.  It's a google thing, we don't understand either.

Day #6

 Rainbow Bridge Meadow to Illinois Prairie Path and back

 The Last Day.

 Today was the day to walk the last segment of the LIT and to close the “rectangular circle” of the entire trail. After an extended holiday break, it was good to get back on the trail and to complete this particular journey.

 The official Des Plaines River Trail ends at Rainbow Bridge Meadow and the easiest way to make the connection to the start of the Illinois Prairie Path is to walk east on North Ave across the bridge to Thatcher Ave and then follow Thatcher south to Madison Street and then go west on Madison to First Ave and south to the start of the IPP.

 Catherine Chevalier Woods to Rainbow Bridge Meadow and back.

 By the time I started today, the recent freeze had converted the trail into a series of rutted ridges. I started at Lawrence Ave and hiked back north to my last turn-around point along the frozen and snowy floodplain  to the junction with the Red Trail. Despite the stark isolation of the landscape, animal tracks leading to the still liquid water of the river gave mute testimony that life still continued in these icy conditions .

 As I turned about to start the hike back, the southerly sun cast its weak reflection on the frozen trail . After crossing Lawrence Ave, I continued south. The trail crosses an old three-arched bridge in Robinson Woods.

North of Belmont, Illinois there is a public golf club next to the trail that is enclosed behind a chain-linked fence. I presume that this is to keep the deer away from the fairways. A forlorn attempt, because many deadfalls have already breached the enclosure .