Starved Rock, The Grand Canyon Of The Midwest

“When he worked, he really worked. But when he played, he really PLAYED!” Dr. Seuss

Last Monday I had the day off from my full time job and I debated whether to stay home and do nothing or go out and do something. I decided to do something. After all, it was a beautiful day, the sun was shining and leaving the house and exploring the outdoors sounded like the perfect plan.

Monday, April 22 was also Earth Day, what a perfect opportunity to honor our earth by visiting one of my very favorite places, Starved Rock in Oglesby, Illinois, just southeast of the Village of Utica.

Starved Rock is a state park featuring 18 canyons. 14 out of those canyons have beautiful waterfalls. The most scenic waterfalls can be found in St. Louis, French, Wildcat, Tonty, Ottawa and Kaskaskia canyons and the beauty of the waterfalls depends highly on the rainfalls.

I have visited Starved Rock before but never by myself, so instead of going out on a limb visiting whatever trail crossed my path like we’ve done before, I decided to make a plan, find a trail in the map that sounded interesting at the moment and explore areas that weren’t too remote. Safety first! 😉

I decided to explore the Wildcat Canyon, the canyon with the largest drop in the park, 125 foot drop into the Canyon to be exact, but also one of the closest canyons to the visiting center.

According to one of the employees in the visiting center -where I made sure to make a stop to grab a map before heading to the trails- told me that Wildcat Canyon has the most beautiful waterfall and the difficulty level from the visiting center was “moderate”. Not easy, not too challenging... moderate.

Well, I thought to myself, “moderate doesn’t sound too bad, this can’t be TOO difficult!” It was a beautiful day, the temperature was in the low 70’s, I even brought a zip up hoodie just in case I got cold once exploring. Good walking shoes, a water bottle, my sunglasses and I was ready to go. Let’s just say that 1/4 into the canyon trail the word “moderate” wasn’t really ringing a bell. Wildcat Canyon’s level looked (to me), more like “what was I thinking” kind of level. I was sweating a lot, and right away I knew I would have no use for my hoodie.

Sounds like a great plan, right?! I thought so myself until I started climbing and descending into the canyon. Half way through -not even- I got the WORST charlie horse cramps in both legs!!! I don’t think I ever experienced that kind of pain in my legs. Remember I was exploring all by myself? That’s right! No one to ask for a help, no sitting area in sight, nada. I was then faced with one of the biggest predicaments of the month... do I go back to the visiting center and have my snack or do I risk the remaining portion of the trail until I reach Wildcat Canyon? Of course I chose option 2 because apparently I thought I was in the best physical shape and the pain would go away. I have never been more wrong before!

With every step I took I felt shooting pain radiating though my legs. I stopped many times and when I finally saw a bench I immediately sat down to massage my legs. I was determined to get to Wildcat Canyon, or should I say stubborn. After all, I hadn’t driven 100 miles for nothing. The waterfall was calling me… I could almost hear it.

Wildcat canyon has a very steep decline, which means returning is twice, if not triple, as hard. And that theory proved to be correct!

Many stops, many sips of water and deep breaths later, I arrived at the feet of the waterfall in Wildcat Canyon and as expected it was just as breathtaking as I had heard it was. Worth every painful step I took.

I stayed there for a while just admiring the waterfall, watching children play in the water, dogs roaming around free, and families spending time together. You could hear birds chirping, the mesmerizing sounds of the water falling and hearing the ground and a different kind of scent in the air. I can almost feel myself back in that place, and it brings me peace.

By the time I decided to go back, I took my time. No rush, one step at a time, as many sips of water as needed and always making sure that there were people around, you know... just In case I passed out or slipped into the loving arms of the canyon. Thankfully, none of that happened and I made it safely back to the visitor’s center.

Looks like wood logs right? It was more of a balancing act on mud to get to the Canyon!

Many signs throughout the park that make it easy to explore

Once back, I looked for a picnic table to eat the lunch I had packed for myself and write in my journal. I also made a list of things I have fallen behind on, or neglected myself of -like taking care of my overall health. When the new year started, I was eating very healthy and really listening to my body. It’s easy to derail and loose focus on the things we want to accomplish if we don’t keep our goals handy and visible. I figured a palpable list, with tangible goals would help. I filled every line of the page below. 12 goals to be exact. Some of those goals were as simple and easy as “wash my face every night”, “take vitamins” and “call my parents every day”. Some are more personal and require extra effort, but they are all doable. I wanted to make sure that I only wrote things I could really commit to for the everyday, even the ones that would be a little more challenging. I have that list handy and visible and it has served me as a great reminder of the promises I made myself that peaceful day by the canyons.

When I got home I made a super delicious and healthy meal and had an early dinner by myself on the deck before the rest of the family came home. I was on a roll with my “body and mind” day. Yes, I saved some food for them! 😊

If you’ve never visited Starved Rock before I would highly encourage you to do so. It’s a beautiful state park with many amenities, besides the obvious beauty of the park. Starved Rock hosts a number of events throughout the year, they have cabins where you can spend a weekend or two, fishing and boating, picnic areas, campsites and of course beautiful trails for hiking.

I would also highly recommend going on a few walks before heading there. For those who engage in daily physical activity that involve some type of cardio exercise, it won’t be as challenging, but still thrilling. I am a very active person, but I do not exercise, and it was very challenging for me. I think the fact that we are just coming out of the winter season when we spend many days indoors, didn’t help. I saw many people struggling climbing and descending, some of which needed help from passerby visitors to make it from one step to the next.

When you go make sure you have good, steady walking shoes, light clothing, water, and something I remembered from when my dad used to take us hiking when we were little… a whistle. I think that was the smartest thing to do! Even if you are with a group of friends or family, it’s easy to get separated in remote areas like that. Cell phone reception is usually not great, if you are lucky to have one. Walkie talkies are definitely better than cellphones in wooded areas like that, but batteries die also. Whistles last a life time and they provide a great way to communicate with others in the event of getting lost. I didn’t pack a whistle this time around, but definitely will next time.