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Reply to Machens
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GC from Columbia, Mo. on 6/20/2007 3:05:44 PM:
OK, I am going to open this topic up again.

I am about three weeks from finishing off my trail hike, and I am needing updated information on the St. Charles to Machens segment. Am I correct when I say you can take 94 out of St. Chuck and it goes directly to Machens? I understand there is no parking, but I am just needing to be picked up.



Also, what is the up-to-date status on the trail along that stretch? I would really hate to get about 6 or 7 miles into the country and have to turn around and head back.



And while I am thinking about it, how is the cell phone reception from McKittrick to Machens? I know I have had trouble in the Hermann area, but what about east of there?



Thanks in advance for any info you guys can share,



Greg

 
DougK from Troy on 6/20/2007 10:09:00 PM:
This is Doug's wife Jill. I am picking him up in Machens tomorrow. I talked to him on the cell, he wants you to know that he has lot's of info for you and will reply tomorrow night or the next day.

 
GC from Columbia, Mo. on 6/21/2007 12:53:29 PM:
Great to hear it! I was wondering how he was doing on his hike. As I said before, I will be finishing my off in the second week of July. (I am just going to LOVE that nice humid post-Fourth of July heat)

 
Dave from Herrin, Ill on 6/21/2007 3:25:52 PM:
I tried to ride to Machens on 6/10/07 from Saint Charles. I found the trail to be nothing but dirt a couple miles out of town. I turned back and didn't go any futher, the weeds had grown up and it would be a real mess after a rain. Good luck

 
DougK from Troy on 6/21/2007 9:37:05 PM:
St. Charles to Machens is an odyssey. The first thing you need to do is go to Bass Pro and buy a pair of their lightweight convertible pants they sell for $19.99 you’ll need them. As you go under Interstate 370 you’ll come to the end of the “established trail” because it turns into a dirt path that looks like it may have been a service road at one time. Stop here and put the legs on your convertible pants and bug juice up. Follow the dirt road; you’ll see bike tracks. Next you’ll come to a fork in the road. Bear right, it looks like you’re back on the Katy and you’ll go around a nice little pond. After the pond the road bears right back onto the dirt path. The grass here is knee to mid torso high. There were chiggers and ticks so the bug spray pays off. I even saw Jake the Snake twice so you really have to watch your step. The path alternates from crushed limestone to dirt to big rocks and back to dirt numerous times, the grass is still high but bearable if you stay on the path. The distance so far would be about 6 miles. You finally dump out onto what we would recognize as the Katy just before mile marker 33 when you hit the trail. Wear a hat, use sunscreen if you want, wear your long, lightweight pants in the grass, and carry lots and lots of water. There is no shade!!! I only carried the legs for the convertible pants, bug spray, and 4 liters of water. Good news: They have upgraded Machens! There’s an indoor toilet, tree fertilization is no longer required. Have your wife follow Hwy 94 into Machens proper (the green sign that says Machens) and take the 2nd right on Salle St. The road dead-ends at the rail tracks so you have to walk across the rails to the path. Post your departure date and I’ll try to go down there 2 days later and mark the road by stapling orange tape to a phone pole. Following the Katy to Machens is a little daunting but worth the struggle, it’s the icing on the cake.


 
Trek Biker from St. Joseph, MO on 6/21/2007 9:48:23 PM:
All that Mammbo Jammbo is icing on the cake?? Is there gold at the end of the trail in Machens or sumthin???

 
Arkie on 6/22/2007 9:55:03 AM:
You can also stay on the levee and avoid the high and wooley brush around the pond. The trip is worth it. It isn't that bad. In fact it is the climax of the trip.

 
DougK from Troy on 6/22/2007 10:57:12 AM:
The negative comments I receive on the forum are just sucking the positivety right out of me. I'll just monitor for a while instead of posting.

 
GC from Columbia, Mo. on 6/22/2007 7:54:37 PM:
Wow, sounds like it is still kinda rough in a few spots. How's the cellphone coverage from St. Chuck to Machens?

 
Trek Biker from St. Joseph, MO on 6/23/2007 9:47:57 AM:
Hhmmmm......well, I certainly don't wanna rob anyone of their positive vibes. I am curious to know, having not been there, what makes the Machens end of the trail worth traveling for? You've painted a picture to me as overgrown, poorly maintained, bug infested, and a struggle to get through. The one positive that you did tell, was that after buying the special pants to get there.....I have an option other than a tree trunk. (which in most cases, I would have opted for the tree trunk six miles back and would have spent the money on the trail instead of Bass Pro Shops).

If the trail is as you describe it.....why is it worth the struggle? What's there to make it so? How is it the icing on the cake? Help us out bro!

 
DougK from Troy on 6/23/2007 12:08:07 PM:
Sorry if I overreacted folks, the one comment just rubbed me the wrong way.

Greg: cell phone reception is excellent. Someone told me it was because of all the cell towers along the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, you’re close to the confluence of both.

Trek Biker:
1. The convertible pants were a good investment for me because you need long pants while hiking the grassy areas yet still have shorts for the open parts due to the heat. The ability to convert quickly is a benefit on this leg of the trail. Bass Pro sells a low cost, lightweight, who cares if they get ripped, pair of pants. I like to carry lightweight, useful items in my pack as I tend to be more of a camper and not a bed and breakfast kind of guy when I backpack.
2. Why is it worth the struggle? Hmmmm, let me think. I might be alone here but I’ll try my best to answer this for you. My goal was to backpack the entire Katy from end to end. After walking 225 miles with a 30 pound backpack I felt that I couldn’t quit so close to my goal. I didn’t want to hike the roads that parallel the Katy so I could honestly say that I hiked the entire trail from end to end. Maybe I just viewed the hot, bug infested part between St. Charles and Machens as a gut check to see how bad I wanted to reach my goal. I didn’t think that overcoming adversity to reach a goal was a bad thing. It gave me a greater feeling of accomplishment when I hit mile marker 27.
3. In regards to the restroom. It was new and an improvement to the EOT (end of trail) indicating they were starting to make improvements to that end of the trail.

 
GC from Columbia, Mo. on 6/23/2007 5:12:39 PM:
Doug,
I totally understand the drive to walk end to end. The best explanation I can give for wanting to do it is what the guy said when asked why he climbed mountains: "Because its there."
Now, I know the Katy isnt a mountain, but to go hoofing the whole 225 (or is is 237?) miles, you have to be goal-oriented.

I have found it interesting the distances you averaged most days. I think that is what caused me my difficulties, I was trying to average 18-20 miles a day, and I think that is what bit me in the end. (Pun somewhat intended)

Oh, and by the way, July 9 is my kickoff day. Hopefully, the blister issue that killed me after 163 miles in September won't be as much of an issue this time.

 
DougK from Troy on 6/23/2007 10:25:58 PM:
Greg,
I'll mark the turnoff to Salle St. in Machens on the 11th.

 
TimEgg from West Line, MO on 6/25/2007 7:19:30 PM:
I went on to Machens last time out and it was worth it. In fact, the icing on the cake for me was to go on to Portage Des Souix (see map) and across the river on a ferry into Illinois. Ask at the post office for directions.

 
GC from Columbia, Mo. on 6/26/2007 7:38:36 AM:
Doug,
I appreciate all your info and help. I am actually looking forward to taking the "road less traveled" section of the trail.

Greg

 
Gary Mook from Alton, IL on 8/20/2007 3:13:19 PM:
While doing field work on the Machens trail extension for our Geographic Information Systems(GIS) on Friday, August 17, 2007, I found fallen trees across the trail at two locations south of Weidey Road. (Between the road and the levee to the south.) You might be able to ride off the pavement around one of these, but the other would require dismounting and horsing your bike through the tree limbs.

 
Marge & MIke from Pacific, MO on 2/22/2008 4:58:03 PM:
Well, now it's 2008. Has there been any improvements?

 
cunninghamair from O'Fallon, MO on 6/21/2008 7:39:42 PM:
We road past St. Charles and after a few miles, we came to the end of the gravel and the
weeds looked about waist high. It probably could be hiked, but we turned around on our
bikes.