JONESBORO - If getting your hands dirty for a good cause sounds like fun, then the U.S. Forest Service has the ideal vacation spot for you.

Former Normal resident Jennifer Sublett, 29, the assistant volunteer coordinator at Shawnee National Forest, is looking for about a dozen volunteers to help maintain and improve trails at the massive federal wilderness area at Illinois' southern tip.

Volunteers will sleep outdoors, eat food cooked over a campfire or on camp stoves and spend days working up a sweat clearing brush, building retaining walls and cutting new trails through the thick forest floor.

The trip is scheduled for Oct. 7-12, a dazzling time to explore the park's nearly 270,000 acres. An optional canoe trip on the unique Cache River Wetlands Area is planned for Oct. 13.

"I've found people like to visit a lot more than they did since we moved down here," joked Sublett. "I love every season although the woodland flowers are beautiful in spring and the colors in fall are magnificent."

There is no charge for the volunteer opportunity with the exception of food and transportation. Tents, sleeping bags and pads and a full camp kitchen are provided. Nightly entertainment will include singing around the campfire, star-gazing and storytelling.

This is a way to get away from it all. The week is technology-free. There's no radio - you can't pick up a signal - and you can leave your cell phone at home. Sublett hasn't had a signal to make a call in the forest for weeks. Forest service workers will have a handheld radio for emergencies.

Sublett thinks people will sign up for the experience. The Travel Industry Association says interest is high in volunteer vacations: A recent TIA survey showed about one in four travelers are interested in volunteer- or service-based vacations. In addition, the percentage of travelers planning to volunteer during vacations this year nearly doubled over 2006, to 11 percent, according to a poll by Travelocity, a travel Web site. More than half surveyed said they were interested in taking an educational trip. Interest was highest among travelers between the ages of 35 and 54.

Sublett was a program director and camp director for the Girl Scouts in Bloomington before she moved to the Shawnee area last year after her husband, Joel Heidemann, was hired to teach high school nearby. Convincing her to relocate was not hard. Sublett had been enthralled with the area since visits to hike and camp during her college years.

"There are such a variety of landscapes and a diversity of plants and animals that are different than Central Illinois," she said.

Shawnee is home to more than 500 wildlife species, including 48 mammals, 237 birds, 52 reptiles, 57 amphibians and 109 species of fish, a National Forest Service census showed. Seven species are federally listed as threatened and endangered species. The forest harbors rare Indiana bats, eastern woodrat, pygmy sunfish and blind cavefish, among others. Visitors flock to one area of the forest to watch the annual fall migration of snakes and amphibians as they make their way from a marsh to nearby rocks where they spend the region's mild winters.

The forest itself is a diverse mix of bald cypress trees, tupelo wetlands and upland hardwood slopes.

In all, the forest contains "seven Congressionally-designated wilderness areas, one additional area recommended for wilderness study, six candidate wild and scenic rivers, four national natural landmarks, 10 research natural areas, and more than 80 other designated natural areas considered important for botanical, ecological, geological or zoological reasons," according to the Shawnee National Forest website, www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/shawnee/.

Shawnee National Forest also offers ample hiking and backpacking, including the 160-mile River to River Trail. Sublett enjoys the White Pines Trail and the Little Cedar Lake area that features an up-and-down loop trail 3.2 miles long.

Mountain biking is popular, too. Visit the Shawnee Mountain Bike Association at www.smbatrails.com. The area also is a favorite among road cyclists. About 277,000 acres are open to equestrians. Rock climbing and rappelling are permitted at Jackson Falls on the Vienna Ranger District and other rock climbing and rappelling areas are located nearby but are part of the forest. Fifteen designated camping areas are available on a first-come, first-serve basis and are normally open from April 1 through Dec. 15. Primitive camping is allowed in most places, though there are some exceptions.

Leave the ATVs and off-road vehicles at home. They're not permitted.

The Forest Service offers free brochures about the Shawnee National Forest. Detailed maps showing National Forest boundaries and topographic information can be purchased for about $7.

When it comes to volunteering, Sublett isn't asking folks to do anything she didn't do herself. She was a walk-on with the Forest Service. The agency had no job for her when she arrived, so she volunteered.

"I just showed up and said, 'What do you have for me to do?' "

Eventually, grant money led to a paid job helping with volunteer services and as a wilderness trail crew leader in the Mississippi Bluffs District on the forest's west side.

"It's tough work, but I love it. I love it better than any work I've ever done. It's very rewarding," Sublett said.

Volunteers have put in about 1,500 hours cleaning and maintaining trails and trailheads, helping with mowing and more since the U.S. Forest Service at Shawnee launched an Adopt-A-Trail program last fall. They use primitive tools like a Pulaski, which has an ax on one side and a hoe on the other, or a McCloud, which has a rake, a hoe and a tamping tool.

Volunteers range from kids in sixth grade to retired folks. Workdays bring out typically high school- or college-aged young people. Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts often show up.

"It's very interesting to see people learn what it takes to make a trail. They take a lot of pride in it," Sublett said. This kind of work would not get done (without volunteers.)"

Volunteers for the weeklong effort need to pack long pants, good work boots and gloves. Hardhats will be provided. Adults are preferred. Unaccompanied young people will not be allowed.

No matter what their age, they need to be in shape, Sublett said.

"People will be sore. It's like any other volunteer trip. It's hard work, but very rewarding," she said.

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Wanted

What: People willing to sweat, get dirty and sleep outdoors in a section of Illinois so remote cell phones can be left at home.

When: Oct. 7-12.

Compensation: Absolutely nothing, but sore muscles and a chance to do something to promote outdoor recreation in Illinois and to improve one of the state's natural treasures.

To apply: Call (618) 687-1731.

For more information: Shawnee National Forest offices are open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday with the exception of holidays. Forest headquarters in Harrisburg can be reached at (800) 699-6637. The Jonesboro/Murphysboro Ranger District in Jonesboro can be reached at (617) 833-8576. The Vienna/Elizabethtown Ranger District can be reached at (618) 658-2111.

Website: www.fs.fed.us/r9/shawnee