Triangle Reading and Nature Walk Meetup Group

Join us for a Sunday afternoon hike along the Eno River at Penny's Bend Nature Preserve. We'll follow the trail shown here, which is about 3 miles along the river and through a meadow. We'll stop for about 30 minutes near the midpoint to sit by the river to read, write, meditate, draw, birdwatch, talk, or simply rest and enjoy nature. This trail can be muddy in spots and has tree roots and some rocky stream crossings, so wear hiking shoes with good grip.

We’ll still plan to walk if it’s drizzling or raining lightly. But if there’s heavy rain in the forecast, we’ll reschedule and send a notice to registrants by the morning of the event.

Meet at 4:00 pm on Sunday June 30 in the parking lot of Penny's Bend, near the intersection of Snow Hill Road and Old Oxford Road in North Durham - see map location here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/XUKaTuzY9vzrYNrv6 The parking lot for the nature preserve is small - there's some additional parking off Old Oxford Road across the bridge, near the Mountains to Sea / Falls Lake trailhead - see map location here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/2cHgciVUYPQJwRb86

We hope to see some of the "regulars" there, and to meet new folks! This group is a great way to meet people who both enjoy walking in nature and reading and talking about books and ideas.

We're setting a lower limit on registration for this event because of the limited parking, so if you register and later realize you can no longer attend, please change your RSVP to free up your spot for someone on the waitlist.

Join us for a Sunday morning walk at Bluestem Conservation Cemetery in the Cedar Grove community north of Hillsborough. Wait a minute - we're going for a walk in a cemetery? Yes, but this is a special one - it's a former farm used now for natural burials in a wildflower field or in the woods, with some preserved farm buildings, fields, and nature trails. You won't see any headstones or other obvious markers of graves, but you will walk along a pond and stream and through tranquil woods and fields.

We'll walk for about 2.5 miles, and stop in the natural sanctuary (a clearing in the woods with some benches) for about 30 minutes to read, talk, meditate, write, draw, birdwatch, or other quiet activity. The plan is to walk the meadow trail and inner circuit trail (black and yellow trails on this map https://www.bluestemcemetery.org/map.html ) with a possible side-trek along the gravel road to the historic cemetery.

We'll meet at 9:30am on Sunday July 7 at the barn near the Bluestem parking lot: 1900 Hurdle Mills Rd, Cedar Grove, NC 27231 https://maps.app.goo.gl/WKLd7iSzmEBUGeFw5 Please park only in the area near the entrance marked as "parking" on this map https://www.bluestemcemetery.org/map.html or if that's full, near the office and shed/maintenance area that are near the main parking lot. Do not drive or park further down the cemetery road. Bluestem is graciously making available extra parking for us for this hike, so please be respectful of their rules and of the setting.

Note that we'll be walking through fields and woods. The trail is pretty flat and an easy walk, but it can be muddy in places, so wear hiking shoes, and it can be buggy, so use insect repellent to avoid taking any ticks or bugbites home with you.

In case of rain we'll make a decision that morning about how to proceed - if it's just drizzle we'll go ahead, but if there is heavy rain or other extreme weather we'll reschedule.

We hope to see some of the "regulars" there, and to meet new folks! This group is a great way to meet people who both enjoy walking in nature and reading and talking about books and ideas, and to discover new trails and explore natural areas of the Triangle in good company.

[Note - if you've signed up and it later turns out you are no longer able to attend, please change your RSVP so we know that you are no longer coming and don't wait for you at the trailhead and delay the rest of the group's walk. There is usually a waitlist for these events, so if you no longer plan to come please adjust your RSVP to free up your spot for someone else. Thanks for being courteous and letting us know if you can no longer make it!]

Join us for a Sunday afternoon walk at the Eno River Confluence Natural Area north-west of Hillsborough. In February we walked the Two Forks Trail and Rocky Water Path (red and yellow trails in this map). In May a new trail opened - the Poplar Bend Loop (blue trail on the map), so we'll do that one this time, combined with the Rocky Water Path, for a total of about 3 miles.

We'll find a nice place to stop along the way for about 30 minutes to read, talk, meditate, write, draw, birdwatch, or other quiet activity.

The Confluence Natural Area is owned and managed by the Eno River Association. It is a 270-acre preserve open for low-impact recreational uses, such as hiking along over 5 miles of trail, picnicking, and photography.

The Confluence Natural Area is so named because the East and West Forks of the Eno River flow from the north to merge here, thus forming the Eno River. This former farm has a long history stretching back to the late 1700s. Remnants of an old mill can still be visited by following the trails. In addition, this section of the river is a Nationally Significant Natural Heritage area, and home to populations of multiple rare plant species.

We'll meet at 4:00pm on Sunday July 28 in the parking lot of the Eno Confluence Natural Area: 4214 Highland Farm Rd, Hillsborough, NC 27278. https://maps.app.goo.gl/gKTxXTUze3CFcjQW8

In case of rain we'll make a decision that morning about how to proceed - if it's just drizzle we'll go ahead, but if there is heavy rain or other extreme weather we'll reschedule.

We hope to see some of the "regulars" there, and to meet new folks! This group is a great way to meet people who both enjoy walking in nature and reading and talking about books and ideas.

[ Note - if you've signed up and it later turns out you are no longer able to attend, please change your RSVP so we know that you are no longer coming and don't wait for you at the trailhead and delay the rest of the group's walk. Also, in cases where there's a waitlist, it will free up your spot for someone else if you can no longer come. Thanks for being courteous and letting us know if you can no longer make it! ]