Eno hikers clear trails of storm debris

DURHAM -- Eno River State Park opened for a few hours on New Year’s Day for the 38th annual hike sponsored by the Eno River Association to mark the calendar change and to clear some trails from ice storm debris.

The early December ice blast downed trees and limbs and cut power to some 145,000 customers in Durham and Orange counties and closed state parks in the area. Two accesses to the state park will reopen on Sunday, but four others will stay closed because of the tremendous amount of clearing left to be done, state park ranger Colleen Bockhahn said.

"We closed due to storm damage. We had a lot of damage not only in open areas but also on the trails. We have a few weeks work left," she said.

The Few’s Ford access at the end of Cole Mill Road and the Pleasant Grove access will open on Sunday. Cole Mill Road, Pump Station, Cabelands and Occaneechi Mountain Natural Area accesses will remain closed, she said.

To prepare for Wednesday’s hikes, the park paid $700 to clear limbs that were still hanging in trees and could be a danger.

"To get the widow makers down from the trails," said Don Moffitt, president of the association. "I give thanks that we have good friends to share this with."

About 150 showed up for the hike and Russian tea and roasted marshmallows after. Moffitt addressed the crowd, remembering Margaret Nygard, (a founder of the park), and her first New Year’s Day hike 37 years ago. "It’s still the best way to celebrate the new year," he told the group, which was outfitted in hiking boots and light or no jackets at all.

Tad Dawson held his pinewood-colored walking stick by a crackling fire that was smoking as it dealt with wet wood at the end of the picnic shelter in the park. The hike would be Dawson’s 10th in the 10 years he has been in Durham since retiring from a job with the federal government.

"It’s great and they get a good turnout every year," he said.

There was some commerce, even a Mastercard and Visa placard, by a display of Eno River Association T-shirts on a table under the shelter. And as if to make a point, Mother Nature sent hard rain only minutes before the 2 p.m. hike and then cleared the clouds for a bright sun and blue sky. The damage she wrought with ice in early December, however, was all around, with piles of wood and the growth on the unused trails.

Edith Kaan and Brian Miller adjusted their boots in the muddy parking lot as they prepared for the hike. The event continues to grow, and Miller is an example of someone who had hiked only once before, but had chosen to come back and will again in the future. Kaan had never been and was excited at the opportunity for some exercise in warmer weather, she said.

Marcia Eickmeier, a longtime member of the association and a New Year’s Day hiker since the 1970s, organized the event and led one of the two hikes on Wednesday.

"I just think people in this area are great about wanting to protect the natural resources and environment," she said. "We want to keep some of it for our kids and grandchildren."

Along those lines, the state currently has an option to buy 815 acres in the Eno Wilderness area along the river and increase the size of the park by more than a quarter. The DuBose family of Orange County owns the acreage, and the Eno River Association will be pushing the state to make the purchase for $6.5 million, Moffitt said.

"It’s a huge tract and a very important tract," he said.