Two workdays are scheduled for this Saturday! The weather forecast so far is quite good, partly cloudy and cool.

1)  We will be meeting at 9AM this Saturday December 9^th at the Fews Ford area, Eno River State Park to complete work on major repairs to the Eno Trace Trail. This will be our third workday working on this future MST trail segment. This will eventually be part of the trail from the Pleasant Green Road parking area to the Cox Mountain Trail. These trail repairs are a fundamental part of closing this trail gap in the MST.

Last I heard plans are still on track for NCDOT to replace the Pleasant Green Road road bridge in 2024 with a new bridge including a sidewalk which will allow the MST to cross the river and connect up to the Fews Ford area/Cox Mountain Trail. If things go well, we will soon have more than a mile of trail to build to make this trail connection. This is one of only two gaps in the trail between Occoneechee Mountain and Clayton, so I am quite happy we are starting the initial work on closing this gap. RSVP to fred.dietrich@duke.edu

2) Meeting 9AM-noon at the Occoneechee Speedway at 320 Elizabeth Brady Road in Hillsborough for an invasive plant removal workday organized by the Eno River Association. Removing invasive plants is an important part of restoring this area that hosts part of the MST and will soon be part of Eno River State Park. RSVP or contact Indigo at indigo@enoriver.org for more information.

Link to Bill Boyarsky’s note on December 9^th: https://conta.cc/3QFah3Q

Meeting Location for Eno River Workday: The Few’s Ford section of the Eno River State Park (6101 Cole Mill Road, Durham, NC 27705). We’ll meet at the parking area loop at the end of Cole Mill Road (past the Piper Cox House parking, past the new visitor’s center, near the picnic shelter and bathroom).

What to bring: You need to wear appropriate-for-the-weather work clothes (that can get dirty), solid shoes or boots, and bring lunch (if you plan to work into the afternoon), snacks, water, and work gloves. If you have a favorite tool, bring it.

What we bring: We will provide all tools, extra work gloves, and instructions. If you are new to this kind of activity, there will be experienced volunteers within asking distance: we are a supportive trail community that loves to grow.

Cancellation: If the workday is cancelled due to bad weather, an email will be sent out no later than 8:00 p.m. the preceding day, to the RSVP list.

Safety: Use tools carefully. If you do not know how to use a particular tool, or what to do in a particular circumstance please ask. Do not work too close together — avoid hitting the person next to you. When walking past another volunteer, please say something so they know you are approaching. Do not lift anything heavier than you can comfortably lift — know your own limits. Take plenty of breaks. Undertake different tasks with different tools throughout the day. Make sure to drink plenty of water, even when it’s cold outside. .Be aware of ticks, chiggers, snakes, stinging insects, and poison ivy.