Move into the new year

Hikers, runners and cyclists will be out to welcome 2008

When it comes to welcoming in the new year outdoors, things get a little squirrelly in the Triangle.

"It's kinda crazy what we do," says Kathy Lee with the Eno River Association, which for more years than anyone can quite recall has celebrated the new year with a hike along its beloved namesake waterway. "I think that's what's strangely appealing about it, this cool thing of starting the year with all these people who want to be out in nature."

"All these people" means as many as 500 who will split into groups to hike a pair of narrow trails through the woods Tuesday afternoon.

The hikers won't be the only ones out and about. Runners will be navigating the woods of Duke Forest mindful less of their split times than of the trivia questions tossed out by Carolina Godiva Track Club puzzlemeister Owen Astrachan as they participate in the group's traditional trivia-while-running quiz. Quick, anyone remember the name of the Boston Marathoner who shaved a few miles and crossed the finish daisy fresh in a record (for women) 2 hours, 31 minutes and 56 seconds back in 1980?

A: Rosie Ruiz.

And there are those who will mount bikes and ride in the new year, a scenario that requires a little arithmetic to fully appreciate: Bob leaves the Salt Box Village shopping center in Cary at 10 a.m. in 35-degree weather and heads down Kildaire Farm Road. If he's going 20 mph, what's the effective wind chill that he's feeling?

A: 24 degrees.

Brrr. And yet as many as 200 folks have done the 38-mile ride since its inception in 1993.

One -- or all -- sound like fun?

Here are details on how to get in on these events as well as a few others on Jan. 1.

Hike

The Eno River Association's annual New Year's Day hike is the Triangle's largest active, organized outdoor event on New Year's. Typically, says Lee, the ERA's director of outreach and education, the hike draws about 350 people. A few years ago, on an exceptionally warm New Year's Day, about 500 showed up, and even in last year's downpour (remember those?) about 100 souls wearing everything from Gore-Tex to garbage bags turned out.

While the numbers may vary, the drill doesn't. There are two hikes, a short and a long. Both depart from the picnic shelter at the very end of Cole Mill Road. This year's short hike of about two miles will cross a suspension bridge and stick to low-lying trails around the river and through the camping areas. The longer, five-mile hike will do the Buckquarter Creek and Holden's Mill trails, a nice hike that takes in both river and ridgeline.

"It's one of the more scenic portions of the river," Lee says. "There's a rocky cascade -- if there's enough water to see it."

Hot cocoa and popcorn follow in the picnic shelter. It's free.

Getting there: The hike is in the Fews Ford access area of Eno River State Park. From I-85 in Durham take Cole Mill Road north to its conclusion, about 5.7 miles.

More info: 620-9099 or www.enoriver.org.

Two more hike options:

• Wildlife Walk at Horseshoe Farm Park in Raleigh.

It's a laid-back affair, this 2 p.m. get-together sponsored by the Friends of Horseshoe Farm and the Wake Audubon Society.

"It's very casual," says Friend Gerry Luginbuhl. "There are no facilities out there; we don't want to push people's bladders to the extreme."

That said, this walk sounds like a good way to get to know this 146-acre park formed by an oxbow in the Neuse River in northeast Raleigh. There's a large grassy area and nice bottomland forest to explore down by the river.

More info and directions: www.horseshoefarm.org.