Boyce Mill Road to NC 50
At nearly 11.5 miles, this is my longest hike to date, and I hope it will be the longest ever, because it was a stretch—-and my muscles squawked at me the next couple of days, too!
Since it was a long hike, I got a nice early start. It was a Saturday, so I didn’t have to contend with rush hour traffic driving east through Durham.
The first hour after sunrise is called the “golden hour” for photography!
Little Laurel Creek was the only tricky crossing, but the sticks and rocks had been thoughtfully placed.
It was nearly two miles to the first view of Falls Lake.
The 1860 census indicated that Peleg Rogers enslaved 12 persons that year. This cemetery had a total of 32 graves. The remains were reinterred elsewhere in 1970, but you can still see the rectangular burial spaces.
The nearby tobacco barn is from a more recent decade, but still abandoned. Tobacco leaves are hung on the beams, and the fireplace on the left provides the heat to dry them.
This being a Saturday, I crossed paths with nearly 35 people–incuding a youth group hike and a dog-walking club–but I never had my camera out in time to take their photos!
The turnaround point is across NC-50. I was worried about traffic, but there were large breaks, so it wasn’t an issue.
That’s 5.6 miles! And there’s no shortcuts back to the car, so now it’s time to find a more scenic spot for a break.
The hike back was…well, just as long…but very pretty, still.
Tiring, though.
My.Bird.Walks. 