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• Winter Solstice Sunrise Walk at Poles Hill

  • When
    Sunday, December 22, 2024
  •  
    7:00 AM - 8:30 AM
  • Location
    Riverview Rd. Poles Hill entrance, Gloucester, MA
  • Spaces left
    0

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  Join us for our annual Winter Solstice sunrise walk at an ancient solar observatory at Poles Hill in Gloucester!

  NOTE:  WE HAVE DECIDED TO POSTPONE THIS EVENT TO SUNDAY, DECEMBER 22 DUE TO WEATHER CONDITIONS

  CATS Board member and Poles Hill Trail Steward Sandy Barry will lead a walk at Poles Hill to view the Solstice Sunrise from  the "Gnomon" (a boulder placed by Native Americans over 2000 years ago as part of a Solar Observatory that marks the location of the Solstice and Equinox sunrises and sunsets). 

  For more information about this ancient Solar Observatory at Poles Hill (also called "Sunset Hill"), click HERE to view a short video explaining it. 

  After the sunrise, Sandy will lead those who are interested on a short hike along trails within the Poles Hill Conservation Area, including a scenic overlook with expansive views to the ocean.  Total walking distance will be less than 1 mile at a leisurely pace, over moderate terrain that includes boulders and granite ledge.   We will expect to be finished with the walk by 8:30am or sooner.

  
  

  

  

  (Above photos of the 2023 Winter Solstice Sunrise walk)

  
  

  Meeting Spot:  Meet at 7:00 am at the CATS kiosk for Poles Hill off of Riverview Rd. in Gloucester.  Sunrise on December 21 is at 7:10 am.   

  
  

  Rain/ snow date will be Sunday, December 22.

  
  

  See map of the Poles Hill Entrance location HERE.    Park on the side of Riverview Rd., but please be courteous to the neighbors.  After you turn onto Riverview Rd. from Wheeler St., the entrance to Poles Hill is a small dirt road on the left, just after the  house at 6 Riverview Rd.   

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• CATS "Short Hike"- Goose Cove Reservoir and Adams Pines (second date added!)

  • When
    Friday, December 27, 2024
  •  
    9:30 AM - 11:00 AM
  • Location
    Gee Ave. Gloucester, MA
  • Spaces left
    1

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  NOTE:  THIS IS A REPEAT OF THE SAME EVENT THAT IS BEING HELD ON 12/17 TO BE ABLE TO ACCOMODATE MORE PEOPLE, DUE TO THE HIGH DEMAND!
  

  Join us for a "Short Hike" hike around Goose Cove Reservoir and through Adams Pines in Gloucester!

  The hike will begin along the paved trail that circumnavigates Goose Cove Reservoir.  We will then turn eastward off of that path onto a single-track trail through the area known as "Adams Pines" and then along the Dogtown Common Road.  We will then head northward toward Greenbelt's Carter Reservation, taking a trail along the southern edge of the reservation before coming back onto the Goose Cove Reservoir pathway, which will take us back to our starting point. 

  The route is approximately 2.5 miles, and will take us about 90 minutes.  The terrain is relatively easy, with a combination of the paved pathway around the reservoir mixed with dirt carriage roads and some single-track trail with a moderate amount of rocks and roots.

  Click HERE to view a map of the route in GaiaGPS.  

  
  

  
  

  (Above Photo taken at Adams Pines in Nov. 2024)

  
  

  Meeting spot:

  We will meet at the City of Gloucester parking area on Gee Ave. in Gloucester (located just past 41 Gee Ave.)  See the location HERE in Google Maps.

  NOTE THAT THIS HIKE STARTS AT 9:30AM THIS TIME! (our other short hikes have normally started at 10am).

  Please plan to arrive at least 5-10 minutes early for check-in.  The hike will depart promptly at 9:30 am.

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