This is the route
Wil's friend, Chris, and I walked
on June 20, 2017
in memory of Wil
on what would have been his 57th birthday
It is in Wellfleet, on Great Island. The red route, as depicted, is over 13 miles, however, the parking lot is at the northernmost point and the 2 miles to the east of that was the drive back to the cottage so it seems we walked about 11 miles!
Thanks to Chris for providing the data for the route and Google for the maps
Here's my recollection of the walk
written on Thursday, 6/22/17
(Note: The photos are not mine but borrowed from the internet)
Today is crystal clear but on Tuesday it started out 'dreary' to say the least.
The forecast promised at least partial sunshine, for the first time since my arrival in Wellfleet on Saturday. Actually, there had been a few peeks of sun on a few afternoons but all in all it was not 'beach weather'.
Actually, cool and cloudy is ideal weather for the hike upon which we were about to embark. 'We' being Chris, my brother's close friend, and myself.
An offer had been made to include others, but only a very few including Ted, who wrote the eulogy, seemed sincerely sorry to miss the opportunity. So be it. The weather, the fact that it was a Tuesday, and the truly daunting length of the hike is plenty of reason for most to beg off. This was really for myself. I was glad to have Chis along, though. I am not in very good shape and thought I might need a cheerleader, or even a rescuer to complete the hike.
Chris and I met a few minutes before noon, in the parking lot at the trail head, as arranged by email. We embarked at just about noon. Low tide would be at 2:30 so we had plenty of time, and we needed it!
I had hemmed and hawed about footwear and whether to wear my knee brace or not. I ended up in Birk's(vs sneakers and orthotics) and with the knee brace, which was a good idea as I was glad to have the support as the long trek wound to a close.
The first part of the walk is nice and pretty easy; descend newly repaired stairs through the pines to a circular 'track' around a tidal bowl.
The tide is well on the way out and the bowl seemed mostly empty with lots of dry ground amid the marsh grass and the holes of fiddler crabs pocking the landscape. The crabs themselves are mostly hiding.
The footing is solid but about 1/2 mile in, the soft sand begins as the wind-swept dunes break over into the path for about another half mile. Once fully into the dune, we notice the environment has shifted from low-tide swamp to pristine dune with completely different plant life. We see evidence where turtles have gone up into the dune to lay eggs. The symmetric pattern in the sand shows many 'paddle strokes' to get to a suitable nesting location.
The path continues turning back into harder packed sand below the tide line.
About 1.5 miles around the bowl(a little more than halfway around) the path to Jeremy Point cuts into the woods of Great Island, and the environment changes again to woodland, pine barrens. After a few hundred steps the landscape almost resembles something computer generated as each tree is so similar to the others.
The gray trunks blending into a colorless curtain capped by a deep green canopy of pine needled branches, twisted and gnarled by the wind into grotesque shapes.
The path is a ribbon through the landscape, lined with a bright green carpet of moss and paved in white sand.
After being mesmerized by this unchanging environment for 20 minutes or so, we emerge into... another tidal bowl that looks remarkably like the first.
Rather than walk this bowl, we took a chance on a path to the left, which headed toward the 'inside' of the peninsula. as we made our way through the tidal runoff from the bowl, we saw a turkey buzzard flying low, a snake across the path, and a sandpiper feeding in the runoff stream. Moon snails were abundant here as well. We continued toward the point. It was a straight path across the sand flats, another environment which was dominated by plume worms.
The only thing between us and the point was vast stretch of sand flats and a rather relentless wind! I felt my heart pounding as we walked into it, south, toward the point.
As we approached it, I decided to hike diagonally up the beach to avoid the steep climb at the very end. A couple at the top was watching something. I got to where I could see a family of seals, a big bull, a cow and a silvery pup, so cute!
I couldn't get Chris's attention without making noise so the seals got startled and went into the water as he came around the end of the tall sand spit, the part that isn't covered at high tide.
We sat down facing west, toward Cape Cod Bay... another amazing landscape change! More sand flats but on this side HUGE ripples indicate a powerful flow as the water exits here.
Chris wanted to explore further where it seemed the sand bars linked out to the remains of Billingsgate Island but I was already thinking of the long walk home and it was almost time for the tide to turn.
After eating I contemplated what to do with the necklaces of Wil's ashes I'd brought along. I originally thought I might fling one into the sea, or empty one into the sea, but in the end I decided to just emmerse them in the water at the very end where the water is deep. Where the seals had disappeared.
As I approached, both mother and baby popped their heads up to see what was I was doing. The baby seemed particularly curious, watching me with his soulful eyes and silvery head shining in the sun.
I guess we know what Wil's toten animal is! Or is it mine?
*
Hearing and balance are very important for a Seal totem. ... The Seal has an inherent sense of balance, and lives in the water but gives birth on land. Seals do not have external ears, but hear from within, which symbolizes our ability to listen to our inner voice.
*
We began our trek back, heading north along the 'outside' or Cape Cod Bay side of the peninsula. Sand flats quickly became covered with the rising tide. We passed some large boulders and the high cliffs of the Great Beach Hill.
At the base of the cliff were large clay deposits. The environment is now 'beach'. It looks a lot like the Atlantic side although the shallower water has a tamer feel even though we can't see the other side of the bay due to persistent clouds in that direction. The winds persists also. The weather seems stuck. A cloud line carves across Wellfleet Harbor, clear and blue to the Northwest, gray to the Southeast.
But it is a blessing because the wind is now at our backs and feels less intense until we turn to face it. A bright sunshine would make us feel rather hot.
We cut through the dune where Great Beach Hill meets Middle Meadow Marsh(aka, Bowl 2), and return through dunes to the marshy environment.
We re-entered the woods where we had exited the original path earlier. This time we veered off the original path toward the remains of a Tavern from the 1800's...
Samuel Smith, he has good flip, good toddy if you please, the way is near and very clear, ‘tis just
beyond the trees
The only evidence of the tavern now is some rocks and a sign but there are also some pictures of an excavation they did there in the 1970's. I always wonder what the people were like who rowed ashore from their boats and walked through the trees to the tavern.
We sat atop a dune near the tavern site a looked out over the Harbor
I was weary! A sign said we still had 1.8 miles to go to get to the trail head! Yikes! or Oy! as I found myself saying more and more often. Eventually we emerged from the woods and back into the original bowl('The Gut' on the map above), the home stretch.... always the longest part of the hike. And we came out further around than where we'd gone in so it was even longer.
Sunny now and not as much breeze, it was, at times, starting to feel like a slog. But we rested often and made our way along. My left foot didn't seem to want to work properly but I managed, although I felt I was walking very slowly. Chris was kind and patient with me. I can understand why Wil valued his friendship so much.
We got to the turn where the old road is accessible and went up that way. Solid footing helped going up the hill. I ended up barefoot most of the time as the strap of my shoe seemed to be causing pain. I did put my shoes back on as we got to the parking lot where there was a lot of loose gravel.
We arrived there at 6:15! Wow! What an epic day! So many amazing sights sounds and smells.
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