MST: Down East to Jennette's Pier

If you are reading in order I spoke in my last post about changes we had to make for this final push to the finish.  One of those changes was how I would tackle the Outer Banks, originally I would hike all the beach sections, however, due to ferry logistics that had to change.  I've never spent much time at the Outer Banks.  I've been on the northern portions to visit my Brother and back in college we came out for an Ornithology trip which was a brief weekend stint.  What I've seen and heard is hiking in the sand is more challenging, there are bird closures that force you on to Hwy 12 and if the tide is too high you might have to make your way along Hwy 12 as well.  One of my first challenges was that I didn't know how things were going to work out well enough in advance to make plans.  Every campsite was booked for Memorial Day weekend but Monday night there were lots of openings.  Originally, I would have crossed to Ocracoke on the same day as my family and they would have taken my bicycle and I would have started to backpack.  What worked best was for me to keep my bike until Hatteras Island.  So for Ocracoke Island I biked Hwy 12 instead of walking the beach which worked out well because there were more bird closures on Ocracoke Island than the others.  I'll have more on my annoyance with the NPS and their closure system later.  For those that don't know me I hate sand and don't see any reason to be at the beach if it's not winter time.

Looking back on the start of my beach walking

Day 45 May 31

Miles:  34.7 biking

Weather:  Sunny, high's in the 70's, lows in the 50's, strong winds

Camping:  Frisco Campground NPS

It's my Birthday!!  Seems like the best thing to do on your birthday is wake up at 4:30 am so you can be packed and on your bike in time to catch the 7 am ferry.  I mentioned in previous posts about how staying home with kids messes with my planning and attention to detail.  Well I had a really awesome ride this morning with almost no traffic.  There was so little traffic in fact as I got closer to the ferry I started to wonder if all the people going on the first ferry were just staying right there by the dock.  What I came to learn is that the first ferry is at 8am!  I could be mad at myself but it was a good ride and I would much rather be early than late.

Cedar Island Ferry to Ocracoke

Rambur's Forktail damselfly

Ocracoke Lighthouse

Ferry rides would dominate my schedule today.  This first ferry is about a two and a half hour trip from Cedar Island to Ocracoke.  For a bike it only costs $3 and you don't need a reservation.  For cars in the busy season you may want to make sure you reserve a spot, just pay attention to the times.  After Ocracoke there is the Hatteras Ferry which takes a little less than an hour.  The Hatteras ferry is free and has a more regular schedule.  I ended up on Ocracoke mid-morning and started my ride taking a detour off the MST to check out the lighthouse.  A recent story on this highlighted that they are taking public comments on what to do with this lighthouse as it needs work but also is at risk of a rising sea.  So best to see it while I'm here.  Soon after leaving the village area the bird closure signs showed up on the dunes meaning that the beach was most likely closed on the other side.  I made it to the Hatteras ferry as they were starting to load so I didn't have to wait at all.  Just know that this ferry is more exposed as there is no cabin for sitting around like the longer Ocracoke ferry.  The wind was strong and cold out on the boat but the sun was out and I just moved into areas where the wind was blocked by part of the boat.  

Hatteras Ferry ride

Once to Hatteras I made my way to a deli for some lunch.  What I'm starting to learn as I search for food is that everything on the Outer Banks closes down on Monday's and Tuesday's.  It was a short trip over to Frisco campground and before I was even set up my family along with my brother's family had arrived to celebrate my birthday.  They headed down to the beach while I set up camp real quick before joining them.  The kids all had a blast and apparently my kids aren't like me and love the beach.  After hanging out for a bit we had some dinner capped off with a Little Debbie snack birthday cake.

Site P-048 for anyone wishing to have shade

Although surrounded by sand and exposed campsites I did manage to reserve a site that was down in the shade and had little sand to deal with.  It's hard to believe but it is the last night I will spend out in a camp on the MST.  Tomorrow I'll start the beach walking and go as far as I can go before getting picked up by my Aunt.  

Day 46 June 01

Miles:  29.8 hiking

Weather:  Clear and breezy, highs in the 70's, lows in the 50's

Camping:  Vacation house Kill Devil Hills

According to the official MST guide I hiked just shy of 30 miles today, but I know that is wrong.  It was a 30 plus mile day with no question.  I slept pretty well last night and found it hard to get up and moving this morning.  My goal was to be on the trail before sunrise but I settled for starting around 6am.  The start of the day was along some roads and horse trails in a nice shaded area leading from Frisco to the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.   The lighthouse area was empty at this hour of the day other than some construction workers who have recently started on some updates.   The beach walking started after leaving the lighthouse.  It was sunny and clear with a nice breeze and low humidity so much of the day felt pretty good.  It wasn't long before I came across my first beach closure which answered my first question about these buffer zones.  Along with all the motorized vehicles no pedestrians are allowed.

Hatteras Lighthouse

Highway 12 was just on the other side of the dunes so I took a trail over and started the road walk.  The closures would be easy to spot as they used some big DO NOT ENTER signs on the beach.  My plan would be to look out for those and then take the next exit instead of destroying dune habitat bushwhacking over some thick areas in places to make it to the highway.  The NPS has an update on their website showing where closures are but they are terribly worded, contradict each other in spots and we live in a time where I could stand at their closure and screen shot coordinates.  They could so easily make an interactive map.  If they need help they could talk with the Blue Ridge Parkway about their interactive road closure map.  

Much of my day ended up being along highway 12, I didn't keep track of the miles but I certainly got tired of the road.  At one point I took an access point back to the beach and found the sign there said pedestrians were allowed.  This gave me hope because the last section when I exited as a small sign like this one not the big DO NOT ENTER.  My thinking was when no pedestrians are allowed they use the big signs and the little signs are for areas where pedestrians are allowed to continue.  Being so logical in my mind the next time I searched for the big sign ahead and didn't see it so I walked up to the closure to find no pedestrians!  Great, I should have known logic would not have been used in such a manner.  There was no easy access here other than backtracking to the last access point about a 0.5 mile back.  

Firewheel

NC Hwy 12

As the day passed I decided Rodanthe would logistically be the best place to end.  As I came into town I let me family know I would be ready whenever it was convenient for them.  They had kids to deal with and I had no time crunch.  It was a 45 minute drive to pick me up so not a quick shuttle by any means.  Now that it is Tuesday and not a holiday I thought finding some food would be pretty easy, not so, at least within walking distance for someone whose feet feel like they walked 30 miles.  I settled for hanging out at a gas station and eating some warming light mac and cheese with other snacks as I waited.  Overall my feet are sore but it was a great day even with the road walking, which does help speed things up a little.  My new watch says I walked 35.5 miles today.

Day 47 June 02

Miles: 26.1 hiking

Weather:  Cloudy, rain and sun

Camping:  Vacation house Kill Devil Hills

It was another early morning as I asked my Aunt to wake up with the sun to get me off on the trail around 7am.  There were some rain storms over night and as we rode out to Rodanthe we had some light showers on and off.  As she dropped me off at the beach access we could see showers just off the coast.  The sky was cloudy, breeze was great and a little misting rain here and there was not bad to deal with.  All in all this is perfect summer beach weather in my opinion.  Now I still have miles of beach to walk tomorrow but of all the beach walking I've been able to do along the MST including the earlier segment around Surf City, Rodanthe to Oregon Inlet is the best!  Anytime a hiker makes this type of statement you have to consider that weather, injuries etc...play a big role in how you think of a segment.  To be fair though hiking Surf City I also had a cloudy and cool day.  If I hiked this in full sun with heat and humidity I might have thought differently about this.  All that said what helps make it so great is there was no one else around.  Highway 12 I knew was just over the dunes but the ocean blocks the sound of the road and the beach in general with no houses just looks so healthy.  

If you didn't mind making a choice to skip a segment I would have stayed on the beach and not walked around the ponds at Pea Island during this time of year.  If it was a different time of  year the variety of birds visiting the ponds would change that calculation.  As it stands there weren't many birds around other than the shorebirds and about all that was flying over there were yellow flies!  Some parts of the the refuge were windy enough to keep them at bay.  Speaking of the shorebirds there were buffers in place today but they were confined to the dunes and not the entire beach.

Horseshoe Crab

Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge

My biggest road walk of the day ended up being the Marc Basnight Bridge from Hatteras Island to Bodie Island over Oregon Inlet.  I was sure to take a break before starting knowing it would take some time to cross.  As I approached I saw they had a lane closed my hope was that it would not impact my ability to walk across.  Much of the work going on is related to the demolition of the old Bonner Bridge.  The flagger told me I was good to cross and so I continued on with rain starting before I was halfway across.  I walked at a brisk pace but did enjoy the long stretches when I was on the bridge by myself due to the lane closure.  Not many people likely get that experience.  In total it took me 47 mins to make the ~ 3mi crossing.  The newer bridge has a wide shoulder and the guardrails were shoulder high so you don't have to worry about a truck mirror tossing you over at least easily.  (North Topsail Beach / Sneads Ferry Bridge over the intracoastal waterway was the most dangerous bridge crossing on the MST in my opinion).

Marc Basnight Bridge over Oregon Inlet

After the bridge I stopped for lunch on the beach again as the rain also stopped.  The rest of the day was all on beach as I made my way to Jennette's Pier.  Although I no longer really needed to worry about shorebirds I did have to keep zigging and zagging to avoid the fishing lines people put out while they sit at their cars and trucks.  The tide was coming and the walking did become more challenging but not enough to deter me in the final miles of the day and the trail.  Tomorrow I have just under 6 miles to go to Jockey's Ridge and the finish of the MST!