Thursday, February 15, 2024

Cape Cod National Seashore: Race Point Lighthouse

Cape Cod R&R 2023: Race Point Lighthouse Hike – 5/4/23 – 4.5 miles

A week after our younger daughter got married in April 2023, Jim and I whisked ourselves away to Cape Cod. After many months of planning and spreadsheets, the wedding was a beautiful and (dare I say it?) flawless celebration with family and friends. The honeymoon? Why, yes, the father and mother of the bride were ready for some R&R.

Rain arrived in Boston when we did and lingered for most of our visit, but it didn’t “dampen” our plans. We were a week ahead of the spring/summer season, very few people and free access to all beaches. Chilly gale force winds couldn’t stop us from roaming all around the Cape! The sunsets were gorgeous, the seafood was delicious, and we found adventures everywhere.

We spent one day driving up the east coast from Orleans to Provincetown, checking out coffee shops and Cape Cod National Seashore lighthouses and beaches.


Nauset Lighthouse near Eastham, MA, built in 1877
 (iconic photo on a bag of potato chips, haha)

We walked the sandy access path to peek at the powerful surf and brooding clouds.
No toe dips today, thanks!

Three Sisters of Nauset Lighthouse Station were first established in 1838. Over the years the girls got around, moving to different locations in the neighborhood before they were reunited close to home in 1975, went through fabulous spa treatments and reopened to the public in 1989. 

Mechanical engineer Jim insisted on stopping at the Marconi Wireless Station Site where the first transatlantic wireless communication between the United States and Europe took place on January 18, 1903. Just a couple of years later, the station was closed due to fear of dune erosion. The equipment was removed, erosion eventually happened, and the remaining buildings fell into the ocean. 

We walked the paved path from the parking area to the top of some dunes for an ocean view – imagination required.

Next stop: Province Lands Visitor Center near Provincetown at the northern tip of Cape Cod. We chatted with the ranger and told her we were interested in walking to Race Point Lighthouse. She said it was “about a mile” walking on the beach from the public access at Race Point Beach.

[Race Point Lighthouse is maintained by the Cape Cod Chapter of the American Lighthouse Foundation, meaning volunteers and donations keep it going.]

So…we parked at Race Point Beach and started walking

It was soon after high tide and we had plenty of sand, waves, gloomy skies, brisk wind, and one seal bobbing in the water. What we did not have was human company.

We walked and walked, Jim tracking with his GAIA GPS. After a mile and a half, we began to wonder if we would see the lighthouse above the dunes. How close is it to the water’s edge? Or have we passed it? But GAIA said, nope, we have a ways to go.

We saw an SUV driving along the beach ahead of us. It stopped, then moved on, stopped again, and we caught up with the driver, a photographer. When we asked about the lighthouse, he thought we should keep going “around the bend” and we would see it.

Ummm, which bend?

By now we knew the ranger wasn’t accurate, obviously she had never walked to the lighthouse herself. Not ready to concede defeat, we pushed on and soon spotted a break in the dunes. Jim climbed up and sighted the lighthouse, so we left the beach and walked through the dunes another 15 minutes to reach it. [I am not sure if this was the real beach access or not. Let me know if you know].

The buildings, as expected, were all closed and we took a little time peeking in windows and reading signs. [You can spend the night if you have the funds – a way to support the foundation.] Looking at the time, we decided to walk back via the rough “road” through the dunes instead of returning to the beach – at least we could follow tire tracks. 

Deep sand, slow going, not setting any speed records

The Lesson: We were unprepared for this hike, thinking it would be one mile out, one mile back, an hour at most – no backpacks, no water, no food, just rain gear and our puffy jackets (at least we were that smart, because it was quite chilly). Just always carry your backpacks and 10 essentials, people!

To reset our mindset after the expedition, we headed to Provincetown looking for food,
no dillydallying. We found heaven at The Lobster Pot.

A beer for Jim and Stormalong cider for me

Clam chowder and baked cod stuffed with lobster
 (we share dishes because food is expensive on the Cape)

Sated and hydrated, we strolled around Provincetown. Some businesses were not open on a cold weekday ahead of the season, but we enjoyed the colorful houses and murals.

Wait! There’s one more lighthouse to see on the drive back to our lodgings: Highland Lighthouse in Truro, MA

“Love is a lighthouse: it shines through darkest fears and helps you get where you want to be.” ~Janet Todd



Sunday, January 28, 2024

Dismal Swamp State Park & Merchants Millpond State Park

Dismal Swamp State Park – 3/13/23 – 2.5 Miles
Merchants Millpond State Park - 3/15/23 – 1.5 Miles



I’ve visited more than half of North Carolina’s state parks, mostly in the mountainous western regions. Now I’m checking out the others, learning about the Piedmont and the coast. You know I love a must-see list.

I’ve made side trips to some parks en route to other destinations. However, exploring the far eastern gems meant deliberate planning over several days, so I combined a family event in Virginia with a trip to the northeastern NC counties. Mid-March is a sleepy time of year to visit this part of the state, but with an Airbnb home base in Edenton I enjoyed several days of discovery in two parks – natural beauty, history, and people.

Dismal Swamp State Park

North Carolina's Dismal Swamp State Park is a small part (14,000 acres) of the 113,000-acre Great Dismal Swamp that stretches across southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina. The Great Dismal Swamp is the largest intact portion of a great swamp that once exceeded 1 million acres.

The swamp’s natural history is described in many sources. Its human history as a refuge for escaped enslaved persons, known as maroons, was not taught when I was growing up in the 1960’s in a rural Virginia town barely 100 miles away. As an adult, I feel drawn to this history.

The Dismal Swamp Canal Welcome Center is on US Highway 17 North in South Mills, NC. [It is not affiliated with the park itself.] Visitors park there and walk across a swing bridge spanning the Dismal Swamp Canal. The bridge gives access to the state park’s Visitor Center and park trails, opening on a schedule for boats and paddlers.

The canal was created for inland trade between Virginia’s Chesapeake Bay and North Carolina’s Albemarle Sound. The Welcome Center website’s video calls it “the oldest manmade continuously operating waterway in the country,” which I feel is a poor euphemism for the fact that enslaved persons dug the canal in horrendous conditions over 12 years. Searching a bit deeper on the website produces a more detailed history. The idea that today the canal is used for paddling and pleasure boating doesn't sit right with me.

Looking north as I crossed the bridge

Under a brooding, overcast sky I walked the half-mile Swamp Boardwalk Trail. The temperature was too cold to notice any wildlife about – at least I didn’t see any, although I might have been seen. Having read about the maroons hiding/living in the swamps, I tried to imagine surviving here in any season, each with its discomforts (to say the least).

Read more: Dismal Freedom: A History of the Maroons of the Great Dismal Swamp by J. Brent Morris

Cypress knees

Places to sit and watch for birds and other critters

Most of the other trails in the park are a grid configuration of old logging roads, which I didn’t have the time or inclination to walk on today. The Supple-Jack Trail was right up my alley, a meander through the swamp and a return to the start on Canal Road. [Note: Supplejack is a native climbing vine.]

Canal Road

Moonshine operations back in the day

After my hike, I chatted with Melvin, who was operating the swing bridge today. Melvin retired recently and quickly became bored, so started working part-time at the park. When I told him I’m visiting all the NC state parks, his eyes sparkled. He said, “You know, I should do something like that. All the years I worked, I never traveled for fun.” I encouraged him to start with a short trip to one place and see how much he loves it. I enjoyed the conversation with this gregarious fellow and I hope he finds his way to get out there!

Merchants Millpond State Park 

The morning that I visited Merchants Millpond State Park in Gatesville, NC, was windy and quite cold (34 degrees) but lit up by cheery blue skies. I was the lone car at the Visitor Center, where I got the general rundown of the area’s history from Kathy, also a part-time park employee like Melvin. [More about Kathy’s back story below.]

Millponds are manmade damming of creeks to create power for mill operations back in the day. The millpond at the center of the park, originally called Norfleets Millpond, was built in 1811 – yes, over 200 years ago! According to the park’s brochure, “Gristmills, a sawmill, a farm supply store and other enterprises made the area the center of trade in Gates County. Thus, the pond became known as Merchants Millpond.”

The park is small, a bit more than 3,500 acres encircling the millpond and part of Lassiter Swamp. It features a few trails and all kinds of camping, from car camping to backcountry to paddle-in campsites. Again my time was limited because of the long drive home ahead of me. I wanted to get close to the water, so I walked around the Cypress Point Trail loop and then a short distance on Bennetts Creek Trail.

Magical stillness in the early morning light

Spillway at the road crossing

No critters in sight here, either. I'll have to return in warmer weather to check out the American alligators, turtles, frogs and snakes (oh my!)

Kathy’s back story: When she was thinking of college, she sought a guidance counselor’s advice for careers in the outdoors because she liked hiking and nature. The female counselor discouraged her, saying that it was a lonely career for a woman, she might be posted in remote locations, the outdoors was dangerous with animals, etc. So Kathy didn’t follow that dream. She recently moved to the Gates County area and saw that MMSP was hiring, and she’s very happy working in a field that she’s always loved. 

News flash: Outdoors and public lands careers feature women at every level (including our current U.S. Secretary of the Interior). I hope that guidance counselors everywhere are encouraging girls to follow that “outside voice!”

“Natural beauty, history, and people – treasures in
North Carolina State Parks.”
 ~Sharon McCarthy


Thursday, January 11, 2024

Hanging Rock State Park: Indian Creek Trail & Riverbluffs Trail

Hanging Rock State Park: Indian Creek Trail & Riverbluffs Trail – 2/24/23 – 9.3 Miles

My Centennial Trail thru-hike is a tad more than 3 months away. Most of my training outings are on familiar trails that I don’t blog about. Jim offered to hike with me today, so we explored some new-to-me trails in Hanging Rock State Park.

A blue-sky day in February, pleasant hiking weather in the NC mountains, starting out with long pants and sleeves and ending in shorts. I carried my usual daypack with some extra weight. Soon I’ll start carrying my new Gossamer Gear backpack.

Starting at the Dan River boat access parking at the “bottom” of the mountain, we headed up Indian Creek Trail (I wonder if they will rename that one day?)

Canoe/kayak launch at Dan River

Boy Scouts? Parks and Rec? Random people?

Like the trail’s name implies, we encountered a lot of creek crossings. I suspect they are usually unremarkable rock hops, but there’s been a significant amount of rain lately. Let’s count ‘em up: 4 wet crossings plus 5 dry rock hop crossings adds up to 9 going up…plus 9 coming back down…that means 18 crossings that got our attention.

Jim was able to keep his boots from being completely submerged, but I had no chance of staying dry wearing my little Altra Timps. It was a nice day, though, and wet feet didn’t hinder me. Just happy to be outside!

The trail turned away from the creek and began climbing. A partially collapsed wooden building appeared near the crossing of Hanging Rock Road. Growing up in rural southern Virginia where my uncles raised tobacco, I recognized this old tobacco barn. Nostalgic even as hindsight gives a clearer picture of a complex time.

After the road crossing, my old friend the Mountains-To-Sea Trail joined Indian Creek Trail and the climb got steeper. Because I was trying to keep Jim’s pace, my calves were feeling the burn. The creek appeared again on the left and stayed with us.

Most visitors start from the Visitor Center parking and descend to Hidden Falls and Window Falls, then turn around and head back up. Approaching from the bottom, we reached Window Falls first. The “window” is a hole in the rock wall near the main drop, which we didn’t try to get close to today. The trail was now noticeably eroded, despite the infrastructure built to try to keep people on the path. 

Window Falls (sans window)

Approaching Hidden Falls, we spotted a large group of folks, including little kids climbing all over the rocks, so we kept moving to the picnic area for a lunch break. It’s all fun and games until the crowds move in; then it’s time to skedaddle.

Never underestimate the return part of an out-and-back hike. Retracing our steps going down Indian Creek Trail, I commented to Jim how the day was warm but I hadn’t seen any spring flowers. Then lo and behold, I saw a trout lily! Then I saw dozens, then thousands, all along the banks of the creek … wow! I am sure they were not there when we hiked up.

We crossed the paved road again and took another look at the old barn

Beyond the building, we noticed rusty barrels lying in the woods. Tromping around in the vegetation uncovered more “artifacts,” possibly an old homesite connected with the barn? But we were very close to the park boundary lines and could see occupied houses – maybe this was just an old dump. 

Back close to the Dan River parking area with time for a little more exploring, we turned onto the Riverbluffs Loop, a flat little 1.3-mile trail that passes along the banks of Dan River. The rock bluffs on the far side of the river were impressive.

A few dozen yards off to one side of the trail, I caught a glimpse of yellow and realized it was a spread of daffodils, which usually signifies an old homesite. We walked up the slope and found the remnants of a rock chimney. Who once owned this property with a fine view of the river and its rocky bluffs?

For more info and photos of the Riverbluffs Trail, a nice writeup is here. 

We completed our hike earlier than expected and wanted a bite to eat before the long drive home. Nothing better than the town of Welcome, NC inviting us to have a seat at Jimmy’s Barbecue. Their motto: “I can smell a pig from a mile away!”

“For how many years did I wander slowly
 through the forest. What wonder and glory
 I would have missed had I ever been in a hurry!”
 ~Mary Oliver