08 — Bear Island.
2015-02-22. By Kelly.
Fig. 1. Kelly at our 2014 Camp #4 picnic table. All the pictures here are from the 2014 trip.
We have found a special place called Bear Island in North Carolina. It is an island off the southern coast of North Carolina. It is about mile long, and a half mile ferry ride from the Hammock Beach Park office. Patrick and I take paddling route in an old canoe filled with camping equipment and a week's worth of supplies. As we paddle close to the island, we jump into the water to walk through shallow areas to get a closer look at the crabs or fish darting ahead. What Patrick and I love most about the Island is that it has only a few rustic camp sites along the shore of the island. This allows us to enjoy morning and evening walks along an isolated beach as well as quiet morning coffees watching seashore birds flying through their morning routines. We don't plan an agenda before we go. Instead, we go there to turn off our daily routine of work and spend some much needed time together. We love nature. Our time at Bear Island allows us to enjoy the rhythm of a coastal marine ecosystem. We have seen some incredible sites such as a double rainbow. Incredible view! We have also had an immature gull adopt us as his flock and visit us for every morning coffee. Patrick and I go on hikes along the shore looking for hermit crabs, skates, and shells. We have seen groups of skates swimming in the shallow waters on evening walks. We even got to see a male deer, a buck snort at us from the dune at our campsite. We have also brought an ARDF radio to listen and maybe this year to transmit. During last year's stay, we actually came up with the idea of creating a blog. It has been a great place for us rejuvenate and as we leave with future plans of longer stays each year.
Fig. 2. Camp 4 look approximately toward the NE tip of the island. The Atlantic is just over the dunes.
Fig. 3. View approximately West from Camp 4. This type of sparely covered dune with thicker vegetation patches in the hollows is typical of the island's inland.
Fig. 4. The beach at low tide. This is the Atlantic side just over the dunes from Camp 4. Patrick is walking toward our tarp.