September 12, 2012 Hunting Island State Park

There are at least 10 trails at Hunting Island State Park.  Today, I walked my favorite combination beginning at the north end of the lagoon, walking south in the direction of Fripp until coming to the lovely arched walking bridge over the lagoon.

Three Halloween's ago, we stayed at cabin 8 on the ocean side of the bridge.  Cabin 8 had been on the second row and now the first row was gone as the ocean eroded the shore.  The ocean was, in fact, just 20 feet from the cabin door and the cabin was no longer accessible from the old shore road.
The park gave us a big golf cart to ride from the  pier, through the woods, over the lagoon bridge and to the cabin. On Halloween night, the kids put on their costumes and we rode the cart to the pier where the goblins and pirates and princess walked the pier to the delight of the fishermen.  Patrick drove us back through the woods, frequently stopping in the dark to scare us.

Now all of the cabins are gone and the ocean rolls in where they once were.  Only the lighthouse keeper's house remains.

Back to the walk, turning right onto the path which goes from the bridge to the pier, then taking another right onto what I think is called the maritime forrest trail (which is 2 miles if you take the entire trail back to a public beach beyond the end of the lagoon) until you come to the Marsh Boardwalk Crossover (.35 miles) and turn left.  This takes you across highway 21.  On the other side of the highway is the Marsh Boardwalk trail.  There is a parking area here and then the boardwalk.  Today the tide is in.  The Spartina  grass is green and gold and shifting in the full marsh.
First there is a small hummack with a shelter, a grassy area with bushes and trees, a sandy area to the right with more trees, birds alighting and what looks like a wood stork perched in the top of a crooked tree across the way.  The boardwalk continues out to a dock with wooden seats where a family is setting up for crabbing.

Walking back through the hummack, a big raccoon runs on tiptoe acorss my path. When I look to the right, I see two adolescent raccoons trying to hide from me in the bushes.  I am so happily stunned by this glimpse into their world.

As Liza once said on another trip:  "It is the beautiful deer world...the beautiful bird world....the beautiful dolphin world."

It is the beautiful raccoon world.