August 26, 1999 - Hither Hills: a heavenly havenAugust 26, 1999 - The Suffolk Times - 7A
Hither Hills: a heavenly haven
Each year we try to get out to Hither
Hills State Park at Montauk to camp
during the busy months of July and
August. It is so difficult, for they
reserve 11 months in advance and it
fills up fast. They are now scheduling
for July 2000 and we hate to be com-
mitted so far ahead of time. This week
it just so hap-
pened that my FOCUS
son was camping
out at Cedar ON
Point County NATURE
Park over by Sag
Harbor when he by Paul
decided, just for $toutenbuMh
the heck of it, to
try for a site at Hither Hills. Luck was
on his side and he was able to pick up
three days of a cancellation there, so
they packed up their Shasta trailer at
Cedar Point and headed to Montauk.
Once there, they called us to join them,
as you can have two cars at each site.
In no time Barbara got out the pop -
up tent and enough gear and food for
a quick overnight with the crew. My
job was to get the canoe on the pickup
along with its equipment so we'd be
ready to leave in the morning. By 8
a.m. we were off, heading for
Montauk. It took the usual extra time
getting through the traffic on the south
side, but all that was forgotten when
we rolled into the park and were
greeted by two over - excited bubbling
grandchildren on their bikes. How full
of youth and sparkle they looked!
After hearing of their camping adven-
tures with only one mishap so far that
involved a bloody toe, we all settled
down to plan out the day ahead.
There is so much land in the
Montauk area now owned by the fed-
eral government, state and county that
we decided to set out with our young
enthusiastic adventurers to explore
some that we had not seen before. We
headed out in our high - clearance pick-
up to help us get around in some of
the lesser -used areas. Years past we
spent time in the walking dune area to
the north. There, almost 50 years ago,
Barbara and I tented on the shore of
the neighboring Napeague Bay when
we were first married. Later we
explored the great shifting sand dunes
area with our three kids and intro-
duced them to that restless, often
desert-like, area where the sands have
blown and covered whole sections of a
pine forest. It was also in this walking
dune area that I once traveled with
one of the great wildflower pho-
tographers, Vinton Richards of Orient,
to photograph the showy and beautiful
white - fringed orchid.
The road we decided to take today,
if you could call it that, had many
turnoffs; at one point we took a left
fork that led us down to the bay. Here
the trees were stunted from the cruel
northwest winter wind that carries its
salt - laden, stunting spray. We made a
mental note of where we were in
hopes of being able to find it again at
another time but the trails and roads
crisscross each other in so many places
they leave little chance for reference.
We did cross the Long Island Rail
Road at one point. As we drove along,
the road would become almost tunnel-
like at times with the trees and bushes
crowding in to get their share of the
sun. We found ourselves every once in
a while going up and down
steep ravines; some had huge
puddles at the bottom, one -
axle deep, and I wondered if
I'd made the right choice in
taking on this adventure. I'd
have to think twice before
attempting this trip again.
That safari over, we found
a nice beach to have lunch
and then headed back to our
campsite. The first thing the
kids thought of was a swim.
Here is probably one of the
finest ocean beaches found
anywhere and the ocean was
it its best while we were
there. Of course, there was
always great excitement as
everyone fought the incom-
ing waves that bashed us
about.
Back at the campsite each
used the camper to change;
then, completely revived and
refreshed, all were ready to
go again. Our afternoon
adventure would be with the
canoe and so we headed to
the west side of Napeague
Bay where we had years ago
launched our canoe. This time
we were greeted by signs say-
ing, "No launching or parking
without a permit "; $125 for violators.
We finally found a spot where there
were no signs and got the canoe in and
were off to the outer reaches of the
bay. We passed over vast beds of eel
grass and where there was no eel grass
there were clumps of rock weed sway-
ing below.
Shorebirds fed along the beach edge,
building up their energy for their con-
tinued flight south. They'll winter in the
Caribbean or South America. We'd see
small schools of baby bunkers about
the size of the ones we see back home.
The clear water was so tempting every-
one wanted to try their face mask and
snorkel and it was no time before we
were all in the water viewing the won-
ders below. Anyone looking from a dis-
tance could see just our bottoms and
snorkels moving along slowly.
At one point my son and I ventured
out into deep water and were amazed
to find adult horseshoe crabs plowing
up the bottom. Was it here that these
ancient relics of the past spend their
hidden life? We see horseshoe crabs in
our home waters only in the spring
when they come to the water's edge to
lay their eggs; then they disappear, not
to be seen until the following year.
Through our masks we watched as
they pushed small rocks, stones, shells
and even clams out of the sand. We
marveled at how they had disrupted
the bottom. It was so uprooted that
my son believed it could only have
been done by man, perhaps by a clam -
mer using tongs. No matter what it
was, it couldn't take away from the
horseshoe crabs' laborious plowing in
brought the whole thing together.
It was still beautiful out, the sun was
still bright and I was itching or one
more swim. Before I knew it, everyone
was back in the water. We'd battle
again the sparkling waves as they
relentlessly rolled over us, the kids
screaming with delight, the grownups
never remembering the water so cold.
Then it was into the bathhouses for a
Suffolk Times photo by Paul Stoutenburgh
Although rosa rugosa is not a true native plant, it Is commonly found along our east-
ern seaboard. After its pink or sometimes white flowers fade, it creates the red -
orange "rose hips" pictured above. High in Vitamin C, they make a handy snack for
the adventurer.
-t - -
WILbLIFE RESOURCES
91, Pre -Grand Opening Special - Thistle at .75/lb
COMPLETE LINE OF QUALITY BIRD SEED AT &BEAT PRICES
734 -2096
While under construction, hours are Sat. d Sun. 10 - 4 Cox Lane and Oregon Road, Cutchogue 11P
search of worms and small mollusks
they live on.
It was a super day and we all grew
hungry. It was time to head back. In no
time we had the canoe back up on the
truck and all the gear stowed. Back at
the campsite we were ready for dinner.
It was a cooperative adventure; every-
one had a job. One cooked the ham-
burgers, another got out the plates, sil-
verware, etc., another husked the corn,
someone fumbled with the stove to get
it going while another cleaned up the
site and took the garbage to the dump -
ster. Each helped themselves to a siz-
zling hamburger and slipped it into a
soft bun. How easy and unregimented
the whole affair was. Cleanup was the
same way. Each did something that
warm shower and back to the camp-
site. We sat around the campsite just
behind the dunes, where we marveled
at all the rose hips that spotted the
mass of rosa rugosa growing there.
We waited as it grew darker so we
could take in the movie the park puts
on for everyone. All that's required is
you bring your own chair. The movie
was "A Bug's Life." The audience was
mostly young people, but I must say I,
too, enjoyed the spectacular animated
film that most could relate to. By the
time the film was over eyes were
drooping and it was time. for bed. A
half moon shown above, a gentle
northwest dry wind blew and the
sound of the surf in our ears was all we
needed to fall off to sleep.
�r Verbena 1
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