Assateague Island- March 30,31, and April 1:
We had been planning on returning to Assateague Island on
the border on Maryland and Virginia for about 2 weekends, we were anxious when
the weather finally agreed with our plans. Andrew didn’t get home from work
until around 8 which put us at the ranger station a little before 1 in the
morning. They did not allow hikers to hike after sunset so we would be spending
our night in the van. This idea surprisingly excited us because we had been
wanted to try out our road trip set up. By the time Andrew got home at 830, I
had the seats out and the air mattress blown up (with a cool pump that hooks
into the cigarette lighter) and in place with the blankets and pillows on top
of the mattress. It all fit perfectly! He finished up packing and we had the
packs and the cooler in place for the trip down and back. The drive went
smoothly and we reached the visitor center and the sound of the ocean early
Saturday morning. We enjoyed the sounds and the smells of the night air and
settled in for the night. It was incredibly comfortable and we didn’t expect to
still be sleeping at 930. We decided the set up would be perfect for those
nights spent in the van out west (in just a little over a month!). We changed
in the visitor center and registered in the ranger’s office. There is not fresh
water on this hike, but we had almost 2 gallons between the two of us and a
gallon in the car awaiting our return. For the camp site, we decided on Green
Run which was a good 10 mile hike each way. On our drive to where we were to
park for the start of the hike, we saw 8 horses along the paved roads. They are
beautiful creatures. We were on the beach by 11. It was beautiful weather,
though a little windy. We stayed on the harder sand near the surf and made sure
not to get too close, most of the time. We passed by many people surf fishing
with campfires by their 4 wheel drive pickup trucks. The wind started picking
up and it really started to get cold. The hiking in the sand started to get
harder because the high tide came in and erased the hard sand for us to hike
on. We figured a quick stop for some lunch would do us good. We had some fruit
bars (like Fig Newton’s) and beef jerky.
The beach was marked by kilometers and our campsite (km 29) was a very
welcomed site. We followed the pine tree lined path back to our campsite and
were surprised to see that we would actually have the luxury of a clean
portable toilet and picnic tables. This site was on the bay side (last time we
came here, we had stayed at a beach side site).
There were also condemned buildings along the bay, making an eerie back
drop to our site as the night settled in. We made camp and crawled right into
our sleeping bags. Luckily, we both have good bags an soon we could feel our
hands and feet again. It was only 630 but the day’s windiness and unlevel
terrain hiking had taken its toll on us. We finished off the Fig Newton’s and
were soon both sound asleep. We awoke earlier and were on the beach to hike the
10 miles back to our car. The wind was at our back and the sun was in our face
(which was evident in our sunburns later) which made for easy hiking. The tide
was low on top of it all and to us it felt as good as pavement. We only had to
make one stop on our way back and were at the car by 3. Since we really had not
eaten the night before, our first order of duty (after changing back into warm
clean clothes where we had spent the night two days earlier) was finding a
local pizza place and polishing off the better part of a large cheese pizza and
a dozen wings. The beach is always a great hike and a great mind and soul bath
as you hike to the sound of the waves crashing beside you and the sight of
nothing but ocean to one side and a wall of sand dunes and distant pines on the
other. It will probably be an annual hike for us!
We had been planning on returning to Assateague Island on
the border on Maryland and Virginia for about 2 weekends, we were anxious when
the weather finally agreed with our plans. Andrew didn’t get home from work
until around 8 which put us at the ranger station a little before 1 in the
morning. They did not allow hikers to hike after sunset so we would be spending
our night in the van. This idea surprisingly excited us because we had been
wanted to try out our road trip set up. By the time Andrew got home at 830, I
had the seats out and the air mattress blown up (with a cool pump that hooks
into the cigarette lighter) and in place with the blankets and pillows on top
of the mattress. It all fit perfectly! He finished up packing and we had the
packs and the cooler in place for the trip down and back. The drive went
smoothly and we reached the visitor center and the sound of the ocean early
Saturday morning. We enjoyed the sounds and the smells of the night air and
settled in for the night. It was incredibly comfortable and we didn’t expect to
still be sleeping at 930. We decided the set up would be perfect for those
nights spent in the van out west (in just a little over a month!). We changed
in the visitor center and registered in the ranger’s office. There is not fresh
water on this hike, but we had almost 2 gallons between the two of us and a
gallon in the car awaiting our return. For the camp site, we decided on Green
Run which was a good 10 mile hike each way. On our drive to where we were to
park for the start of the hike, we saw 8 horses along the paved roads. They are
beautiful creatures. We were on the beach by 11. It was beautiful weather,
though a little windy. We stayed on the harder sand near the surf and made sure
not to get too close, most of the time. We passed by many people surf fishing
with campfires by their 4 wheel drive pickup trucks. The wind started picking
up and it really started to get cold. The hiking in the sand started to get
harder because the high tide came in and erased the hard sand for us to hike
on. We figured a quick stop for some lunch would do us good. We had some fruit
bars (like Fig Newton’s) and beef jerky.
The beach was marked by kilometers and our campsite (km 29) was a very
welcomed site. We followed the pine tree lined path back to our campsite and
were surprised to see that we would actually have the luxury of a clean
portable toilet and picnic tables. This site was on the bay side (last time we
came here, we had stayed at a beach side site).
There were also condemned buildings along the bay, making an eerie back
drop to our site as the night settled in. We made camp and crawled right into
our sleeping bags. Luckily, we both have good bags an soon we could feel our
hands and feet again. It was only 630 but the day’s windiness and unlevel
terrain hiking had taken its toll on us. We finished off the Fig Newton’s and
were soon both sound asleep. We awoke earlier and were on the beach to hike the
10 miles back to our car. The wind was at our back and the sun was in our face
(which was evident in our sunburns later) which made for easy hiking. The tide
was low on top of it all and to us it felt as good as pavement. We only had to
make one stop on our way back and were at the car by 3. Since we really had not
eaten the night before, our first order of duty (after changing back into warm
clean clothes where we had spent the night two days earlier) was finding a
local pizza place and polishing off the better part of a large cheese pizza and
a dozen wings. The beach is always a great hike and a great mind and soul bath
as you hike to the sound of the waves crashing beside you and the sight of
nothing but ocean to one side and a wall of sand dunes and distant pines on the
other. It will probably be an annual hike for us!
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