| Issue #35, November 24, 2006 |
Take a hike with Ken Kindler
The Inland Dunes
The East Hampton Trails Preservation Society (EHTPS) has been leading a series of hikes along the 45 miles of the Paumanok Path (PP) that run through East Hampton. On the second hike in the four-part series, we walked through the beech forest of Stony Hill and the inland dunes of Napeague. Experiencing these two unique environments side by side was extraordinary. We met Cliff, our hike leader, at the end point of the ten and one half-mile hike, left most of our cars there, and carpooled the group to the beginning of the hike. 24 people participated in the hike – the youngest hiker was nine years old and the eldest was 78. The pace was brisk, and we had two “sweeps,” Bill and Richard, who hung back with the slower hikers and coordinated with Cliff to keep us all together. This was an exceptional hike as the entire segment of the PP we were hiking is well blazed and cleared. To take this hike on your own, meet a friend at Napeague Meadow Road about .7 miles north of the intersection with Route 27. Walk up the LIPA sub-station driveway to where the trail crosses it, so you will recognize the end of the hike when you get here. I suggest you bring a road atlas with you and carpool west through the winding back roads to the intersection of Soak Hides Road and Springy Banks Road in Springs.
A couple of days later, I returned to take a closer look at the three-mile section of trail that runs through the Napeague inland dunes. I followed Cranberry Hole Road over the railroad bridge. Traveling east on Montauk Highway, Cranberry Hole Road is east of Amagansett Town on the left side of the road. Just east of the triangular intersection by Cross Highway to Devon, the trail enters the woods on the right side of the road. Park on the shoulder (just east of the entrance to the trail). The proximity of a large house nearby, and the wide, level trail tread makes it seem like you are walking up an unpaved driveway. In fact, what you are walking on is a woods road parallel to the now submerged Old Montauk Highway. Wetlands border the trail and sphagnum moss and cranberry bushes sometimes cover it, but even though I took my walk in the rainy season, the new trail had only a few muddy areas.
Here, the trail heads almost directly east, with Cranberry Hole Road to the north and the train tracks and Montauk Highway to the south. After a short distance, the only reminders of civilization that remain are the sounds from the highway or an occasional train. For long stretches, inkberry bushes border the trail like a hedge. It was warm for November, and I could hear peepers and the unmistakable plopping sound that disturbed frogs make when they hit the water. There was sweet pepperbush, highbush blueberry and rich scents of bog, pine, and marsh. A small animal skittered across the trail, and above, I heard the call of a raptor. Suddenly, the trail broke out into a dry sandy area covered in heather, bearberry, reindeer lichen and pitch pine, much like the dunes, only half a mile inland. The pitch pines here are reminiscent of the dwarf pines in the Sarnoff Preserve up island. They are shorter than normal, with the lower branches reaching out along the ground, and the scales of their pinecones rarely open at maturity.
The trail continues east to an abandoned railroad spur. Turn right and walk along the rail for about 100 yards. The turn away from the tracks is easy to miss – look for a hard left leading into a narrow trail. If you don’t see white blazes, you have missed the turn. This is a newly cut section of trail, with brand-new, bright trail markers. As the trail moves north onto a shallow ridge, there will be more holly and what appears to be clusters of healthy white birch in the near distance. I wanted to examine the birch trees, but the catbrier was too thick there. Always be alert for the blazes, because there is a large network of trails here, offering many turns. Deer tracks on the trail are dense, and their traffic has damaged the trail tread in places. The ecology of these nutrient-poor inland dunes is fragile and easily disturbed. We must use these trails gently if we hope for this unique ecosystem to be here for future generations.
You will find that the trail slowly loses the little bit of elevation it had, and begins to thread its way through wetlands. There are still some enclaves of cattails that haven’t been replaced by phragmites along this trail. Just before I reached a boardwalk, I saw the entrance to a trail marked by light blue painted rectangles veering south of the PP. The trail now widens, with leaves and roots churned into the sand. It takes a lot of energy to move forward on this soft, mushy trail tread and the blazes were very far apart.
It wasn’t long before I came upon the other end of the blue trail, where it once again intersects the PP. I gambled that this was indeed the other end of the blue trail I had passed earlier and not another trail leading to who knows where. I turned right on this unknown trail and was rewarded with a lovely trail experience. This trail is very well engineered – a great amount of care and expertise went into the building and blazing. It led me back to the PP heading west to the roadside parking at Cranberry Hole.
On 12/10, I will be on the third hike in the Paumanok Path series. Rick Whalen (631-267-6608) is leading it. Meet at Kirk’s Park and carpool to the start at Napeague Meadow Road. Hope to see you there!
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