Day 152

Daily stats
Start: 9:00 AM - Wrightsville Beach
Finish: 5:30 PM - Sneads Ferry
Time: 8:30
Daily dist: 34 miles
Total dist: 3000+ miles
Companions: None
Weather: Warm and mostly clear with SE 10-15 wind
Notes: This morning I discovered that my SPOT device wasn’t working.

Today started out at Robert’s house with a fantastic breakfast of Cheerios (anything but oatmeal is heaven now days). Then, before he had to hustle off to work, Robert dropped me off at the Wildlife Boat Landing in Wrightsville Beach. The weather promised tolerable winds so from the boat launch I ran about three miles north out the next cut to the open coast.

Robert bidding farewell from the boat launch. I hope we actually get a chance to paddle together some day.

I must admit that over time the open coast in the Southeast US starts to become a little, shall we say, predictable. As I paddle north the scenery on my left “varies” from developed beach houses and condos to undeveloped tree lined shores all fringed by sand beaches. On my right is… well… water. Don’t get me wrong it’s thrilling to feel the energy of the ocean via the swells pulsing under me and see all manner of marine life from dolphins and sea birds to sea turtles (of which I saw seven Loggerheads today).

However, after a full day of feeling the ocean’s energy it can start to wear you out. For this reason I often find running up the inside on the ICW to be more stimulating. While I don’t stand as much of a chance to see things like sea turtles, there is much more to see overall. The protected water of the ICW, which often mixes with fresh water rivers, seems to hold much more wildlife in a more compact area allowing for more up close encounters. On the inside I still see dolphin but also see, herons, gulls, pelicans, small turtles, occasional gators, and several other animals, not to mention PEOPLE! Many folks don’t care to bump elbows with other folks while they’re out enjoying the outdoors. I on the other hand, after being on the trail for five months, don’t mind at all. It’s fun for me to paddle past people’s docks and backyards and see them mowing their lawns or reading a book while swinging in a hammock. It was a goal for me to paddle around the US through people’s “backyards” and on the ICW I’m often doing exactly that.

All this being said, I have to say that today, while I paddled along over 20 miles of Topsail and North Topsail beaches watching a parade of nearly cookie cutter beach homes pass by, (dare I say) I got a little bored. Part of my problem was due to the fact that my head wasn’t really in the game because I was worried about the fact that my SPOT device decided to quit working this morning. I had a hunch that it wouldn’t be an easy thing to sort out and when I checked in with my sister-in-law Amy who was contacting SPOT to see what could be done things didn’t look good. Perhaps I was just more frustrated with that trouble than anything else.

The first of seven sea turtles that I saw today.

The day did have its highlights such as the seven sea turtles I saw along with several dolphin feeding on dozens of huge and dense bait balls (schools of minnows) that I could see in the clear cool water off the coast.

The end of the day brought me back inside to a sandy island just inside Chadwick Bay across from Camp Lejune Marine Corps Base where I was lulled to sleep by the low tone rumble of bombs exploding in practice maneuvers the marines were running somewhere in the distance. Ah yes… CIVILIZATION!