Outer Banks Hikes

It was chilly and windy when we woke up Saturday morning.  Despite the weather, I followed a path over the dunes towards the beach.

The heavy surf was very pretty in the morning twilight.

The moon was nearly full and still shining bright in the early light.

As the sun came up, we went for breakfast and then drove to the visitor center at Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge.  Alex's hike 39 for #MST40Hike started here and led to the Basnight Bridge.

The Mountains-to-Sea Trail followed the Service Road around the ponds at the refuge, but dogs aren't allowed, so we hiked the beach.  There was a patch of pavement in the water where Highway 12 had been washed away.

It was a beautiful day, but very cold and windy.  We followed the beach north for several miles to Oregon Inlet.

MST winds through the dunes past the Oregon Inlet Lifesaving Station to a parking lot at the base of the bridge.  We found a nice spot by the lifesaving station to have lunch.

After a nice break, we headed back.  The wind died down a little bit so the hike back was a bit more pleasant.

Where the MST split, Sandy and Alex took the shortcut back on the beach and I hiked MST around North Pond.  It started on the short Salt Flats Wildlife Trail.

An elevated overlook between North Pond and the salt flats provided nice views.

From here, I got on the service road that looped around North Pond.

There were a number of birds in the lake but they kept too great a distance for good pictures.  At the southwest corner of the pond was an observation tower.

Climbing to the top, there were great 360° views of the refuge.

From here, I followed North Pond Wildlife Trail back to the visitor center.

There were a couple of overlooks looking south towards New Field Pond, which is otherwise off limits to the public.

The trail followed North Pond back to the visitor center.

I met back up with Sandy and Alex and we took off.

We drove north Nag's Head and stopped at Jockey's Ridge State Park, the eastern terminus of the MST.  The trail is not well defined over the shifting sands.

The end of the MST is the highest point in the dunes, an ever-changing point, but we took Alex there to complete hike 40.

The views were nice up here thought it was still a bit windy - good weather for hang gliding.  We saw a few people doing lessons at the park.

We enjoyed a break up here then headed back.

We had dinner in Nag's Head and then returned to Oregon Inlet Campground for the night.  I walked over the dunes to catch the sunset.

And once the sun went down, it was another very chilly night.