Cedar Island MST Hike

Saturday, we left to take Alex to the coast for a long weekend of hiking and camping.  We headed out towards Cedar Island National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Carteret County and parked at the boat ramp near the Thorofare.  Alex would be completing hike 37 for #mst40hike.

Hiking back to NC-12, we followed the bridge over Thorofare with great views of the marsh.

The brackish marsh runs for as far as the eye can see and the road hike led for several miles through this habitat.

We could still see back to the bridge for the majority of the hike.

We spotted something pop out of the water and were excited to see two otters swimming.

We crossed another short bridge with a view of West Bay.

After about 5 miles, the elevation changed slightly and we entered a more forested habitat.  I spotted a night heron through the trees.

We hiked as far as the fire department and turned around.  Sandy and Alex waited while I hiked quickly back to the car.  I saw a Northern Mockingbird near the parking area.

Back at the car, I drove back to pick up Sandy and Alex.

From here, we headed to Oyster Point and set up camp.  Then we headed to Atlantic Beach for dinner at Idle Hour Biergarten.  Their outdoor seating is very dog friendly and Alex enjoyed laying in the sand.  It got a little chilly, so we moved over to a fire pit to finish our drinks.  We met some other really nice couples with their dogs and chatted with them for a while.  Then we headed back to camp.  It was really chilly overnight, so we made a big fire before going to bed.