Boston Harbor Islands
Where: Boston Harbor Islands
When: 8/9-8/11, 2002
With: Andy, Chip, Brian, Jason, David, Daniel, Anna
Dave suggested a hike with all of the kids sometime this season and that sounded like fun. We'd all taken our kids camping individually but had never gone as a group, though Chip & I went out with our boys a couple of years ago. Camping with children is always a challenge but this would be especially interesting, given the range of ages (5 1/2 to 13) and abilities. We needed a destination not too far away, not too difficult to get to, and with plenty of activities to keep everyone occupied. My first thought was the Westfield River. It fit all of the requirements and Chip & I had had a great time there with the boys previously. Then a new idea hit me (though I don't recall how or why) - The Boston Harbor Islands. Recently designated as a park system, they are managed by a combination of state and federal agencies. I'd heard about camping out there for some time, and a neighbor had gone a few years ago and loved it. It seemed perfect. Close by, easy to reach, plenty to do, and best of all - someplace new.
So I began to do some research on the internet. I quickly found a few helpful websites and the more I read, the better the idea seemed. Camping was available on four of the islands by reservation, but the reservations were free on two of the islands. Each island had ocean access (of course), along with nature trails, old forts, and other places to explore. Inexpensive ferries provided easy transportation, and there were even restrooms and first aid facilities on the islands. I checked with the other guys and they agreed with the concept and a target date.
After reviewing the island info I settled on Peddocks Island as our destination. It's the largest of the islands and offers the ruins of a WWII post (Fort Andrews), as well as nature trails that pass by a salt marsh, a pond and mature coastal forests. Run by the Metropolitan District Commission (MDC), it's also one of the two islands where camping is free. I called the MDC reservations office in late May to get a campsite and was told that reservations were not being taken until the islands opened for the season. To get "in line" however I could fax or mail a letter with my request, which I did. I decided to reserve a site for two nights, hoping to try to go out Friday night with Andy.
A few weeks later, having received no reply, I called the MDC to inquire about the status of my request. I was told then that they had received it and would be processing it soon. Another couple of weeks passed and another call was made. This time I learned that my request had been processed and I should expect to receive my confirmation soon. Sure enough it arrived a few days later. The accompanying letter explained that I was to sign and return part of the confirmation to indicate that I still wanted the reservation. I was just preparing to do that when I happened to review the island info on the internet one more time. A note about camping indicated that Peddocks had a single large group camping area. Yuck! I began to review the options on the other islands and began focusing on Lovell's Island. Though smaller than Peddocks, and less developed (no nature trails, for example), it had individual campsites, the ruins of an old fort, and the only swimming beach of any of the islands. It's also noted for its "majestic views" of both Boston and the outer ocean. Wow! I don't know how I missed all that the first time I looked, but it seemed ideal. Unfortunately, the descriptions also noted that Lovell's is a "favorite camping location", and I was worried that it would already be fully booked. I called the MDC and explained that I was about to return my confirmation but wished to change to Lovell's. "No problem," replied the woman at the MDC. "Just cross out Peddocks, check off Lovell's and write a note saying it's okay per Diane." I was surprised. It didn't seem as if she'd had to check any reservations system or anything, so I asked if she was sure. "Oh yeah, no problem," was the reply, so I did as she said and sent it back in. Perhaps the islands were so underused that openings were always available.
So the day approached and all of the plans began to fall into place. We checked out ferry schedules, confirmed when we'd all be arriving (Andy & I on Friday, the rest on Saturday), coordinated supplies (drinking water, gear, food) and hoped for good weather. I called the MDC one more time on the Monday before our trip to confirm our reservation and found they still had us listed for Peddocks. I corrected that to Lovell's and confirmed (again!) that that was okay. "Oh yeah, no problem," was the reply once more. The weather looked fantastic and we were all good to go.
Friday arrived and Andy & I departed for our ferry ride from the Hingham Shipyard. I had my largest backpack full of gear, Andy's daypack full as well, and a large chest cooler full of food and water loaded on Andy's red wagon. I figured that would help on the journey from the boat to the campsite, allow us to bring cold food, and keep the food/cooking/dining supplies out of my pack. Thanks to excellent directions from some friends at work, we arrived at the shipyard almost an hour an a half before our ferry was to depart, so we did a quick drive-through to check it out and then headed back out again. I was interested in trying to find a fishing tackle shop. Chip had been convinced by a friend to take a shot at saltwater fly-fishing and he encouraged me to join in. I didn't quite believe my freshwater trout rod would work in surf, but I'd brought it along anyway and managed to find an old reel with line I could use. The last piece needed was some surf leader (stronger than the stuff I use for trout) and an appropriate fly. The first shop I went to had nothing, but they suggested another spot down the road. We headed that way, stopped for gas (and a soda for Andy), and then swung into the Old Salt Tackle shop. Andy stayed in the car while I went in, and a woman up front directed me to the fishing gear in back.
I found a personable young man back there working the counter and talking with a big guy with an accent. From New Zealand, it turned out, and he fished with a spear gun while lying on the bottom of the ocean wearing a camouflage wetsuit! Outrageous. After listening to the stories a bit I asked for some help with the gear I needed. I'd found some backing, striper leader and tippet material, but needed advice on a fly. He showed me an assortment and explained each, including some huge specimens which I rejected. Having had no experience with saltwater fly-fishing I didn't think I was ready for something that large. Finally I asked him to recommend a single fly and he chose a long tailed blue and white thing with a beaded head and an eye. Andy wandered in while he rang up the sale, tired of waiting for me, and we completed our purchase and left.
Back to the shipyard we went, where we purchased our tickets for the ferry. The woman selling the tickets was very nice, even directing Andy to a bathroom in the office next door, but I still found the whole operation to be a lot less formal than I expected. The tickets were just the paper kind used at carnivals, and there were only two. No return tickets needed apparently. And when I said we were headed to Lovell's Island the woman asked us how we'd be getting there, seemingly unaware of the water taxi service. Still, she pointed out some schedules and brochures, confirmed our car was parked okay and wished us well.
The boat (The Edward Rowe Snow) arrived right on schedule and Andy & I boarded along with 4 or 5 other people, some also carrying camping gear. The wagon was a bit awkward to handle on the ramps and the boat boardings, but not too difficult. We quickly made the run to Grape Island (a much shorter ride than I'd expected) and then on to Bumpkin. Andy spent much of the run sitting up by the pilothouse, watching the view. By this time I realized that the ferry schedule was showing departure times, not arrival times on each island and figured we'd be on George's earlier than I'd expected. From Bumpkin we churned our way over to Peddocks, where the other campers departed. "Cool," I thought…less chance they were headed for "our" island. We were running behind schedule a bit and landed at George's around 4:40. It was low tide, so we had to disembark from the upper deck. I managed to haul the wagon up the stairs and out onto the dock, where we made our way over to the water taxi dock.
A notice on the board by the dock said that Lovell's Island had limited ranger coverage and that Lovell's visitors should check in with one of the George's rangers. No office was apparent so I asked at the snack bar and they directed me to the dock, where I located a young man with dark hair wearing a ranger uniform and told him I was checking in. He seemed a bit confused as to why I was doing that, but offered some info about Lovell's...location of the campsites, warning about the lack of rangers, etc. I returned to Andy & the gear and soon the taxi came in and we started down the ramp but a crewmember told us to stay put. I figured he just wanted to let passengers off first, but when I told him we were headed to Lovell's he shook his head. "You missed it!" Now it was my turn to be confused. I asked when the next boat would be in and he replied that there would be no more boats. So what do I do? He just shrugged his shoulders. I went back to the ranger, explained the situation and asked HIM for advice. Again, a shoulder shrug. I glanced over, saw the Edward Rowe Snow was still docked and knew it was heading back to Peddocks and suggested perhaps I should be trying to go back there? "I guess so," he said, with another shrug. So I hustled back, got Andy and started back to the boat. Along the way I spotted another ranger, a young blond woman, and explained our situation to her. She was much more helpful. Though unable to offer a way over to Lovell's she confirmed that Peddocks was our best option and volunteered to ensure we'd catch the boat. She walked us over, hailed the boat, and did a great job putting a positive spin on the turn of events, calming both Andy and me. She said we'd get to see two islands and that we'd love Peddocks and she even listed a number of things to see on Peddocks, all while helping us over to our boat. We thanked her for her help, told her we'd see her the next day, and were on our way back to Peddocks.
As soon as we were underway the pilot announced that anyone camping on Peddocks needed to notify them, otherwise they wouldn't stop. I went down to let them know, but the crew had already noted our presence. As we rode along I took the opportunity to continue to spin the situation for Andy, explaining the fun aspects of adventures like this and going over how we'd adjust our plans to fit this change. When we arrived at Peddocks a crewmember came up to the top deck where we were and helped us down the stairs, explaining that they had to make a quick turnaround. Within moments we were off the boat and on the dock at Peddocks. Up we went to the main dock, where we were met by Jack, a lanky grizzled older man wearing a NE Aquarium Volunteer hat. We said hello, related our saga and said we'd be there the night. He welcomed us and invited us to join him and other campers for a beach campfire later that evening. Two rangers soon arrived on the scene, heard our story and welcomed us as well. They pointed out the camping area, explained the rules, invited us to tour some of the facilities and volunteered to answer any questions.
We made our way over to the camping area, an open bit of lawn with a few trees right by the beach and an old, boarded-up chapel. It was much smaller than I expected, and already had 5 tents in residence. We selected a spot an appropriate distance from the other tents and dropped our gear. It was about 5:30 and we were finally at a campsite. We had something to drink, found a good patch of grass for the tent and then decided to try to bring over a picnic table to use. Andy's short arms and the table's weight made it impossible to move though, but as we were returning we were met by a tall young man from the next tent over who offered to help me bring the table over. He was there with another man and a woman, all in their late 20s I'd guess, and were leaving the next day.
With a table now in place, we finished settling in. The tent went up, some food went out and we began to relax. We took a short walk to check out the immediate area, then returned to make dinner. Mac & cheese and hot dogs, with carrots, cookies, juice and tea. We called home while we ate and relayed our story to the answering machine, assuring Jane that all was well. After dinner, we watched as the guys in the next tent climbed into chest waders and assembled fishing poles (one spincast, one fly), and then we walked toward the dock. Along the way we met Jack, who invited us to join him and some others for a sunset walk. We joined Bill and his two kids (the next tent over on the other side) and a young woman and we all started off down one of the old roads, with Jack explaining things along the way. He turned out to be an island volunteer (official or unofficial, it wasn't clear) who was spending several weeks on the island while between jobs. He clearly loved and knew the place and enjoyed showing it off. We walked past the old barracks and mortar placements, then made our way out a side road to where it ended on a high bluff overlooking the water, George's Island, and the sun setting over Boston. We spent about a 1/2 hour out there, admiring the view and chatting and watching as the fishermen and their girl friend made their way along the shore below us. Suddenly the one with the fly rod got a strike and we watched as he worked it in to shore and pulled it out for a measurement and picture before releasing it. A 25-inch striper, he told us when we called down to ask.
The sun now nearly set, we made our way back to the camping area, gathered warmer clothes and then reassembled down on the beach for a fire. Jack already had a good supply of driftwood and with the contribution of some paper material and a lighter we soon had a nice blaze roaring away. Bill and his kids (an older girl and a boy a bit older than Andy) offered some graham crackers and marshmallows and I brought down some Hershey bars and soon we were all enjoying S'Mores and chatting. Bill was a big, friendly steak & potatoes guy who lived on the South shore (Hull maybe?) and worked for FedEx. Another older couple joined us as well, but didn't offer much info about themselves other than that they lived locally. The young woman was from out of the area (Texas maybe). We sat and talked for a good while and then everyone began to drop off to their tents. We headed back around 9:30 and were snuggled in our sleeping bags by 10:00.
I had a restless night as usual, but finally fell asleep and didn't wake up until nearly 7:00 the next morning. Andy started stirring around the same time and we both crawled out of the tent a bit later. Breakfast was bagels and Gogurt and juice and apples and coffee, then we packed up most of the gear and went for a walk to explore the island. We followed the main road out of the camping area and then up around the hill as it made its way past the remains of the old brick army buildings. Signs on most of the buildings offered descriptions of each building's function as well as some background, detailing the reasons why sergeants might need family quarters, for example. In many cases there were also pictures of the buildings in their original state. It was fascinating to compare the old photos of a neat & tidy army base with the current collection of near-ruin structures all but swallowed up by 50 years of forest growth. I took special note of the amount of decorative elements in the buildings' construction. Porches with columns, extra brick work, etc. Craftsmen built these places with care.
We finished our tour and returned to the campsite to complete our packing, then headed to the dock to await the boat. A water taxi was due at 10:30 which would take us to George's and then finally on to Lovell's. We called our good-byes to Jack and the rangers, then boarded the MV Betty Jo Tyler. It was a quick trip back to George's, where we waited a good while past our posted departure time as we collected passengers from a just-arrived boat from Boston. Just as we were about to leave, the Edward Rowe Snow arrived from Hingham bearing Chip, Dave and their kids. I spotted Chip a few times, but wasn't able to catch his eye until we were underway and he was walking along the dock. He seemed surprised to see us at George's, but waved as we headed off.
Another quick boat ride got us to Lovell's Island at last. Other campers had been on board and I hustled Andy off so we could go get a campsite. Bill (from Peddocks Island) had said he'd tried to get Lovell's reservations but was told it was full, so I was concerned that we'd have trouble finding not just a good site for ourselves, but a site (or sites) for Chip & Dave et al. I told Andy that my plan was to grab the first good site I found, leave him there to claim it, then run to ahead to see if any better sites were available. Fortunately all of the sites were in a single area along a road by the shore, and fairly close to each other. We made our way down, hauling the wagon behind us (great idea, that wagon) and found the first campsite we passed to be occupied. Fortunately, the next site was open and it looked pretty good though small. It had a wooden tent platform, a grill and a dilapidated picnic table, with plenty of trees for shade, but it could only handle one tent. I left Andy there with the gear, then jogged down the road to check out the other sites. The next two weren't especially inviting...open dirt areas with no trees, picnic tables or platforms...and one was next to the outhouse. The next site was a group site already occupied by a number of folks and that appeared to be the last site. I returned to the site by the outhouse, decided it wasn't that bad, and went back to get the wagon to claim it for Chip & Dave. Once I'd marked that site, I returned to our site and looked around a bit more. I noticed an opening in the trees just behind our area, went back to investigate and found it to be a perfect spot for a few more tents, even sporting with its own grill. A path led out toward the road and I followed it to find a nearly hidden campsite marker. This new spot was another designated campsite! No longer in need of the outhouse site, I ran back to collect the wagon and came back to settle in to our base for the night. I called Chip over on George's (they had an hour layover until the next boat), relayed a bit of our story and told him I had a campsite for us all. Andy & I then set up the tent and were just finishing up lunch when the others arrived.
Brian was first to arrive, appearing while I was on the phone with Chip guiding him in. Chip & Jason showed up next, then we all went back to help Dave with his load of gear and two small kids. We spent a few minutes greeting each other, checking out the site, selecting tent spots etc., then quickly started moving into beach mode. It was quite hot and humid and everyone had been hauling heavy packs and the kids were clamoring for water, so a swim was a priority. We'd selected Lovell's specifically because it had a designated beach with lifeguards, but that was on the other side of the island and I had no idea what it was like or how far away it was or how to get there. Fortunately, I'd found that there was another beach just yards away from our campsite, on the other side of the road, with a boardwalk nearby to give us access. We all agreed to head there for an initial swim then go searching for the "real" beach later. Minutes later we had the rafts inflated and everyone was in the water. It was high tide, so the "beach" was a narrow rocky strip between the beach grass and the water, but that was fine with us. Other folks were there swimming, some off their moored boats, some from the beach, and we joined them. The water was on the brisk side but easy to get used to and ultimately refreshing.
We stayed there for an hour or so before deciding to go find the other beach, hoping to find something with sand. I was the first one back on the road and met a woman there who turned out to be a reporter from the Herald. She asked if I was camping and said she was not on assignment but was interested in hearing the impressions of folks who used the islands. She was a fan of the islands but had heard some reports of issues with management, maintenance, usage, etc. We had a nice chat and she ended up giving me her name and number and asked me to consider calling her after the trip.
By this time the others had started up the road and I ran to join them. We'd considered trying to get to the beach by heading around the end of the island where we were camping, but decided to just go back to the dock and take the main route. The island is quite small and it didn't take long for us to get to the main beach. I was surprised by a number of things. First, few people. Considering how many folks had jammed onto our boat coming over, I expected wall-to-wall bodies but there really weren't too many people around. Second, no lifeguards, at least none I could identify. And finally, no sand. I'd expected a broad, sandy beach but instead we found the ground to be covered in an astounding collection of what looked like perfect skipping stones. Round, smooth and flat. Very neat, but not great for kids who wanted to build sand castles. We made our way down to the water anyway and dropped our gear to set up a base, then I went wandering south along the shore to see if perhaps there was another beach around the corner. I went as far as some large boulders, noting another group campsite to the south of the dock, and could see there was no other beach so I headed back. I spotted Dave and his kids and Andy, but Chip and his family had departed. When I reached Dave he mentioned that Chip had decided to explore north along the beach. I turned to look for Andy but couldn't find him and I panicked a bit before Dave mentioned that Andy had gone to catch up with Chip. Looking up I managed to spot Andy jumping from rock to rock on the huge boulders along the shore, nearing Chip. I made sure he was okay then stayed with Dave a while before deciding to go north myself to find Chip and the boys. Dave was packing up his kids and said he'd be along soon.
I made my way down the rocks, past a group of very large young men with prominent beer guts and past other smaller (in many ways!) parties before arriving at a sandy area. There was no sign of Chip or the boys and I thought that perhaps they had gone inland, back toward the campsite, so I did the same. I wandered into some tall grasses and found a trail of footprints, which turned into a path which, turned into a road leading up the hill. It passed a side path to some of the old fort ruins, then climbed to the top and turned. I left it at this point, made my way down and found myself at the water at the end of the road by the campsites. I followed the road back to our site, but no one was there so I checked out the first beach we'd used. Again, no sign of anyone. Back to the campsite I went, and then up through the woods there where I rejoined the road by the fort. I used that to return to the sandy area, walked down to the water and found everyone gathered on a sandy beach at last.
It was an ideal little area, with a nice beach for the kids and sandy areas shaded by groves of trees just beyond. I stayed there a bit, then Chip & I decided to run back to the campsite to get some kites we'd brought. I showed him the new route I'd found and we admired the shady beach area as we passed through, thinking it would be a nice place to camp (though not a designated campsite). As we walked I learned that Chip & the boys had worked their way up the shore then explored around the northern point of the island, poking into some of the old fortifications before returning to the beach. We grabbed the kites and rejoined the rest of the crew, then spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out at the beach, swimming in the ocean, flying kites, playing Frisbee and digging in the sand. At one point I was taking pictures of the kite flying and noticed Andy had an odd look on his face. Then I realized that he was only holding the kite string handle. I looked up to see the kite itself drifting off across the island. I had taken off my glasses and shirt, preparing to go swimming, but wound up running up the beach with Andy, following the kite. A woman in the sandy area pointed the way and said she'd tried to grab it but had missed. We made our way into the scrub growth and finally found the end of the string, which we followed to finally find the kite. We retrieved it undamaged and went back to the beach, where I promptly flew it into a tree! I managed to get it down from there safely and decided we'd had enough kite flying.
The day grew late and around 5:00 we packed up our stuff and walked back to the campsite. I noticed that a number of tents had gone up in the sandy area I'd admired earlier and I noted it for a future visit. Pretty much my fantasy camping spot. We stopped along the way back to explore some of the old fortifications - huge concrete gun bunkers hidden in the woods - and picked black raspberries by the road before dropping down to the tents. We all changed our clothes then began dinner preparations. Everyone had some variation of a pasta dinner, with plans to share everything. David had fresh tortellini, Chip had spaghetti, and I had dried tortellini. We all set up our cookstoves on the picnic table and soon had three pots boiling away, cooking the pasta. Sauces, cheese, carrots, drinks, etc. all appeared and were shared about, and everyone found a place to sit and eat.
Chip, Dave & I left the kids to themselves after dinner and went to the beach to cleanup. The tide had gone out and the beach was quite different from our first visit there earlier. A broad expanse of rocky shore descending to the water, cooler, and with fewer people. The last water taxi had departed long ago and the island turned quiet. We got back to the camp and Chip announced his plans for the Big Adventure. We'd pack up everything needed for fishing, exploring and a campfire, then head out to explore the island and see what we could find. Dave stayed behind to set up his tent, but the rest of us walked up the road to where it ended on the rocky shore. The low tide revealed the remains of long-abandoned pilings and mussel-covered flats extending far out to the water. In the distance, the sun was preparing to set over downtown Boston. Chip and the kids headed north toward a rocky point, hoping to find a spot to fish, while I went south by the pilings.
I'd already rigged my collapsible fishing pole and extended it to its full length as I walked. I waded into the water by the channel (The Narrows on maps) and began my first attempt at saltwater fly-fishing. It was quite different than casting for trout. Rather than working a tiny, nearly weightless fly, I found myself swinging a huge, heavy creation back and forth. Too heavy to be picked up by the weight of the line on retrievals, I had to work it more like a spincast lure, throwing the fly rather than the line. My rod just wasn't up to the task, and with a stiff wind in my face I was only able to cast the fly out 15 feet or so, nowhere near enough to be of any real use. So I concentrated on taking some sunset photos, packed up my fishing gear and went to find the other folks. Dave had arrived by this time and said he had gone back by the other beach and reported seeing a line of beach campfires all along the shore. We joined up with Chip & the kids a bit up the beach. They'd had no luck fishing either. We kept walking up the shore, checking out tidal pools along the way until we got to Chip's main destination, another rocky point and a bit of old fortification. Chip had hoped to do some fishing there but the tide level precluded that. He hung out by the point with some of the kids while the rest of us went exploring the fort with headlamps. We started into a small room with passages leading downward, but some flying animal (bird or bat?) in there made me decide to forego further exploration. Dave went in with a few kids, but quickly returned to announce there wasn't much to see.
We hooked up with Chip again and decided to head back down the beach to a spot near the road's end to build a fire. We collected driftwood along the way and had a nice bundle by the time we arrived at a perfect fire ring just below the high tide mark. A tree with numerous dead branches was nearby for additional firewood and marshmallow sticks. I ran back to the campsite for fire starter and a lighter while the rest stayed to set up the fire. By the time I returned they had everything set and in no time we had a nice blaze going. We stayed there for a couple of hours, watching the view of nighttime Boston, playing with the fire, eating S'Mores and telling stories. Eventually though we agreed to call it a night, doused the fire with sand and went back to our tents. Everyone got settled in pretty quickly and soon we were all in our own tents.
It was still a bit early for me, so I got up to go down to the beach for a while. I ran into a few folks along the way, including a couple with a large dog (prohibited on the island), but mostly had the night to myself. Back at the tent again, I lay down to sleep, then started hearing music. Though the island has a prohibition on boom boxes and other loud, music-making devices, that apparently doesn't apply to the party boat/booze cruise that came up through The Narrows. The music was loud enough to shake the ground! I actually enjoyed the music, but it certainly added an interesting dimension to our wilderness camping experience. Eventually it departed however and we returned to just the sound of the surf.
It was quite hot that night and I was up often, trying to get comfortable. My "pillow" was exceptionally lumpy (poor pillow assembly on my part) and that didn't help either, but I did manage to get in several hours of sleep before waking around 5:00. I rested a while before deciding to get up at 5:30 or so to go check out the sunrise. I figured I didn't often have the opportunity to see the sun rise over the ocean. I grabbed the camera and made my way over to the main beach, where I had a perfect view of the pending dawn over the outer islands and Boston Light. I found a spot to sit where I was sheltered from the morning breeze and watched as the sky slowly brightened before a tiny flash of sun appeared over one of the bits of land on the horizon. I documented the entire production with pictures, then returned to the campsite to find Chip there. He'd been up early as well and had gone around the island looking for bunnies and fishing opportunities. Alas, he had little success in either area. The rabbits had proved to be far less plentiful than we'd expected and the tide schedule (low once again) thwarted any plans for dawn fishing.
We talked quietly for a bit until, one by one, the others emerged from their tents and joined us. Breakfast slowly evolved as the group grew, with water boiled for coffee and bags of bagels, cream cheese, juice, etc. appearing from the coolers and backpacks. Andy wanted to do a card trick for everyone, but I asked him to finish his breakfast first. He was just finishing up when I asked him where his ball cap was. It was a favorite of his and pretty much required in the sun on the island. He couldn't locate it and it didn't turn up on searches of the tent and packs. Andy forgot the cards and asked if we could go search the places we'd been on the island. As we left the campsite I realized he was quite upset about the loss and I did my best to comfort him, but I didn't have much hope we'd find it. If left anywhere below the high tide mark, it had long ago been claimed by the ocean. We still went looking anyway, starting at the beach by the camp then taking a tour of the main beach and the area where we'd flown the kites. No luck.
We returned to camp and took one more look around there, then started to pack up camp a bit. Our plan was to catch the 12:15 boat back to George's so we could get the 2:00 boat back to Hingham. We figured we had until 11:30 or so to spend on the beaches before we had to return to camp for the final pack-up. Chip & his boys were the first the leave, announcing they were heading around the southern tip of the island in search of fishing once again. Andy and I followed a bit later and followed the same route. No one had any luck fishing (again) and we all met up with Dave and his kids on the main beach and proceeded up the island to the sandy beach we'd found the previous day. The heat and humidity had returned and soon we were all back in the water.
We stayed there the rest of the morning. Around 11:00 I announced that I wanted to go look for a hat I'd noticed the previous day, washed up on the beach. It was a red Red Sox cap and I thought it might be an appropriate replacement for Andy's cap. I didn't think I had much of a chance of finding it but wanted to try anyway, so I worked my way up to the northern point of the island and crossed down to the beach where we'd had the fire. As I walked down the shore I kept my eye on the high tide mark, thinking I might just spot Andy's hat. That never appeared, but I did find a coconut. From Fiji or a boat, who knows? I picked it up anyway and carried it along. I passed the fire ring, confirmed the tide had extinguished the remnants of our blaze, then continued down the rocks. Just past the road I spotted something red and sure enough, it was the Red Sox cap. Though a bit messy it was in quite good shape, so I brushed it off, rinsed it in the ocean and took it back to camp, leaving it to dry on the picnic table.
The other folks arrived back just as I finished packing up the rest of our stuff (the tent, mostly). It was a bit past 11:30, so everyone concentrated on packing up to go. Chip & I were finished first and we took the kids and the gear we had and went to get the boat, figuring we could hold it for Dave if necessary. We hustled back up the road to the dock and were in place right on time. Dave appeared a few minutes later, just as the boat (the MV Irene) pulled up. Within moments we were all on board and wishing Lovell's Island farewell and thanks as it slipped away behind us. The ride to George's Island was brief and we found ourselves with an hour or so to spare before our boat back home. We found some picnic tables in the shade of some trees by the fort and set up lunch for everyone, finishing off the last of the food and water we'd brought, then went back to the dock. Chip and his boys planned to stay put there, fishing and watching the gear, so Andy & I went to explore the fort a bit. We'd hoped to thank the ranger who'd helped us on Friday, but she was leading a tour and we didn't want to interrupt her. We did join her tour for a while though, and enjoyed her explanations of some of the fort's history and features. Time was running short however, so we left her group and made our own way back to the docks.
The record of no fishing luck was unbroken and we all just went into a little downtime mode, gathering at the gear, departing in groups to go to the snack bar, and watching for the boat. While there I struck up a conversation with a pleasant older woman who was taking the boat over to Peddocks. She noted my Hopkinton hat and said she was a former resident, now living in Brookline. I said I had lived in Brookline as well and we wound up having a very nice talk about our towns and the islands. Dave said later that she had seemed familiar to him...perhaps someone we met when I lived in Brookline Village?
Finally we spotted the boat and arriving from Peddocks and anxiously awaited its arrival. It was nice to be out but we were all thinking about home. Thanks to the high tide we were able to board on the lower deck this time, and I wound up sitting in the same corner I'd occupied on the way out. Everyone else stowed their gear there as well, then headed to the open upper deck for the ride back to Hingham. We made our stops at Peddocks, Bumpkin and Grape without incident and around 3:00 pulled into the Hingham shipyard. I dozed off at least once on the ride back and Chip mentioned he'd slept up top as well. We departed the boat with significantly lighter loads (at least of food and water), found our cars, packed everything in, then gathered at Chip's car for our farewells. There were handshakes and high-fives all around as we all thanked each other for a great trip, then we were off and headed toward home. I managed to follow the directions backwards out of Hingham with Chip following behind (he'd taken a long way in and hoped to avoid the return journey), and soon enough was back in familiar territory. The last of the Red Sox game was on the radio and Andy reclined his seat and slept as we drove. An hour later we pulled into the driveway and completed our island adventure.
Notes and thoughts
Geez, this was nice. Physically undemanding (other than dealing with spending three days stewing in our own briny juices...pyew!), a new location and experience, boat rides, salt water, free reservations and parking, comfy accommodations, interesting stuff to see and do... What's not to like? Even dealing with the logistics (bringing drinking water, dealing with ferry schedules) was an interesting challenge. The downsides, such as they were, were merely additional challenges and ultimately not major issues.
Let's start with the boats. I'll take some responsibility for the water taxi mix-up on Friday. Going by the information available on the websites I was using I had the impression that the water taxis pretty much just ran constantly around the outer islands. I didn't realize they had set schedules to be met. That said, I found the current arrangement of the schedule (at least as far as a Hingham starting point is concerned) to be poorly designed. With only three boats coming out from Hingham each day you'd think it's a safe bet that passengers on each run might want to continue on to the other islands, and you might want to ensure there's one final run of the water taxis after the last boat arrives. The rangers I spoke to on Peddocks agreed that the schedule was messy and said it had been better in the past, but recent issues (water problems at Lovell's, dock problems at Great Brewster) had resulted in changes. Now, I did have a copy of the taxi schedule in my hands all the way out from Hingham but I never knew it. It was printed on the same sheet as the Hingham boat schedule but it showed the schedule for the boat from Hull. I didn't connect that it was the water taxi as well. Somehow I just never noticed that it listed Lovell's as one of the stops. Had I noticed I might have a) spoken to the crew of the Snow and had them call ahead to let the Hull boat know we were coming and ask them to wait for us at George's (since we were running late) or b) departed the boat at Peddocks the first time we stopped there.
Something else that might have helped would have been a link to the water taxi schedule from any of the island web sites I was using. This is something the Herald reporter pointed out to me when we chatted. The taxi schedule is available on-line only via the Friends of Boston Harbor Island website, and that's not linked to any of the sites I used (Boston Harbor Cruises, BostonHarborIslands.com, the MDC site). They all mentioned the taxis, but offered no specifics. A typical reference, from the Island Alliance site (bostonharborislands.com) reads, "...regularly scheduled passenger ferries connect to George's Island where water shuttles take visitors to other islands." But what if I had seen the schedule? Would I have taken an earlier boat out of Hingham or changed my plans for a Peddocks stay on Friday night? Probably the later, since I was taking 1/2 a vacation day as it was.
Now some notes on Lovell's. I've got real mixed feelings about it. The island is basically unmanaged. The boats arrive and depart and someone stocks the outhouses with toilet paper, but that's about it. We saw no lifeguards, and no one checked our reservation or checked in on us at our campsite. And while most campers were using the designated campsites, a number of folks stayed at the beach and several other unofficial camping spots were evident around the island (usually with great views!). No dogs allowed, yet I ran into at least one. Still, I liked it. No one was trashing the place, no one was hassling anyone else. In short, no one was abusing the freedom the lack of supervision offered. It's how I wish all camping could be. Go, find the best spot you can find to set up your tent, be friendly to other campers but respect their right to a little space and privacy, and leave the place as you found it. It could so easily be otherwise at Lovell's. The number of boats moored just offshore was evidence of how accessible the island is, and I was genuinely surprised to NOT see hordes of drunken kids toting coolers full of beer on to the beach and destroying everything in sight. I'm not sure why it's not happening, but I'm glad that's not the case.
And finally, the MDC. Their current level of management of the islands appears to be adequate to handle the current relatively low level of visitation, but if the islands become popular (or if the MDC wants to make them popular), things will have to change. The ferry schedules must be improved, and clear, on-line links to the existing schedules are a must. The same goes for the campsite reservation system. Having a couple of admittedly very nice and helpful ladies taking info via phone and fax and answering questions M-F, 9-5 just won't cut it if interest increases. I had this image of a small office with lots of little slips of paper with scribbled notes ("Ritz. 3 adult, 5 kid. 8/9-11, Lovell"). Info and application should be on-line. As for enforcement (or at least monitoring), that will be a requirement if more folks discover these islands and want to go. During our trip there were still a number of open campsites, both designated and rogue, so no one had a problem finding a spot. I'm just speculating, but I suspect a fair number of the campers had no reservations and just pulled up their boats and pulled out their tents. I think it's wonderful to be able to do that and to a certain extent I hope it continues, but what would have happened if campers with reservations had arrived to find all the sites taken? The last boat had left and no rangers were around to help settle any disputes. At this point the islands are known to a few folks like me and probably a larger number of local people from Hull, Hingham and Quincy who enjoy having them just offshore. As the islands see more use, the support services will also need to grow.
More pictures
When: 8/9-8/11, 2002
With: Andy, Chip, Brian, Jason, David, Daniel, Anna
Dave suggested a hike with all of the kids sometime this season and that sounded like fun. We'd all taken our kids camping individually but had never gone as a group, though Chip & I went out with our boys a couple of years ago. Camping with children is always a challenge but this would be especially interesting, given the range of ages (5 1/2 to 13) and abilities. We needed a destination not too far away, not too difficult to get to, and with plenty of activities to keep everyone occupied. My first thought was the Westfield River. It fit all of the requirements and Chip & I had had a great time there with the boys previously. Then a new idea hit me (though I don't recall how or why) - The Boston Harbor Islands. Recently designated as a park system, they are managed by a combination of state and federal agencies. I'd heard about camping out there for some time, and a neighbor had gone a few years ago and loved it. It seemed perfect. Close by, easy to reach, plenty to do, and best of all - someplace new.
So I began to do some research on the internet. I quickly found a few helpful websites and the more I read, the better the idea seemed. Camping was available on four of the islands by reservation, but the reservations were free on two of the islands. Each island had ocean access (of course), along with nature trails, old forts, and other places to explore. Inexpensive ferries provided easy transportation, and there were even restrooms and first aid facilities on the islands. I checked with the other guys and they agreed with the concept and a target date.
After reviewing the island info I settled on Peddocks Island as our destination. It's the largest of the islands and offers the ruins of a WWII post (Fort Andrews), as well as nature trails that pass by a salt marsh, a pond and mature coastal forests. Run by the Metropolitan District Commission (MDC), it's also one of the two islands where camping is free. I called the MDC reservations office in late May to get a campsite and was told that reservations were not being taken until the islands opened for the season. To get "in line" however I could fax or mail a letter with my request, which I did. I decided to reserve a site for two nights, hoping to try to go out Friday night with Andy.
A few weeks later, having received no reply, I called the MDC to inquire about the status of my request. I was told then that they had received it and would be processing it soon. Another couple of weeks passed and another call was made. This time I learned that my request had been processed and I should expect to receive my confirmation soon. Sure enough it arrived a few days later. The accompanying letter explained that I was to sign and return part of the confirmation to indicate that I still wanted the reservation. I was just preparing to do that when I happened to review the island info on the internet one more time. A note about camping indicated that Peddocks had a single large group camping area. Yuck! I began to review the options on the other islands and began focusing on Lovell's Island. Though smaller than Peddocks, and less developed (no nature trails, for example), it had individual campsites, the ruins of an old fort, and the only swimming beach of any of the islands. It's also noted for its "majestic views" of both Boston and the outer ocean. Wow! I don't know how I missed all that the first time I looked, but it seemed ideal. Unfortunately, the descriptions also noted that Lovell's is a "favorite camping location", and I was worried that it would already be fully booked. I called the MDC and explained that I was about to return my confirmation but wished to change to Lovell's. "No problem," replied the woman at the MDC. "Just cross out Peddocks, check off Lovell's and write a note saying it's okay per Diane." I was surprised. It didn't seem as if she'd had to check any reservations system or anything, so I asked if she was sure. "Oh yeah, no problem," was the reply, so I did as she said and sent it back in. Perhaps the islands were so underused that openings were always available.
So the day approached and all of the plans began to fall into place. We checked out ferry schedules, confirmed when we'd all be arriving (Andy & I on Friday, the rest on Saturday), coordinated supplies (drinking water, gear, food) and hoped for good weather. I called the MDC one more time on the Monday before our trip to confirm our reservation and found they still had us listed for Peddocks. I corrected that to Lovell's and confirmed (again!) that that was okay. "Oh yeah, no problem," was the reply once more. The weather looked fantastic and we were all good to go.
Friday arrived and Andy & I departed for our ferry ride from the Hingham Shipyard. I had my largest backpack full of gear, Andy's daypack full as well, and a large chest cooler full of food and water loaded on Andy's red wagon. I figured that would help on the journey from the boat to the campsite, allow us to bring cold food, and keep the food/cooking/dining supplies out of my pack. Thanks to excellent directions from some friends at work, we arrived at the shipyard almost an hour an a half before our ferry was to depart, so we did a quick drive-through to check it out and then headed back out again. I was interested in trying to find a fishing tackle shop. Chip had been convinced by a friend to take a shot at saltwater fly-fishing and he encouraged me to join in. I didn't quite believe my freshwater trout rod would work in surf, but I'd brought it along anyway and managed to find an old reel with line I could use. The last piece needed was some surf leader (stronger than the stuff I use for trout) and an appropriate fly. The first shop I went to had nothing, but they suggested another spot down the road. We headed that way, stopped for gas (and a soda for Andy), and then swung into the Old Salt Tackle shop. Andy stayed in the car while I went in, and a woman up front directed me to the fishing gear in back.
I found a personable young man back there working the counter and talking with a big guy with an accent. From New Zealand, it turned out, and he fished with a spear gun while lying on the bottom of the ocean wearing a camouflage wetsuit! Outrageous. After listening to the stories a bit I asked for some help with the gear I needed. I'd found some backing, striper leader and tippet material, but needed advice on a fly. He showed me an assortment and explained each, including some huge specimens which I rejected. Having had no experience with saltwater fly-fishing I didn't think I was ready for something that large. Finally I asked him to recommend a single fly and he chose a long tailed blue and white thing with a beaded head and an eye. Andy wandered in while he rang up the sale, tired of waiting for me, and we completed our purchase and left.
Back to the shipyard we went, where we purchased our tickets for the ferry. The woman selling the tickets was very nice, even directing Andy to a bathroom in the office next door, but I still found the whole operation to be a lot less formal than I expected. The tickets were just the paper kind used at carnivals, and there were only two. No return tickets needed apparently. And when I said we were headed to Lovell's Island the woman asked us how we'd be getting there, seemingly unaware of the water taxi service. Still, she pointed out some schedules and brochures, confirmed our car was parked okay and wished us well.
The boat (The Edward Rowe Snow) arrived right on schedule and Andy & I boarded along with 4 or 5 other people, some also carrying camping gear. The wagon was a bit awkward to handle on the ramps and the boat boardings, but not too difficult. We quickly made the run to Grape Island (a much shorter ride than I'd expected) and then on to Bumpkin. Andy spent much of the run sitting up by the pilothouse, watching the view. By this time I realized that the ferry schedule was showing departure times, not arrival times on each island and figured we'd be on George's earlier than I'd expected. From Bumpkin we churned our way over to Peddocks, where the other campers departed. "Cool," I thought…less chance they were headed for "our" island. We were running behind schedule a bit and landed at George's around 4:40. It was low tide, so we had to disembark from the upper deck. I managed to haul the wagon up the stairs and out onto the dock, where we made our way over to the water taxi dock.
A notice on the board by the dock said that Lovell's Island had limited ranger coverage and that Lovell's visitors should check in with one of the George's rangers. No office was apparent so I asked at the snack bar and they directed me to the dock, where I located a young man with dark hair wearing a ranger uniform and told him I was checking in. He seemed a bit confused as to why I was doing that, but offered some info about Lovell's...location of the campsites, warning about the lack of rangers, etc. I returned to Andy & the gear and soon the taxi came in and we started down the ramp but a crewmember told us to stay put. I figured he just wanted to let passengers off first, but when I told him we were headed to Lovell's he shook his head. "You missed it!" Now it was my turn to be confused. I asked when the next boat would be in and he replied that there would be no more boats. So what do I do? He just shrugged his shoulders. I went back to the ranger, explained the situation and asked HIM for advice. Again, a shoulder shrug. I glanced over, saw the Edward Rowe Snow was still docked and knew it was heading back to Peddocks and suggested perhaps I should be trying to go back there? "I guess so," he said, with another shrug. So I hustled back, got Andy and started back to the boat. Along the way I spotted another ranger, a young blond woman, and explained our situation to her. She was much more helpful. Though unable to offer a way over to Lovell's she confirmed that Peddocks was our best option and volunteered to ensure we'd catch the boat. She walked us over, hailed the boat, and did a great job putting a positive spin on the turn of events, calming both Andy and me. She said we'd get to see two islands and that we'd love Peddocks and she even listed a number of things to see on Peddocks, all while helping us over to our boat. We thanked her for her help, told her we'd see her the next day, and were on our way back to Peddocks.
As soon as we were underway the pilot announced that anyone camping on Peddocks needed to notify them, otherwise they wouldn't stop. I went down to let them know, but the crew had already noted our presence. As we rode along I took the opportunity to continue to spin the situation for Andy, explaining the fun aspects of adventures like this and going over how we'd adjust our plans to fit this change. When we arrived at Peddocks a crewmember came up to the top deck where we were and helped us down the stairs, explaining that they had to make a quick turnaround. Within moments we were off the boat and on the dock at Peddocks. Up we went to the main dock, where we were met by Jack, a lanky grizzled older man wearing a NE Aquarium Volunteer hat. We said hello, related our saga and said we'd be there the night. He welcomed us and invited us to join him and other campers for a beach campfire later that evening. Two rangers soon arrived on the scene, heard our story and welcomed us as well. They pointed out the camping area, explained the rules, invited us to tour some of the facilities and volunteered to answer any questions.
We made our way over to the camping area, an open bit of lawn with a few trees right by the beach and an old, boarded-up chapel. It was much smaller than I expected, and already had 5 tents in residence. We selected a spot an appropriate distance from the other tents and dropped our gear. It was about 5:30 and we were finally at a campsite. We had something to drink, found a good patch of grass for the tent and then decided to try to bring over a picnic table to use. Andy's short arms and the table's weight made it impossible to move though, but as we were returning we were met by a tall young man from the next tent over who offered to help me bring the table over. He was there with another man and a woman, all in their late 20s I'd guess, and were leaving the next day.
With a table now in place, we finished settling in. The tent went up, some food went out and we began to relax. We took a short walk to check out the immediate area, then returned to make dinner. Mac & cheese and hot dogs, with carrots, cookies, juice and tea. We called home while we ate and relayed our story to the answering machine, assuring Jane that all was well. After dinner, we watched as the guys in the next tent climbed into chest waders and assembled fishing poles (one spincast, one fly), and then we walked toward the dock. Along the way we met Jack, who invited us to join him and some others for a sunset walk. We joined Bill and his two kids (the next tent over on the other side) and a young woman and we all started off down one of the old roads, with Jack explaining things along the way. He turned out to be an island volunteer (official or unofficial, it wasn't clear) who was spending several weeks on the island while between jobs. He clearly loved and knew the place and enjoyed showing it off. We walked past the old barracks and mortar placements, then made our way out a side road to where it ended on a high bluff overlooking the water, George's Island, and the sun setting over Boston. We spent about a 1/2 hour out there, admiring the view and chatting and watching as the fishermen and their girl friend made their way along the shore below us. Suddenly the one with the fly rod got a strike and we watched as he worked it in to shore and pulled it out for a measurement and picture before releasing it. A 25-inch striper, he told us when we called down to ask.
The sun now nearly set, we made our way back to the camping area, gathered warmer clothes and then reassembled down on the beach for a fire. Jack already had a good supply of driftwood and with the contribution of some paper material and a lighter we soon had a nice blaze roaring away. Bill and his kids (an older girl and a boy a bit older than Andy) offered some graham crackers and marshmallows and I brought down some Hershey bars and soon we were all enjoying S'Mores and chatting. Bill was a big, friendly steak & potatoes guy who lived on the South shore (Hull maybe?) and worked for FedEx. Another older couple joined us as well, but didn't offer much info about themselves other than that they lived locally. The young woman was from out of the area (Texas maybe). We sat and talked for a good while and then everyone began to drop off to their tents. We headed back around 9:30 and were snuggled in our sleeping bags by 10:00.
I had a restless night as usual, but finally fell asleep and didn't wake up until nearly 7:00 the next morning. Andy started stirring around the same time and we both crawled out of the tent a bit later. Breakfast was bagels and Gogurt and juice and apples and coffee, then we packed up most of the gear and went for a walk to explore the island. We followed the main road out of the camping area and then up around the hill as it made its way past the remains of the old brick army buildings. Signs on most of the buildings offered descriptions of each building's function as well as some background, detailing the reasons why sergeants might need family quarters, for example. In many cases there were also pictures of the buildings in their original state. It was fascinating to compare the old photos of a neat & tidy army base with the current collection of near-ruin structures all but swallowed up by 50 years of forest growth. I took special note of the amount of decorative elements in the buildings' construction. Porches with columns, extra brick work, etc. Craftsmen built these places with care.
We finished our tour and returned to the campsite to complete our packing, then headed to the dock to await the boat. A water taxi was due at 10:30 which would take us to George's and then finally on to Lovell's. We called our good-byes to Jack and the rangers, then boarded the MV Betty Jo Tyler. It was a quick trip back to George's, where we waited a good while past our posted departure time as we collected passengers from a just-arrived boat from Boston. Just as we were about to leave, the Edward Rowe Snow arrived from Hingham bearing Chip, Dave and their kids. I spotted Chip a few times, but wasn't able to catch his eye until we were underway and he was walking along the dock. He seemed surprised to see us at George's, but waved as we headed off.
Another quick boat ride got us to Lovell's Island at last. Other campers had been on board and I hustled Andy off so we could go get a campsite. Bill (from Peddocks Island) had said he'd tried to get Lovell's reservations but was told it was full, so I was concerned that we'd have trouble finding not just a good site for ourselves, but a site (or sites) for Chip & Dave et al. I told Andy that my plan was to grab the first good site I found, leave him there to claim it, then run to ahead to see if any better sites were available. Fortunately all of the sites were in a single area along a road by the shore, and fairly close to each other. We made our way down, hauling the wagon behind us (great idea, that wagon) and found the first campsite we passed to be occupied. Fortunately, the next site was open and it looked pretty good though small. It had a wooden tent platform, a grill and a dilapidated picnic table, with plenty of trees for shade, but it could only handle one tent. I left Andy there with the gear, then jogged down the road to check out the other sites. The next two weren't especially inviting...open dirt areas with no trees, picnic tables or platforms...and one was next to the outhouse. The next site was a group site already occupied by a number of folks and that appeared to be the last site. I returned to the site by the outhouse, decided it wasn't that bad, and went back to get the wagon to claim it for Chip & Dave. Once I'd marked that site, I returned to our site and looked around a bit more. I noticed an opening in the trees just behind our area, went back to investigate and found it to be a perfect spot for a few more tents, even sporting with its own grill. A path led out toward the road and I followed it to find a nearly hidden campsite marker. This new spot was another designated campsite! No longer in need of the outhouse site, I ran back to collect the wagon and came back to settle in to our base for the night. I called Chip over on George's (they had an hour layover until the next boat), relayed a bit of our story and told him I had a campsite for us all. Andy & I then set up the tent and were just finishing up lunch when the others arrived.
Brian was first to arrive, appearing while I was on the phone with Chip guiding him in. Chip & Jason showed up next, then we all went back to help Dave with his load of gear and two small kids. We spent a few minutes greeting each other, checking out the site, selecting tent spots etc., then quickly started moving into beach mode. It was quite hot and humid and everyone had been hauling heavy packs and the kids were clamoring for water, so a swim was a priority. We'd selected Lovell's specifically because it had a designated beach with lifeguards, but that was on the other side of the island and I had no idea what it was like or how far away it was or how to get there. Fortunately, I'd found that there was another beach just yards away from our campsite, on the other side of the road, with a boardwalk nearby to give us access. We all agreed to head there for an initial swim then go searching for the "real" beach later. Minutes later we had the rafts inflated and everyone was in the water. It was high tide, so the "beach" was a narrow rocky strip between the beach grass and the water, but that was fine with us. Other folks were there swimming, some off their moored boats, some from the beach, and we joined them. The water was on the brisk side but easy to get used to and ultimately refreshing.
We stayed there for an hour or so before deciding to go find the other beach, hoping to find something with sand. I was the first one back on the road and met a woman there who turned out to be a reporter from the Herald. She asked if I was camping and said she was not on assignment but was interested in hearing the impressions of folks who used the islands. She was a fan of the islands but had heard some reports of issues with management, maintenance, usage, etc. We had a nice chat and she ended up giving me her name and number and asked me to consider calling her after the trip.
By this time the others had started up the road and I ran to join them. We'd considered trying to get to the beach by heading around the end of the island where we were camping, but decided to just go back to the dock and take the main route. The island is quite small and it didn't take long for us to get to the main beach. I was surprised by a number of things. First, few people. Considering how many folks had jammed onto our boat coming over, I expected wall-to-wall bodies but there really weren't too many people around. Second, no lifeguards, at least none I could identify. And finally, no sand. I'd expected a broad, sandy beach but instead we found the ground to be covered in an astounding collection of what looked like perfect skipping stones. Round, smooth and flat. Very neat, but not great for kids who wanted to build sand castles. We made our way down to the water anyway and dropped our gear to set up a base, then I went wandering south along the shore to see if perhaps there was another beach around the corner. I went as far as some large boulders, noting another group campsite to the south of the dock, and could see there was no other beach so I headed back. I spotted Dave and his kids and Andy, but Chip and his family had departed. When I reached Dave he mentioned that Chip had decided to explore north along the beach. I turned to look for Andy but couldn't find him and I panicked a bit before Dave mentioned that Andy had gone to catch up with Chip. Looking up I managed to spot Andy jumping from rock to rock on the huge boulders along the shore, nearing Chip. I made sure he was okay then stayed with Dave a while before deciding to go north myself to find Chip and the boys. Dave was packing up his kids and said he'd be along soon.
I made my way down the rocks, past a group of very large young men with prominent beer guts and past other smaller (in many ways!) parties before arriving at a sandy area. There was no sign of Chip or the boys and I thought that perhaps they had gone inland, back toward the campsite, so I did the same. I wandered into some tall grasses and found a trail of footprints, which turned into a path which, turned into a road leading up the hill. It passed a side path to some of the old fort ruins, then climbed to the top and turned. I left it at this point, made my way down and found myself at the water at the end of the road by the campsites. I followed the road back to our site, but no one was there so I checked out the first beach we'd used. Again, no sign of anyone. Back to the campsite I went, and then up through the woods there where I rejoined the road by the fort. I used that to return to the sandy area, walked down to the water and found everyone gathered on a sandy beach at last.
It was an ideal little area, with a nice beach for the kids and sandy areas shaded by groves of trees just beyond. I stayed there a bit, then Chip & I decided to run back to the campsite to get some kites we'd brought. I showed him the new route I'd found and we admired the shady beach area as we passed through, thinking it would be a nice place to camp (though not a designated campsite). As we walked I learned that Chip & the boys had worked their way up the shore then explored around the northern point of the island, poking into some of the old fortifications before returning to the beach. We grabbed the kites and rejoined the rest of the crew, then spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out at the beach, swimming in the ocean, flying kites, playing Frisbee and digging in the sand. At one point I was taking pictures of the kite flying and noticed Andy had an odd look on his face. Then I realized that he was only holding the kite string handle. I looked up to see the kite itself drifting off across the island. I had taken off my glasses and shirt, preparing to go swimming, but wound up running up the beach with Andy, following the kite. A woman in the sandy area pointed the way and said she'd tried to grab it but had missed. We made our way into the scrub growth and finally found the end of the string, which we followed to finally find the kite. We retrieved it undamaged and went back to the beach, where I promptly flew it into a tree! I managed to get it down from there safely and decided we'd had enough kite flying.
The day grew late and around 5:00 we packed up our stuff and walked back to the campsite. I noticed that a number of tents had gone up in the sandy area I'd admired earlier and I noted it for a future visit. Pretty much my fantasy camping spot. We stopped along the way back to explore some of the old fortifications - huge concrete gun bunkers hidden in the woods - and picked black raspberries by the road before dropping down to the tents. We all changed our clothes then began dinner preparations. Everyone had some variation of a pasta dinner, with plans to share everything. David had fresh tortellini, Chip had spaghetti, and I had dried tortellini. We all set up our cookstoves on the picnic table and soon had three pots boiling away, cooking the pasta. Sauces, cheese, carrots, drinks, etc. all appeared and were shared about, and everyone found a place to sit and eat.
Chip, Dave & I left the kids to themselves after dinner and went to the beach to cleanup. The tide had gone out and the beach was quite different from our first visit there earlier. A broad expanse of rocky shore descending to the water, cooler, and with fewer people. The last water taxi had departed long ago and the island turned quiet. We got back to the camp and Chip announced his plans for the Big Adventure. We'd pack up everything needed for fishing, exploring and a campfire, then head out to explore the island and see what we could find. Dave stayed behind to set up his tent, but the rest of us walked up the road to where it ended on the rocky shore. The low tide revealed the remains of long-abandoned pilings and mussel-covered flats extending far out to the water. In the distance, the sun was preparing to set over downtown Boston. Chip and the kids headed north toward a rocky point, hoping to find a spot to fish, while I went south by the pilings.
I'd already rigged my collapsible fishing pole and extended it to its full length as I walked. I waded into the water by the channel (The Narrows on maps) and began my first attempt at saltwater fly-fishing. It was quite different than casting for trout. Rather than working a tiny, nearly weightless fly, I found myself swinging a huge, heavy creation back and forth. Too heavy to be picked up by the weight of the line on retrievals, I had to work it more like a spincast lure, throwing the fly rather than the line. My rod just wasn't up to the task, and with a stiff wind in my face I was only able to cast the fly out 15 feet or so, nowhere near enough to be of any real use. So I concentrated on taking some sunset photos, packed up my fishing gear and went to find the other folks. Dave had arrived by this time and said he had gone back by the other beach and reported seeing a line of beach campfires all along the shore. We joined up with Chip & the kids a bit up the beach. They'd had no luck fishing either. We kept walking up the shore, checking out tidal pools along the way until we got to Chip's main destination, another rocky point and a bit of old fortification. Chip had hoped to do some fishing there but the tide level precluded that. He hung out by the point with some of the kids while the rest of us went exploring the fort with headlamps. We started into a small room with passages leading downward, but some flying animal (bird or bat?) in there made me decide to forego further exploration. Dave went in with a few kids, but quickly returned to announce there wasn't much to see.
We hooked up with Chip again and decided to head back down the beach to a spot near the road's end to build a fire. We collected driftwood along the way and had a nice bundle by the time we arrived at a perfect fire ring just below the high tide mark. A tree with numerous dead branches was nearby for additional firewood and marshmallow sticks. I ran back to the campsite for fire starter and a lighter while the rest stayed to set up the fire. By the time I returned they had everything set and in no time we had a nice blaze going. We stayed there for a couple of hours, watching the view of nighttime Boston, playing with the fire, eating S'Mores and telling stories. Eventually though we agreed to call it a night, doused the fire with sand and went back to our tents. Everyone got settled in pretty quickly and soon we were all in our own tents.
It was still a bit early for me, so I got up to go down to the beach for a while. I ran into a few folks along the way, including a couple with a large dog (prohibited on the island), but mostly had the night to myself. Back at the tent again, I lay down to sleep, then started hearing music. Though the island has a prohibition on boom boxes and other loud, music-making devices, that apparently doesn't apply to the party boat/booze cruise that came up through The Narrows. The music was loud enough to shake the ground! I actually enjoyed the music, but it certainly added an interesting dimension to our wilderness camping experience. Eventually it departed however and we returned to just the sound of the surf.
It was quite hot that night and I was up often, trying to get comfortable. My "pillow" was exceptionally lumpy (poor pillow assembly on my part) and that didn't help either, but I did manage to get in several hours of sleep before waking around 5:00. I rested a while before deciding to get up at 5:30 or so to go check out the sunrise. I figured I didn't often have the opportunity to see the sun rise over the ocean. I grabbed the camera and made my way over to the main beach, where I had a perfect view of the pending dawn over the outer islands and Boston Light. I found a spot to sit where I was sheltered from the morning breeze and watched as the sky slowly brightened before a tiny flash of sun appeared over one of the bits of land on the horizon. I documented the entire production with pictures, then returned to the campsite to find Chip there. He'd been up early as well and had gone around the island looking for bunnies and fishing opportunities. Alas, he had little success in either area. The rabbits had proved to be far less plentiful than we'd expected and the tide schedule (low once again) thwarted any plans for dawn fishing.
We talked quietly for a bit until, one by one, the others emerged from their tents and joined us. Breakfast slowly evolved as the group grew, with water boiled for coffee and bags of bagels, cream cheese, juice, etc. appearing from the coolers and backpacks. Andy wanted to do a card trick for everyone, but I asked him to finish his breakfast first. He was just finishing up when I asked him where his ball cap was. It was a favorite of his and pretty much required in the sun on the island. He couldn't locate it and it didn't turn up on searches of the tent and packs. Andy forgot the cards and asked if we could go search the places we'd been on the island. As we left the campsite I realized he was quite upset about the loss and I did my best to comfort him, but I didn't have much hope we'd find it. If left anywhere below the high tide mark, it had long ago been claimed by the ocean. We still went looking anyway, starting at the beach by the camp then taking a tour of the main beach and the area where we'd flown the kites. No luck.
We returned to camp and took one more look around there, then started to pack up camp a bit. Our plan was to catch the 12:15 boat back to George's so we could get the 2:00 boat back to Hingham. We figured we had until 11:30 or so to spend on the beaches before we had to return to camp for the final pack-up. Chip & his boys were the first the leave, announcing they were heading around the southern tip of the island in search of fishing once again. Andy and I followed a bit later and followed the same route. No one had any luck fishing (again) and we all met up with Dave and his kids on the main beach and proceeded up the island to the sandy beach we'd found the previous day. The heat and humidity had returned and soon we were all back in the water.
We stayed there the rest of the morning. Around 11:00 I announced that I wanted to go look for a hat I'd noticed the previous day, washed up on the beach. It was a red Red Sox cap and I thought it might be an appropriate replacement for Andy's cap. I didn't think I had much of a chance of finding it but wanted to try anyway, so I worked my way up to the northern point of the island and crossed down to the beach where we'd had the fire. As I walked down the shore I kept my eye on the high tide mark, thinking I might just spot Andy's hat. That never appeared, but I did find a coconut. From Fiji or a boat, who knows? I picked it up anyway and carried it along. I passed the fire ring, confirmed the tide had extinguished the remnants of our blaze, then continued down the rocks. Just past the road I spotted something red and sure enough, it was the Red Sox cap. Though a bit messy it was in quite good shape, so I brushed it off, rinsed it in the ocean and took it back to camp, leaving it to dry on the picnic table.
The other folks arrived back just as I finished packing up the rest of our stuff (the tent, mostly). It was a bit past 11:30, so everyone concentrated on packing up to go. Chip & I were finished first and we took the kids and the gear we had and went to get the boat, figuring we could hold it for Dave if necessary. We hustled back up the road to the dock and were in place right on time. Dave appeared a few minutes later, just as the boat (the MV Irene) pulled up. Within moments we were all on board and wishing Lovell's Island farewell and thanks as it slipped away behind us. The ride to George's Island was brief and we found ourselves with an hour or so to spare before our boat back home. We found some picnic tables in the shade of some trees by the fort and set up lunch for everyone, finishing off the last of the food and water we'd brought, then went back to the dock. Chip and his boys planned to stay put there, fishing and watching the gear, so Andy & I went to explore the fort a bit. We'd hoped to thank the ranger who'd helped us on Friday, but she was leading a tour and we didn't want to interrupt her. We did join her tour for a while though, and enjoyed her explanations of some of the fort's history and features. Time was running short however, so we left her group and made our own way back to the docks.
The record of no fishing luck was unbroken and we all just went into a little downtime mode, gathering at the gear, departing in groups to go to the snack bar, and watching for the boat. While there I struck up a conversation with a pleasant older woman who was taking the boat over to Peddocks. She noted my Hopkinton hat and said she was a former resident, now living in Brookline. I said I had lived in Brookline as well and we wound up having a very nice talk about our towns and the islands. Dave said later that she had seemed familiar to him...perhaps someone we met when I lived in Brookline Village?
Finally we spotted the boat and arriving from Peddocks and anxiously awaited its arrival. It was nice to be out but we were all thinking about home. Thanks to the high tide we were able to board on the lower deck this time, and I wound up sitting in the same corner I'd occupied on the way out. Everyone else stowed their gear there as well, then headed to the open upper deck for the ride back to Hingham. We made our stops at Peddocks, Bumpkin and Grape without incident and around 3:00 pulled into the Hingham shipyard. I dozed off at least once on the ride back and Chip mentioned he'd slept up top as well. We departed the boat with significantly lighter loads (at least of food and water), found our cars, packed everything in, then gathered at Chip's car for our farewells. There were handshakes and high-fives all around as we all thanked each other for a great trip, then we were off and headed toward home. I managed to follow the directions backwards out of Hingham with Chip following behind (he'd taken a long way in and hoped to avoid the return journey), and soon enough was back in familiar territory. The last of the Red Sox game was on the radio and Andy reclined his seat and slept as we drove. An hour later we pulled into the driveway and completed our island adventure.
Notes and thoughts
Geez, this was nice. Physically undemanding (other than dealing with spending three days stewing in our own briny juices...pyew!), a new location and experience, boat rides, salt water, free reservations and parking, comfy accommodations, interesting stuff to see and do... What's not to like? Even dealing with the logistics (bringing drinking water, dealing with ferry schedules) was an interesting challenge. The downsides, such as they were, were merely additional challenges and ultimately not major issues.
Let's start with the boats. I'll take some responsibility for the water taxi mix-up on Friday. Going by the information available on the websites I was using I had the impression that the water taxis pretty much just ran constantly around the outer islands. I didn't realize they had set schedules to be met. That said, I found the current arrangement of the schedule (at least as far as a Hingham starting point is concerned) to be poorly designed. With only three boats coming out from Hingham each day you'd think it's a safe bet that passengers on each run might want to continue on to the other islands, and you might want to ensure there's one final run of the water taxis after the last boat arrives. The rangers I spoke to on Peddocks agreed that the schedule was messy and said it had been better in the past, but recent issues (water problems at Lovell's, dock problems at Great Brewster) had resulted in changes. Now, I did have a copy of the taxi schedule in my hands all the way out from Hingham but I never knew it. It was printed on the same sheet as the Hingham boat schedule but it showed the schedule for the boat from Hull. I didn't connect that it was the water taxi as well. Somehow I just never noticed that it listed Lovell's as one of the stops. Had I noticed I might have a) spoken to the crew of the Snow and had them call ahead to let the Hull boat know we were coming and ask them to wait for us at George's (since we were running late) or b) departed the boat at Peddocks the first time we stopped there.
Something else that might have helped would have been a link to the water taxi schedule from any of the island web sites I was using. This is something the Herald reporter pointed out to me when we chatted. The taxi schedule is available on-line only via the Friends of Boston Harbor Island website, and that's not linked to any of the sites I used (Boston Harbor Cruises, BostonHarborIslands.com, the MDC site). They all mentioned the taxis, but offered no specifics. A typical reference, from the Island Alliance site (bostonharborislands.com) reads, "...regularly scheduled passenger ferries connect to George's Island where water shuttles take visitors to other islands." But what if I had seen the schedule? Would I have taken an earlier boat out of Hingham or changed my plans for a Peddocks stay on Friday night? Probably the later, since I was taking 1/2 a vacation day as it was.
Now some notes on Lovell's. I've got real mixed feelings about it. The island is basically unmanaged. The boats arrive and depart and someone stocks the outhouses with toilet paper, but that's about it. We saw no lifeguards, and no one checked our reservation or checked in on us at our campsite. And while most campers were using the designated campsites, a number of folks stayed at the beach and several other unofficial camping spots were evident around the island (usually with great views!). No dogs allowed, yet I ran into at least one. Still, I liked it. No one was trashing the place, no one was hassling anyone else. In short, no one was abusing the freedom the lack of supervision offered. It's how I wish all camping could be. Go, find the best spot you can find to set up your tent, be friendly to other campers but respect their right to a little space and privacy, and leave the place as you found it. It could so easily be otherwise at Lovell's. The number of boats moored just offshore was evidence of how accessible the island is, and I was genuinely surprised to NOT see hordes of drunken kids toting coolers full of beer on to the beach and destroying everything in sight. I'm not sure why it's not happening, but I'm glad that's not the case.
And finally, the MDC. Their current level of management of the islands appears to be adequate to handle the current relatively low level of visitation, but if the islands become popular (or if the MDC wants to make them popular), things will have to change. The ferry schedules must be improved, and clear, on-line links to the existing schedules are a must. The same goes for the campsite reservation system. Having a couple of admittedly very nice and helpful ladies taking info via phone and fax and answering questions M-F, 9-5 just won't cut it if interest increases. I had this image of a small office with lots of little slips of paper with scribbled notes ("Ritz. 3 adult, 5 kid. 8/9-11, Lovell"). Info and application should be on-line. As for enforcement (or at least monitoring), that will be a requirement if more folks discover these islands and want to go. During our trip there were still a number of open campsites, both designated and rogue, so no one had a problem finding a spot. I'm just speculating, but I suspect a fair number of the campers had no reservations and just pulled up their boats and pulled out their tents. I think it's wonderful to be able to do that and to a certain extent I hope it continues, but what would have happened if campers with reservations had arrived to find all the sites taken? The last boat had left and no rangers were around to help settle any disputes. At this point the islands are known to a few folks like me and probably a larger number of local people from Hull, Hingham and Quincy who enjoy having them just offshore. As the islands see more use, the support services will also need to grow.
More pictures
