A Beach that Touches Everyone
I was truly blessed to have lived along North Carolina's coast for fifteen years. The water of Raymond's Gut was only twenty-five feet from our home. The journey to the White Oak River from Raymond's Gut and through Bogue Sound out to the Atlantic ocean was not a long one as shown on this this map.
The river was only part of life on the water. We lived about fifteen minutes by car on a good day from some of the most stunning beaches on the east coast. Living on Raymond's Gut by the White Oak River gave us water access to many special places that are among some of the most unique places on the North Carolina coast. I found many natural places in the area that brought peace to me.
However, one of my favorite spots is the Point, now a huge expanse of sand at the end of the Bogue Banks barrier island. Because of how the sand keeps moving, you never knew what you would find until you got there. The Point almost disappeared in the fall of 2007. That same month I took this picture of water beginning at the foot of the vehicle ramp and covering all of the Point. Eight years later there was three tenths of a mile of sand to walk before you reached the water.
The area around the Point is close to the heart of many locals. I am no newcomer to the Point. I first fished it in the summer of 1969 when I was a sophomore in college. The only way to get there then was to cross over the bridge at Morehead City and go by four wheel drive down the beach. I cannot remember how far we went by road before we got on the beach fifty-five years ago, but I know it was a long haul of several miles down the beach. I still remember standing there by the water with a fishing pole in hand. The Point was a special place even back then.
I wish I knew back in 1969 what it took me until to 2006 to understand. A few years on the coast can polish the rough edges off of life. If I could have wrapped by head around that piece of wisdom, I might have saved myself a lot of miles. If I had just found a way to live at the beach back then, my life might have been very different. I would have missed a lot of snow from our years in Canada.
I would never have built a herd of two hundred Angus here in Carteret County like we did in the Canadian Maritimes, but I am sure I would have figured out how to get my hands dirty in Carteret's rock free soil. It is hard to say how much our lives might have changed if we had followed a different path. Still I am pleased to have spent fifteen years wiggling my toes in the sand at the Point whenever I managed to get away from work.
I have written over and over about how special the Point is and every time that I think that I have said all that can be said, I take another hike and find some more reasons to be in love with the Point.
One memorable trip over to the Point was on the stunningly beautiful early summer day of Sunday, June 7, 2015. I went late in the day hoping that perhaps the Station Street parking lot might have an empty space. When I got there, it was clear that the day was such a nice beach day that people were still enjoying the sand and surf. After waiting about ten minutes, I got a spot and headed off on my hike.
I planned on doing my short hike which is a little over two miles. It was a great time to hike as it was very close to low tide and the sun was low enough to be comfortable.
As always, I marveled at how much the beaches had changed. It is humbling to see the power of wind, sand, and surf. But it also reassuring to walk a place like the Point. I have seen it big and small over the last four decades, but it is still the same wonderful, almost wild beach that I remember from my first visit. The Point is just hard enough to hike that few people go beyond the easily accessed boardwalks.
I hope it stays that way for another few decades. There are not many places that close to civilization where it feels like you are the only person there.
More essays at my blog, Our technological infirmity.