MST-63, completing segment 17

Stacy to Cedar Island ferry, eastbound

April 21, 2025. I had 13.8 miles to go to finish up Segment 17, which ends at the Cedar Island ferry terminal. This is Day 1 of a three-day, island hopping, hiking and birding trip.

After a busy and celebratory Easter weekend, on Monday morning we drove the nearly four hours to this church near Stacy, which meant my hike began around 10:30am. Not ideal, but it’s still April, not August—–so it’s still doable.

This time of year there’s only one afternoon ferry crossing, so off I go to make it there by 4pm.

I kept up a pretty steady pace, but there’s always time to stop and smell the….daisies.

There were lots of interesting birds along the way, in a variety of habitats.

One lane was closed on the bridge crossing over to Cedar Island, which made for a very safe pedestrian zone! (Although actually by now traffic was very, very light.)

Egrets, Clapper Rails, Black Ducks, Black-necked Stilts…and more.

Mid-day, you take whatever shade you can find!

I had plenty of time during this 5.3 mile stretch for morning afternoon devotions.

This patch of shade was tempting, but I wanted something a little farther off the road for my sit-down break.

Voila!

Cedar Island is too remote to attract many tourists, so it has a lovely, relaxed, slightly messy vibe.

Great Horned Owlets! I saw the parent, as well, but when Loren came to get this photo, only the fledglings were on the nest.

And that completes Segment 17!

Who doesn’t love a ferry ride! It’s over two hours from Cedar Island to Ocracoke. For a passenger car, the fare is….$15.00. Unbelievable.

During the crossing I rested in the car, re-hydrated, and occasionally walked around to look at some birds.

Arriving in Ocracoke around 6:30pm, I walked off the ferry, then another quarter mile to our hotel.

This was a looong day, so we were happy to find a place right across the road to eat a quick dinner before collapsing into bed.