Ocracoke Island, then Hatteras to Frisco, eastbound
April 22, 2025. Day 2 of our 3-day outing. I hiked all of Ocracoke Island (14.3 miles), then took the ferry to Hatteras and did another 4 miles to the Frisco Day Use Area.
I waved good-bye to Loren, leaving him to finish checking out of our hotel, and I began walking through Ocracoke Village before dawn.
Loren passed me on his way to some excellent birding at the point.
We maintain comm-links throughout the day, although I only bring my cell phone out of “airplane mode” once an hour, to preserve the battery.
And…there’s the beach!
Through a mix-up with hotels and dates, I was actually here a week earlier than originally scheduled. However, the tides ended up being PERFECT for Ocracoke, something I hadn’t really considered….foolish me.
Almost the entire length I had this nice, solid “shelf” for walking. It was perfectly firm.
Detour! The park ranger drove up to remind me that this section of beach was off-limits, due to nesting American Oystercatchers.
I went up over the dunes and walked through the scrub-land until I was beyond the closed-off area.
It was actually a pleasant change of pace, and the terrain was easy to navigate.
Then, back to the beach!
The Hammerhead Shark had a fishing lure in its mouth, so I guess it got hooked, then broke the line, and was injured in the process. Maybe?
Near the cutoff to the Ocracoke Pony Pens, I spotted the American Oystercatcher on the beach! I texted the location to Loren, and later he was able to walk in from the road, locate the bird, and get this nice photo.
Nowhere else to take my long, shoes-off break except right down in the sand!
There is a narrow section of the island where you hike close to the road.
Oh no! Another detour!
This detour was more strenuous, as the dunes were much higher here.
But up and over I went, then I walked down the road until I was past the nesting area.
I had to climb up an even taller and steeper dune to get back onto the beach. Glad I had my hiking pole!
Here’s where I exited the beach, this time on route.
Half a mile to the ferry.
There are many crossings from Ocracoke to Hatteras. We caught the noon ferry. Cost: IT’S FREE! Unbelievable.
The distance as the crow flies is short, but because of dangerous shoals, the ferry takes a very circuitous route, and the ride is over an hour long.
After landing at Hatteras, I continued on hiking, since it was just a little after 1 pm.
Always such a welcome sight!
These last three miles were difficult. The tide was fairly high and rising, so I was forced up into the softer sand. Ugh.
This guy was having a lot more fun with his mode of travel!
I was too tired to get a photo of the Frisco Day Use Area where I finished off this 18-mile day, but Loren met me, and we went right away to a diner for lemonade and fish-and-chips.
I was quite happy to find the hotel had a bathtub where I could soak my weary legs!
My.Bird.Walks. 