I spent the morning of December 6 hiking down the inner South Trail at SSP, on an overcast cool day. I hiked through the clear-cut areas where park officials are trying to remove an invasive pine species that was introduced by a former owner of the property. It’s an interesting hike, as you emerge from thick stands of Pine into the regenerating dunes, dotted with scrubs of dune grass working to replace the pine. The wind was howling overhead for much of the hike, but I was pleasantly surprised by only a small breeze at my back when I reached the beach.
The beach was very interesting on this day. A few nights before, we had very high winds from the west, which drove the crashing waves about 25 feet up onto the beach, leaving behind a smooth beach littered with all kids of washed-up stuff. There were plenty of the usual small shells and sticks, but also tons of people crap, including balloons, energy drinks (sealed!), and straws.
My favorite find along the beach was this skinny little plant, which the wind had bent over and then pushed back and forth in a semi-circle. You just can’t compose stuff like this.
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