Louise & Clark: Part I

Thousands of seals begin arriving in Long Island waters from Maine and Canada in early November and overwinter until early May. It's their Miami Beach. However, there were no seals at Seal Haulout, reached by the 3-mile Seal Haulout Trail, this past Saturday, nor, I can attest, is there any money at Money Pond.

Think power point with appropriate audio visual of flipper-clapping & honking

"I've been here so many times," a young woman we met at the Seal Haulout kiosk said, "and I've seen hundreds of seals." Hmm, just like all of those elusive celebrities everyone sees out here, I thought to myself.

We had hauled ourselves out to the parcel of beach where seals have been spotted sunning themselves on the rocks so frequently that it's probably Montauk's most popular guided hike. In fact, we had planned on joining an organized group December 28th, but cold and wind discouraged us. This morning, however, was a glorious day for a hike, so we set out on our own, having picked up maps from the Chamber of Commerce. Deer hunting season for firearms begins today, so as long as no one was getting an early start, we figured we were good to go.

We headed west up the beach from the lighthouse and turned up onto the "yellow" trail that would eventually lead us up to the clifftop kiosk and viewing point. "Hear that?" I asked Rick after about an hour. "I think it's the ocean." "Either that or the BQE," he said.

Upon arriving at the overlook at low tide, we did see a lot of rocks on which seals might conceivably sun themselves. The seals, however, were a no-show. "I saw one poke its head up," our fellow hiker observed. Naturally, we had just missed it. Maybe we'll have better luck if we go back on the guided hike the East Hampton Trails Preservation Society, which does a masterful job of maintaining Montauk's trails, is offering next Saturday. Maybe they have the seals under contract.

Heading west from the lighthouse toward Seal Haulout

Trails are well-maintained & I successfully delude myself into believing there is no danger of tick bites in winter.

Would happily have observed seals from kiosk area if there'd been any

Not to be discouraged, we set out from Seal Haulout and hooked up with the (appropriately) "green" Money Pond Trail that led us further inland. Legend has it that Captain Kidd buried some of his treasure here, hence the name.

The Money Pond Trail is clearly the road less taken.

It's a holly, jolly Christmas on both of these trails in winter.

On the money

Since we combined two trail hikes, I'm not quite sure how long we were at it, but I was beginning to feel like we'd signed on for the 3-hour tour that ran for three seasons. And, of course, we had followed none of the Ten Commandments of hiking. We had told no one where we were going. Had no water, no food. Not even a compass. By the time we glimpsed the lighthouse in the distance, Rick was muttering something under his breath about the Donner party.

Sunday, Louise & Clark, Part II.  Into the woods again.