7/24/10 Island Beach State Park Loop with Jillane Becker, "Major Tom" Conroy, Evan "Joe Millionaire" Van Rossum, Jason Kumpas, Irina Kulikovskaya, Jim "Mr. Buckett" Mathews, Jason Itell, Eric Pace, and Amanda Murphy
Group shot at Barnegat Inlet
My next hike would be the next section heading south on my continuous Jersey Shore/NJ Perimeter hikes starting where we left off in Island Beach State Park. We would do a 15 mile loop around the southern tip of the island. This was also Amanda Murphy's first hike out with the group!
Temperatures and such at Island Beach State Park
Near the visitor's center at Island Beach State Park
It was an insanely hot day, and very humid, but it didn't matter much since we were right next to the water much of the day. We started right at the visitor's center, and walked through while waiting for others to show up. I met some of the group earlier in Seaside Heights with the idea that we'd all drive in together, carpooling to save more money since the fee is per car. Jillane and I rode in with Irina. Eric somehow got lost with Major Tom and Mr. Buckett.
Island Beach State Park, this was the busy part of the park
Once we had everyone together we made our way out to the beach and started heading south. It was insanely bright, I was glad I had sunglasses.
There's not a lot to be said about this section; like many beach sections it was just straightforward walking near the water so that the sand didn't bother our feet too much.
Island Beach State Park
We went through a couple areas where it was pretty populated with people basking or swimming, but other than that we were in some pretty secluded beach sections where the only people we were seeing were the ones with their fishing lines out.
Island Beach State Park
Island Beach State Park
We walked for a while and then stopped for a swim as I recall. The water wasn't too bad for swimming. Not too cold, and there wasn't too much of a current that would pull us under.
Island Beach State Park
Island Beach State Park
Island Beach State Park
This section was different than pretty much any other beach hike I'd done because were were just following ocean with no activity to the left, and dunes with no development whatsoever to the right. We had become accustomed to seeing many buildings and accesses on other beach hikes but such was not the case here.
Island Beach State Park building
When we started nearing the southern tip of the barrier island, the Barnegat Lighthouse started coming into view, though from our angle it looked like it was way inland. Around this time we saw one solitary building up on the shore, and it looked like it was abandoned. It didn't seem interesting enough to go up and explore though.
Island Beach State Park
Island Beach State Park
As we continued south toward the end the scenery got better at the beach has a dramatic bend in it. We stopped to swim a bit more as well.
Great bend in the beach at Island Beach State Park
Jillane basking on the beach
Major Tom finds a Horseshoe Crab
Also, the dune walls to our right became much more dramatic
Dune walls on Island Beach State Park
Island Beach State Park
We continued south to the very tip of Island Beach where there was a long jetti going out onto the water and took a nice long break.
Island Beach State park, Jason plays with a ball he found. It kept blowing the wrong way against the wind
Island Beach
Island Beach
The Barnegat Light and it's namesake inlet were right by us. I wondered how tough it would be to swim the inlet, but of course I didn't try. I somehow pictured this spot to be more natural without the jettis, but it was still very nice.
Barnegat Light from Island Beach State Park
Jason Kumpas on Island Beach
Jetti at the bottom of Island Beach
I decided I wanted to try to go all the way to the end of the jetti, so I started running across the rocks heading out.
A Herring Gull on the jetti at Barnegat Inlet
Looking back at Island Beach from the jetti
Jetti at Barnegat Inlet
As I ran, the rocks became a bit more slippery. I thought little of it, thinking I'd ran out along a jetti before, but this one was different. After a short time I slipped and took a nasty fall onto the jagged rocks. I was very lucky not to have been hurt much worse. I didn't give up yet, and continued to jump from rock to rock a bit more cautiously, but I soon took a second fall. It got so slippery walking was impossible. I had to get down on all four and make my way out the jetti to get to the end. I couldn't even reach the very tip, although I was only a few feet away.
Almost at the end of the Barnegat Inlet jetti
Even the fishermen did not venture to the tip. I talked to one on my way back and noticed he, as well as all other fishermen, were wearing boots with large spikes on them to give them grip on the rocks. The one I talked to thought I was crazy to make the attempt, but then he warned me that I best get back to shore, a storm was fast on it's way.
My cut up leg after falling on the jetti
My shin was hurting pretty bad, I'd knocked it hard, and it was a blunt enough rock that I didn't get cut too badly, but the fisherman was right, I had to get back quickly. Some of the others had tried to come out to the end with me, but before they got to a bad spot I warned them to go back, it was too dangerous. And the storm was on it's way.
Barnegat Light from the end of the jetti
The fisherman told me if I were out there during the storm I'd certanly be swept away. I didn't hang around.
Jillane at Barnegat Inlet
At Barnegat Inlet, Island Beach SP
Barnegat Inlet
Barnegat Light
xoxoxo at Barnegat Light
We continued our break just a little bit more, but we had to move on soon.
Jason Kumpas took this one of us at Barnegat Inlet
We followed along the south side of the island along rocks and sand. We were soon bordering the intercoastal waterway.
Walking along Barnegat Inlet
Barnegat Inlet
Along Barnegat Inlet
Until recently, it was possible to walk out along a land bridge to a peninsula into the intercoastal waterway, but storms and such had severred the connection with this. Apparently there was a pipe line or something under it, but everything was washed out pretty much. I guy in a boat I talked to told us it was bad for when you wanted to walk, but for boaters like him it was good because they didn't have to go around. I was hoping to get out there, but that was not possible.
There was once a land connection here to the island, destroyed in 2009 reportedly
We made our way up to the height of the land to figure out our return route and found an amusing interpretive sign covered in bird shit.
This cracked me up. Island Beach State Park
We regrouped and saw a path leading through the dunes heading north. The clouds were coming in faster all of the time.
The group near Barnegat Inlet
Southern tip of Island Beach SP
Pathways leading north in Island Beach SP
Island Beach SP
Island Beach SP
Island Beach SP
Island Beach SP
The pathway led through some grassy dunes heading north. As we walked we could see lightning streaks to the south and west of us, and the thunder began to roll. The path led through open areas and through some dense vegetation as well. It was some sort of emergency access road that must have been seldom used.
Old road on Island Beach SP
Beautiful dunes on Island Beach SP as the storm rolled in
Just before the storm actually hit we passed through some of the most beautiful shore dunes I'd ever seen.
Island Beach SP
Island Beach SP
Island Beach SP
Island Beach SP
It seemed like the storm clouds and lightning surrounded us even before it started raining, like we were just barely off it's course. I was hoping for that, but such was not the case. It started pouring heavily.
During the storm, Island Beach SP
During the storm, Island Beach SP
During the storm, Island Beach SP
We had just barely enough time to get ponchos on and such as it started to rain. It poured something fierce as we left the wide open area and entered a spot with some more thick vegetation. We all stopped for a few moments here and sort of squatted under the protection of our ponchos. I remember it was a little unnerving while we were out there in the open, the tallest things for quite some distance.
The storm started to let up, Island Beach SP
Intercoastal waterway from Island Beach SP
We left when it started to let up a little, and the sandy road took us very close to the intercoastal waterway. We also came close to some old buildings. We thought to try to go in for shelter but there was no way. We also came upon a house but it was also seemingly abandoned with no visible way in.
The end of the road we were walking, Island Beach SP
The old road spat us out on another access to the waterfront which we used to take us back out to the main road down the island.
The road at Island Beach SP
We walked the road northbound from here for a while. The rain let up which was really nice...for a while. There was a side trail to the left that led out to a viewing area over the intercoastal waterway. It was beautiful, but I was the only one to venture out to see it.
Side trail to the Intercoastal Waterway
Barnegat Bay wetlands
Intercoastal Waterway, Barnegat Bay
Observation blind along Barnegat Bay
Barnegat Bay
Barnegat Bay wetlands
The end of the trail had a really nice observation blind to view shore birds. The view of the Barnegat Bay was outstanding.
Somewhere along the way I think we also explored a side trail on the coast side as well.
Trail on Island Beach
I continued back to the road and everyone had gotten ahead of me I believe. I think our next stop was a restroom where we took another break. It was still drizzling a bit, but it let up pretty quickly.
The best part of doing this road walk section was the fact that it was COVERED in blueberries! Plump juicy blueberries were everywhere, more than we could even consume.
Blueberries on Island Beach
BLUEBERRIES!!!
Blueberries on Island Beach
Jillane and I held back and took a longer break, and then we took a lot of time to eat blueberries. We also went for a little side trip down another trail that led out to a viewing area of the Barnegat Bay, and this one was like a boardwalk the entire way.
Trail to the Barnegat Bay
Side trail on Island Beach
Barnegat Bay
Viewing platform on Barnegat Bay
The views were again excellent, and we read some interpretive signs. The rain was pretty much done by this point, and we continued eating blueberries. The down side to this was that we were being eaten alive by green flies. Jillane had with her the strongest DEET you can get, as did everyone else ahead of us, but it was pretty much useless against these things. We wanted to keep eating blueberries, but every time we'd stop we would get bitten several times.
Trail to the beach, Island Beach SP
For opportunistic eaters like Jillane and I, it was a terrible predicament but we had to get away. We used the first side trail to the right of the road to try to get back to the beach in hopes that the green flies would not be there.
Trail to the beach, Island Beach SP
The narrow trail through dense vegetation we found soon opened up into a standard beach access from the dunes.
Island Beach SP, the storm moves on
We turned left and followed the beach north retracing our previous steps. There were still a few green flies, but not nearly as many as there were along the road, plus we unfortunately had no temptation to stop.
Island Beach
Island Beach
Island Beach
We watched to the left as we walked for the tops of the buildings where we started. The others had been trying to call my cell phone, but with the rain and then later with the loud sound of the ocean I had been unable to hear them. The sun was starting to set and the beach was empty save for a couple of people we saw just before coming off the waterfront. I almost didn't want that walk along the beach to end.
Sunset at Island Beach SP
When we came to the walkway back up to the parking lot, the sun was just about to go down. We ended up one parking lot south of the one we had started in. We walked the connector to it and found Irina and Joe Millionaire there waiting for us. We used the showers to get some of the sand and salt water off of us before leaving.
End of our hike at Island Beach
Jillane forgot a sweater I think it was by the shower so we had to come back a little later to get it.
Jillane, Joe Millionaire, and I stopped for pizza on the way home to close another great beach hike.
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