Portsmouth Island Fall Trip - October 5th-8th

[thecapedcapper]

@S.CarolinaFZJ80

Where will you be coming from? I'm in Charlotte and @neslrac lives in Uwharrie so I'm planning on meeting up with him along the way for the drive to the campsite for saturday.

Speaking of saturday campsite I think I found a good option here on Hipcamp at a small private campground. It's about 30 minutes from the ferry and has a communal bathroom, shower, and a little outdoor kitchen. The site is pretty basic but looks like it has enough room for 3-4 trucks for a night no problem. Any objections? (I went ahead and booked this, but can cancel if we have another option that's better)

Also, what are we thinking for as far as food goes? I'll be bringing snacks and hot dogs, just basics, but what about doing a shrimp boil one night to split and/or other stuff along those lines? And of course fresh fish if we have any luck. (Which reminds me, Kurt what was the weights you recommended? I want to buy a few)

Edit: P.S. Thoughts about firewood? I have some I can bring. A fire on the beach and maybe at the campsite saturday would be good.

 

[S.CarolinaFZJ80]

@thecapedcapper
Charlotte too. I'll message you.
I have at least a cord of wood here. I can bring some. If you have room for some, come on by on your way.
I'm cool with that camp site plan

 

[thecapedcapper]

Just called and modified the ferry reservation to be 3 instead of 4, anyone else will need to make their own ferry arrangements! (Which is probably possible)

 

[thecapedcapper]

FYI,
Don't forget to purchase a OHV pass for Cape lookout. For permits purchased after March 1st ,you must show your printed permit to a Park Ranger upon arrival to North or South Core Banks to receive your ORV decal. Portsmouth Island is part of the North Core Banks. Cape lookout is North and South Core Banks. The cost is $50 from this web site. Recreation.gov.

Note: A printed copy of the permit must be carried in the vehicle while it is on the island. To print out the ORV Permit, log onto your Recreation.gov account. Go to My Reservations, click on Cape Lookout ORV permit, and select Print Permit.

Also, this explains better what I conveyed above.

Beach Driving Permit - Cape Lookout National Seashore (U.S. National Park Service)

www.nps.gov

Thanks for the reminder I probably would have forgotten. Just bought and printed mine

 

[xychromosome]

any pics from this trip?

 

[UZJ105]

any pics from this trip?

I came here to ask the same thing

 

[thecapedcapper]

What a trip! The weather was great the whole time with the wind shifting around a bit, couldn't have picked a better time to go. The ferry crossing didn't take all that long and was easy enough, on the ferry out (Sunday at 10) we had it to ourselves. There were a number of other vehicles on the island but if you weren't trying to fish at the northern inlet there was plenty of privacy to be had. I think we had about a mile of beach to ourselves. The ranger station wasn't even open while were there so 0 supplies of any kind on the island.

For starters here's a neat 360 photo I took (click on the pic to see the 360 mode) near our campsite (the shell graveyard) on what was one of the higher points of the island.

A ton of these crabs of varying sizes were around at night, we even made a few friend at the fire.

We drove the whole length of the island north to south and ended up coming right back to that same campsite for the 2nd night. There were few to none dry camping spots on the south end of the island and handful of choice spots on the north side where we camped. The water was extremely high at high tide, and we had to drive through ~3ft of water on the inland road at spots and through the surf on the beach at a couple points.

(More maintenance sensitive cruisherheads need not view the following picture)

 

[UZJ105]

Looks like a great trip. How were the bugs?

 

[thecapedcapper]

The fishing was, frankly, not great for us or for anyone else we talked to, buuut @neslrac managed to get a good sized fish anyways with a little diligence.

I didn't get a picture of it but it's worth noting that despite the reports that they were flattened the cabins are still there but not open, they were looking a little worse for wear though in spots and had water underneath many of them at high tide so who know when if ever they'll be reopened. That being said next time I'd camp the same way in my truck or maybe a roof tent (@S.CarolinaFZJ80 had quite the penthouse on his truck).

 

[thecapedcapper]

Saturday night stopped at a small private campground I found on hipcamp near morehead city and about 30 minutes from the ferry get it the next morning and it was pretty nice, will definitely plan to do the same thing next time.

The bugs on the beach were very minimal thankfully I guess thanks to the time of year and to the nearly constant wind we had (at one point it was basically still which was a bit odd)

Overall it was a fantastic trip and delivered on the adventure we wanted! The island was beautiful and probably the most undisturbed beach I've been on, very different than any normal public beach access or Ft. Fischer. On Saturday we drove through the Morehead city seafood festival but couldn't stop so I think I already know what weekend to pick next year for the fall and am thinking of doing the spring as well! I'm already planning the next one.

 

[xychromosome]

nice pics!

 

[UZJ105]

Was there any ridable surf? I saw @S.CarolinaFZJ80 took his board. Not sure if it was a paddleboard or longboard?

 

[neslrac]

No ride able surf. They were breaking and crashing at least 3 times before they hit the shore. Sam sad he needed a long rolling wave. We did not have those.

 

[xychromosome]

No ride able surf. They were breaking and crashing at least 3 times before they hit the shore. Sam sad he needed a long rolling wave. We did not have those.

nice fish Kurt!

 

[thecapedcapper]

nice pics!

Thanks! The second one of the dune at sunset and the 360 pic in the link are two of my all time favorite pictures I've taken.

 

[S.CarolinaFZJ80]

Was there any ridable surf? I saw @S.CarolinaFZJ80 took his board. Not sure if it was a paddleboard or longboard?

Unfortunately not. Those were surfboards.

The waves were all close outs or completely blown out depending on tide and time.

That beach needs a different swell angle than what we had on this trip.

 

[UZJ105]

Unfortunately not. Those were surfboards.

The waves were all close outs or completely blown out depending on tide and time.

That beach needs a different swell angle than what we had on this trip.

It has to be just right out there. I have been going to Cape Lookout for 6 year and always bring my board. In all those years, I've only had one proper surf session out there. I'm heading to Buxton this weekend. The forecast is looking pretty good.

 

[neslrac]

@thecapedcapper, Excellent photo's. thanks for sharing. I didn't add any because you captured the trip beautifully. What an epic trip with two amazing people. The food, drink, exploring and wheeling was first class. We are truly privileged to have this in our back yards. Can't wait until the next one.

 

[S.CarolinaFZJ80]

It has to be just right out there. I have been going to Cape Lookout for 6 year and always bring my board. In all those years, I've only had one proper surf session out there. I'm heading to Buxton this weekend. The forecast is looking pretty good.

Absolutely! Always bring a board cause you never know.

Had a great time @neslrac and @thecapedcapper