Hyde County Highpoint Trip Report
Date: August 9, 2006
Author: Denis Dean
Expecting easy sand dune climbs, I wore flip-flops and shorts -- bad idea.
Drive south from Nags Head on NC-12 to the ferry terminal in Hatteras.
The car ferry is free but expect to wait. I arrived at 12:15 pm for the ferry.
All six ferries were running and I still had to wait in line 2 hours.
Once onboard, the ride took about 30-40 minutes.
Upon arrival in Orcacoke Island (which is where
the pirate Blackbeard met his fate) continue driving south on NC-12.
I have numbered the areas from east to west. GPS was helpful in getting me to the
general areas of these highpoints, although I am sure they are constantly
changing with every new hurricane. On all of these points be careful when
pulling off onto the sandy shoulders.
Area 1 (spot 27 feet) is a scrubby dune on the north side of the road.
Area 2 (near "Sand (C)" on the topo) seemed higher than 1, I visited the high
dunes on both sides of the road.
Areas 3 and 4 -- These dunes are in a mess of cactus, thorns, briars, and bushes
on the north side of the road. I cut my legs and feet to shreds and wished I
was wearing jeans and boots. My friends shrieked at the sight of my bloody legs
when I returned to the truck.
Area 5 (near spot 14 feet) is on the south side of the road in a Pine Thicket.
Beware of thorns on this one as well.
Area 6 (spot 26 feet) -- I parked in the paved lot on the north side of the road
and bushwhacked north into the nastiness. This one seemed the lowest of the 6.
I believe all these highpoints are on federal land (Hatteras National Seashore)
and I didn't see any postings, although it might be different during migratory
bird season. During the ferry ride back, I picked the remaining thorns out of my legs.