Scenes from Day 1 of “The 27 Mile Journey”

Wow! I cannot believe it has been a full week since I embarked on this journey. What an experience it was walking and casting the 27 miles from Coast Guard Beach in Eastham, to Race Point in Provincetown.

A lot happened each day of the journey, and in this post I am going to do my best to share the experience via select photos and videos taken along the way during Day 1.

I hope you enjoy the sights and feel inspired to set off on journeys and adventures of your very own.​​ All things are possible!

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The journey began just before sunrise on Friday, September 18th.

The trek began at Coast Guard Beach in Eastham, just north of Nauset Inlet.

I was not far from where the famous author Henry Beston built his foscile in the dunes, and wrote his book the Outermost House, which I highly recommend reading.

I was excited and eager to start on a journey that was nearly 1 year in the making, after finishing the book Cape Cod by Henry David Thoreau.

I would be following in Thoreau's footsteps, instead I would have a fishing rod in hand...​

As I looked towards the north I wasn't quite sure if my legs could handle the miles...

Nevertheless I set off on a good pace with tons of energy. The adrenaline was pumping.

I cast as I traveled and before I knew it I had reached Nauset Light. The lighthouse (among many others) helped to warn ships of the dangerous bars and shoals which lay just offshore.

However, even with the lighthouses, there have been more than 1,000 shipwrecks between Truro and Wellfleet alone.

Despite a full pack and plenty of gear I felt pretty light on my feet!

I walked along at a speedy clip, for the most part all alone, except for a few gulls and an occasional house here and there.

Property owners along Cape Cod's National Seashore are not allowed to build sea walls, thus in time structures succumb to erosion, and fall into the sea.

Such as this telephone pole, which is about to slide down the cliff...​

Three miles into the journey I reached Marconi beach.

Marconi Beach is the sight of the first trans-Atlantic wireless signal. This is the place where all our wireless communication was born, thanks to the efforts of Guglielmo Marconi.

Once I reached Marconi Beach, I stopped for a few minutes to reconvene with 26 year old film maker Shane Uriot.

Throughout this trip Shane would meet me at "checkpoints" and hollows in the dunes. He did a fantastic job capturing this journey on professional video and I am eagerly anticipating viewing his final product.

Suddenly, as I was talking with Shane, I noticed schools of thousands of baitfish ​splashing on the surface just offshore. I made a cast and snagged one of the fish.

Peanut bunker!​

Seeing all this bait gave me renewed hope that perhaps some stripers were nearby. 

I said goodbye to Shane and set off to the north, en route to the beaches of Wellfleet.​

North of Marconi the beach stretched on for miles, unbroken and quite desolate...

I soon came across the first of many casualties on the Great Beach.

At this point in the trip I was alone. Occasional footprints in the sand were the only indication of the presence of other humans.

The sun was beginning to rise high in the sky, and the beach began to feel like the Sahara Desert!

Temps got hot, and I began to tap into my water supply. 

Soon my progress began to slow and I decided to take a break.​

I had everything I needed to spend upwards of 5 days on the beach. I had enough food and proper clothing...the only thing that concerned me was my water.

Without enough water I could get into serious trouble. However water was also one of the heaviest items in my pack. Throughout the entire journey, water management would be my #1 priority.​

As I rest, I began to notice the multitude of "wreckage" and organisms spread all along the seashore.​

There was also terrestrial wreckage strewn around, such a tree limbs and pine cones.

Then offshore I noticed an odd animal bobbing around on the surface.

Was it a seal? I had so far seen dozens of the mammals.

Could it be a sea turtle?

Whatever it was the animal just lingered there, bobbing around, and in no apparent rush to get anywhere quickly.

Eventually I continued onward and reached the "hollows" of Wellfleet.​

I was roughly 6 miles into my hike, feeling hot but feeling good. 

It was now the middle of the afternoon and I knew my odds of catching a fish were slim. Nevertheless I continued casting as I walked.

At this point I had made hundreds of casts, and temps were getting real hot!

Yet life was still abound. Peanut bunker paved the waters just offshore, and I even saw a whale breach.​

However I kept trucking along and continued at a fairly good pace, considering the heat.

I began to think I may be able to reach Ballston Beach in Truro-or beyond-by the end of the day.

I wasn't in a race and was under no pressure to get anywhere fast, but I did want to cover as many miles as possible, just to make sure I finished the journey by Sunday.

I wanted to meet my sister, my Dad and my Mom at Race Point, preferably early in the day on Sunday. My sister would be traveling back home to NYC on Monday, and my Mom had a doctor's appointment, so Sunday had to be the day for me to finish.

A couple years ago my Mom was diagnosed with Lung Cancer and has since had numerous surgeries and chemotherapy. I thought it'd be nice to walk the last few hundred yards of this trek with my Mom - so I had to get to Race Point by Sunday at the latest.​

At some point in the late afternoon I reached Newcomb Hollow in Wellfleet.

There I met up with my Dad who gave me a much appreciated Gatorade and water refill!

I also met up with MFCC member Bill Couture. Not only is Bill a fisherman and member of My Fishing Cape Cod, but he's also a professional photographer.

There were a lot of peanut bunker in the area so I decided to spend some time with my Dad and Bill, make some casts and let Bill do what he does best....which is take amazing photos.

I had so far hiked and fished about 9 miles. My legs felt good and I was feeling optimistic for the night that lay ahead.

As the sun began to sink low in the sky, I felt an overwhelming urge to continue walking. Something in the air, or in the dunes, or in the ocean, had energized me.

I told my Dad and Bill that it was time for me to go, and with that I continued north.​

My goal was to fish and hike to Ballston Beach, where I would meet MFCC member Predrag Ciric.

Back in the spring at the 2015 MFCC Breakfast, Predrag won a spot on this trip, after entering a raffle in which the proceeds when to A Baby Center Cape Cod. I am happy to report that since the breakfast My Fishing Cape Cod has donated more than $700 to "A Baby Center" and their mission of helping Cape Cod families in need.

Nice work MFCC!​

Once I reached Ballston Beach Predrag and I would hike and fish our way to Coast Guard Beach in Truro. By that time I guessed it would be about 1:30AM, and I would consider (emphasis on consider!) taking a nap under the stars.​

A melancholic and nostalgic feeling swept over me as I watched a fiery sunset over the Atlantic.

I now had the 100+ foot high cliffs of Truro looming over my shoulder. 

In the distance I saw a shadowy figure on the beach. The man was fishing, and he was the first angler I had seen for hours.

As I approached closer the angler looked up at me and his face lit up with a big smile.

"Ryan is that you!?" he said in the darkness, with a hint of cautious excitement.

"Yes it sure is! Who are you?" I replied back.​

It was Dave Greenaway, a My Fishing Cape Codder who had been following the trek on Instagram and Facebook. Small world!

Dave and I chatted for a bit and unfortunately Dave had not seen any signs of life or caught or any fish. Eventually we said our goodbyes and I continued north, into an ever darkening abyss of beach.​

By 8:30PM I had reached Ballston, ahead of schedule, and underneath one of the most starlit skies I have ever witnessed.​ 

I had a full night of fishing and hiking ahead of me. Soon Predrag would arrive and we'd set off en route to Coast Guard Beach in Truro. God willing we would arrive there around 1:30AM and I would consider (emphasis on consider!) taking a nap under the stars.

For now I took some casts and enjoyed the dead silence and pitch black darkness of night time on Cape Cod's Great Beach. 12 miles into the journey and I was still feeling good and eager to continue onward.​

You can read about the rest of this 27 mile journey when new posts and videos publish​ over this weekend and early next week...