What it’s Like to Spend a Night on Cape Cod’s Great Beach

This is part #2 of a series of posts about my 27 mile hike along Cape Cod's Great Backside Beach. Click here to read part #1.

It was 8:30pm by the time I reached Ballston Beach in Truro, which at this time of the year, means the sky was pitch black. In fact the past 3 miles of my hiking had taken place in complete darkness. 

With 100 foot tall cliffs looming above my head, the hike had been quite an experience. I was walking along a "corridor" of sand, squeezed between the giant cliff and the mighty Atlantic Ocean.

Fortunately the wind was light and variable. During stormy conditions the ribbon of sand on which I stood simply does not exist. In a tempest, monstrous waves often pound against the giant cliff​s-a situation I would not like to be caught in.

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An aerial view of Ballston Beach, Truro Massachusetts

These are the cliffs I walked beneath in the pitch dark. Photo taken from my boat
during June of 2015.

Yet the surf was incredibly calm and the ocean smoother than I have ever seen it before. I had enjoyed perfect beach weather during Day 1 of this journey and it appeared that my first night on the beach would be just as pleasant.

By 9PM quite the pow wow of people had congregated on the beach to meet me.

After taking care of some video stuff with Shane and catching up with the rest of the guys, I again felt the urge to continue on.

For some reason I just wanted to keep moving, and for this leg of the journey I would be accompanied by my friend and MFCC member since 2012 - Predrag Ciric.

Predrag would accompany me for the next 4 miles of the journey, until we arrived at Coast Guard Beach in Truro, where his friend Milan would pick him up.

If all went well I expected we would arrive at Coast Guard sometime around 1AM.​

I had never seen so many stars! I swear I could see galaxies and extraterrestrial objects floating above in the heavens. Comets and meteors went whizzing by. The entire scene felt surreal.

Predrag noticed the incredible nighttime sky as well. With zero light pollution we could see incredibly well. This was quite different than the City of Newton, where Predrag resides, and also quite different than a typical night at my home, with computers, iPhones and light bulbs illuminating the air.​

Pure silence, aside from a gentle lapping of small waves on the beach, was the other noticeable difference from "every day" life. Small sand shrimp which littered the beach were our only companions. 

Predrag and I kept a strong pace throughout the hours of 9pm - 1am. I cast and retrieved a white slow sinking Sebile Magic Swimmer in the 6 inch range for most of the walk. I did not feel the tide was right for this area, and I did not generate a single bite from any fish.​

As we neared Coast Guard Beach in Truro I caught glimpse of Highland Light, which is one of Cape Cod's most iconic relics. The beam swept high above our heads and out over the Atlantic. 

I thought of the thousands of ships which had wrecked off this coast since the 1600's, and I thought of the thousands of people who either drown or froze in a valiant effort to reach the shore. I thought of the survivors who did reach shore, only to be confronted by the 100 foot cliffs which stood behind me, and the realization that the only way off the beach was to climb, hike or wait in the cold for help which may or may not come.

Sometime around midnight Predrag and I decided to take a quick break and reflect on the experience...

The rest of the walk to Coast Guard Beach, Truro was spent mostly in silence. My legs were starting to feel a little heavy and I was beginning to desire rest, for the first time during this journey.

Locating the hollow in the dunes where Milan would pick up Predrag proved to be a challenge in the pitch black night. I had fished this stretch of beach before but the dunescape felt oddly unfamiliar to me in the extreme darkness.

Finally we located the hollow and the parking lot. I said my goodbyes to Predrag and Milan and thanked them for being a part of this journey. I turned back towards the ocean and the sand.

For the remaining 11 miles I would be alone.​

By 1:00AM I was succumbed by dampness. The skies were crystal clear but if you looked at my clothing or backpack, you would have sworn it had just rained. 

I was ready for a break and decided to hunker down for a cat nap atop a high dune overlooking the Atlantic. The view was spectacular, but I quickly realized I was not alone.​

A day time view of Coast Guard Beach, Truro (the area chock full of coyotes)

I saw the first pair of eyeballs in the light of my headlamp. In my tired daze I actually thought it was another person, but seconds later I realized I was dealing with coyotes. 

A pack behind the dune on which I was perched began howling and yelping. They were terribly close and there quite a few of them. The hair on my neck stood up and I received quite the jolt of adrenaline!

Then another pack down on the beach, closer to the ocean's edge began howling and yelping back. I was surrounded!

At this point I stood up and shone my super bright GoPro spot light which I use for night filming towards the pack of coyotes on the beach.​ At least a half dozen dogs (perhaps more) stared back at me in the light. The pack was about 50 yards away, moving slowly up into the eel grass.

I ditched the idea of taking a nap and quickly began hiking north. In a flash I found myself north of the parking lot for Head of the Meadow Beach.​

The clock was pushing 2AM. I was tired of casting and my legs wanted a break. If I was catching fish I guarantee I would have continued walking and fishing, but at this point I had experienced enough!

It was time to rest, at least for a little bit...​

The next three hours were spent in a daze of being half awake and half asleep. Very odd thoughts and weird dreams spiraled through my mind. Lets just say it was an awkward rest!

During the day temperatures had skyrocketed and I was hot as heck. Yet now temps had dropped and conditions only became damper. Add in a light breeze that swept up the beach and I actually began to shiver.​

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, ​a faint light appeared on the horizon. An hour or so later and it was clear that the sun would indeed rise again. My energy level and my spirits rose with the sun. 

Where I spent the hours of 2am - 6am. You can find this rusty old refrigerator to the north of Head of the Meadow Beach, Truro.

Not a bad morning view...

I have never been happier to see a sunrise!​ I climbed a nearby dune to survey the area and check in with the MFCC community on Facebook.

I had made it through the night and I felt considerably better and warmer. Then to my absolute astonishment I saw birds working just to the north of my position.

Was I hallucinating?

I had taken hundreds of casts thus far without a single sniff from a striper. Were the birds working over bait or were there actually fish beneath them?

I lethargically packed up my small amount of supplies, enjoyed a quick breakfast of trail mix and beef jerky, and set off towards the birds.

Stay tuned for the next post recapping Day 2 ​of this 27 mile journey, which will publish sometime over the next few days.