The Chappaquiddick ferryman steered the On Time across the River Styx, previously known as the Edgartown Harbor, last Saturday morning. “Have a memorable walk,” the captain muttered.
Ninety minutes earlier an erstwhile cluster of 36 hikers had gathered at Quammox, not a Harry Potter game but a new Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank property of some 23 acres on Chappaquiddick.
Bill Veno convened the group of hikers promptly at 8 a.m.
He pointed off to what ostensibly was a spectacular view, now shrouded in fog. The goal was ambitious enough: to hike from Quammox on Chappaquiddick to Quansoo in Chilmark. He began by leading his legion around a small pond which featured a preening swan, and across a boardwalk.
And the 18-mile cross-Island hike, coincidentally the 18th time the land bank has organized such a venture in honor of National Trails Day, began.
Dorothy Packer, who has walked all but one of the hikes (she missed one when she filled in as Menemsha postmistress), gazed out from Quammox and said: “The fog makes it special.” A Rhode Island woman, her name sadly lost in a pile of waterlogged notes, said: “I always wanted to do it. It’s like that bucket list, one of the things I always wanted to do.”
From Quammox to Chappy Five Corners and through Three Ponds Reservation, the throng walked briskly through the primeval landscape of heavily greened oaks, statuesque pines and silent undergrowth. Birds chirped warnings. The air was still but for enthusiastic chatter, as hikers fell in with old acquaintances or made new ones. Anticipation was in the air.
Herb Foster, 82, the eldest hiker, maintained a steady pace. Bill Border and Judy Hannah of Lakeville completed the first leg. “I feel like more a of a traveler than a tourist,” Mr. Border said.
The group then headed to the Chappy ferry, eyeing ominous streaks of lightning on the horizon. And then the rain came, hard and fast, as hikers trekked through downtown Edgartown, securing refuge at the Church street visitor center. As the deluge grew to biblical proportions, half the contingent bailed. Debbie Rosenthal escaped to Espresso Love while Nancy Weaver took a bus home for dry clothes and her omnipresent bicycle.
The walk meandered along Clevelandtown Road, past Morning Glory Farm for a break at Ben Toms Preserve. Mike Adell, who moved to the Vineyard only this past Sunday, undaunted by the unrelenting rains, smiled bravely beneath his newly purchased poncho, as he waded through ankle-deep puddles.
Mr. Veno led his charges along ancient ways, from Middle Line along Pennywise Path and the Dr. Fisher Road. Hikers commented on their disorientation passing the Vineyard Golf Course, stumbling through Morgan Woods, or stepping into Pennywise Preserve. One goal of the land bank walk is to orient Islanders to the many contiguous conservation areas around the Island.
Mike Snyder, who recently returned from a hiking trip in Croatia to his East Chop refuge, observed, “There’s not much elevation on this route, so we move right along.” It was his second cross-Island hike. His sister, Carolyn Lemmon of Albany, enjoyed the walk. “I learned a lot,” she said. “I think the Island trails through the woods are just beautiful.”
The group reached the airport lunch break on schedule, then slogged through the state forest to the Grange Hall, and on to Quansoo. From there, it was a trek to the Tisbury Great Pond. A newly acquired right of way across Sheriff’s Meadow property leads to the land bank’s six-acre plot.
Adam Moore, executive director of Sheriff’s Meadow, appeared like the lord of the manor to congratulate the hikers on their efforts. The promise of a gorgeous landscape was lost in fog. “But you really can see Indian Hill from here,” claimed James Lengyel, the land bank executive director.
Janet Holladay had no trouble finishing the hike and then went ballroom dancing. For Dorothy Packer, it was another blaze on her stave. At age 70, she climbed Katahdin and recently tackled the whitewater on the Allagash.
Louise Clough maintained a steady pace throughout and finished the walk for the umpteenth time.
And after eight hours, a hardy band of seven hikers reached the final destination, not counting Bill Veno, James Lengyel and land bank property manager Matthew Dix. Another dozen or so walkers joined along the way, and in one case, boarded a bus or a bike, for dry clothes, then rejoined the troop, a la Rosie Ruiz.
The honor system prevailed, however, and only those true-through hikers can anticipate receipt of a snazzy diploma for their efforts. In the words of Bob Dylan in Mississippi, it was truly memorable, “every step of the way.”
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