In My Footsteps: Hiking Cape Cod

With spring and summer comes the increased desire to get out and enjoy the beautiful weather. Living on Cape Cod there is no shortage of places to see and explore. Hiking is a fantastic way to get out into nature, get some exercise, and explore the great outdoors. However, hiking can also be dangerous if you're not prepared or don't take the necessary precautions.

What I am going to do here is share some amazing places to go exploring on Cape Cod and also give some tips on how to enjoy hiking outdoors safely.

1. Plan your route: Before you start your hike, it's essential to plan your route. Luckily Cape Cod is a peninsula and the odds of getting lost in somewhere truly inhospitable are small. However, it is important to have a general sense of where you are and where you are going. Doing a little research won’t hurt. Choose a trail that is suitable for your fitness level and experience. For the most part, Cape Cod is a series of beginner to moderate hiking trails.

2. Bring the right gear: This is a given. Make sure you have appropriate footwear that provides good support and traction. Wear comfortable clothing that is appropriate for the weather conditions. If the hike is long enough bring a backpack with essential items such as water, snacks, sunscreen, a hat, and maybe a first aid kit. There are plenty of short hikes on Cape Cod, but there are also some that can be up to ten miles or longer.

3. Check the weather forecast: This is true for any time of year. Hiking is fun, but hiking in the pouring rain, wind, or snow is not. That’s not to say that some inclement weather can’t make for a fun adventure. The main point is to think ahead. A little drizzle or hot temperatures might not ruin a hike, but a downpour can change the complexion of a trail turning packed dirt to slippery muck.

4. Hike with a buddy: It's always a good idea to hike with a buddy or a group of people. Not only is it more fun to hike with others, but it's also safer. If you get lost or injured, you'll have someone there to help you.

5. Stay on the trail: When hiking, always stay on the trail. Don't wander off the path, as you can damage the environment and get lost. There is also a prevalence of ticks that can cause Lyme Disease. Most trails are crafted to make sure you get the best experience so diverting from it shouldn’t be necessary.

6. Pace yourself: Hiking can be physically demanding. Don't push yourself too hard and listen to your body. If you feel tired or lightheaded, take a break and have a snack or drink some water. It also gives you ample time to take in the scenery and even snag a couple amazing photos.

7. Respect wildlife: Remember when hiking, you’re in nature’s house. Keep your distance from animals and don't disturb their natural habitat. Don't feed animals or leave food out, as this can attract wildlife and create dangerous situations.

8. Leave no trace: This is most important. Don't leave anything behind, and don't damage the environment by carving your name into trees or rocks. Take out what you take in. We only have one environment and it is important to leave its beauty for future generations.

     That’s a pretty comprehensive list, but it’s all common sense stuff. Be smart, be respectful, and be prepared. Now that you know how to properly enjoy a good hike on Cape Cod it’s time to share a few places to implement the tips. They will also be designated as easy, moderate, or difficult so that all experience levels can find somewhere incredible to visit.

1. Great Island Trail: Wellfleet – Moderate: This trail can be easy or moderate depending on the path you take. It is anywhere from 3.9 – 8.8 miles in total length. There are spectacular views of Cape Cod Bay and Jeremy Point. The uplands take you past the 17^th Century Samuel Smith Tavern Site.

Great Island Trail

2. Nauset Marsh Trail: Eastham – Easy/Moderate: This trail can be easy or moderate as well. There is a marsh loop trail that is 1.2 total miles but for more of a challenge you can add in the Nauset Bike Trail to bump the total distance up to 4.1 miles. You circle Salt Pond and can venture out to Salt Pond Bay. The bike trail leads you all the way out to the iconic Coast Guard Beach as well.

Nauset Marsh Trail

3. Long Point Lighthouse Trail: Provincetown – Moderate: One of the most visible yet least traversed trails on Cape Cod. The approximately 5.9 total mile hike begins with a somewhat challenging walk across Provincetown’s West End Breakwater. It continues with a sandy stroll out onto Long Point to the eponymously named lighthouse. The views of Provincetown’s waterfront along with the boats that dock on Long Point make this a wonderful way to spend a day.

Long Point Lighthouse

4. Waquoit Bay Trail: Mashpee – Easy: A beautiful out-and-back walk along South Cape Beach leads you from the parking area to the shores of Waquoit Bay. At a little over 2 miles, it is a relatively easy hike although some soft sand can slow your progress down at times.

South Cape Beach State Park

Wing Island Trail: Brewster – Easy: Be sure to keep an eye on the tides before you go. Once the timing is right though this is an easy hike with a panoramic view of Cape Cod Bay at the end. It can be anywhere from 1.5 miles to slightly longer depending on how much of the beach you choose to explore.

Wing Island Trail

    These are but a few of the incredible hikes on Cape Cod. There are so many hidden gems, not to mention more than one hundred miles of paved bike trails. Whether you choose to explore one of the mentioned trails, or you choose your own adventure, be sure to have fun and be safe!

Cape Cod National Seashore 60th Anniversary - In My Footsteps

In Their Footsteps: Cape Cod History - The Three Sisters of Nauset

    Lighthouses are invariably connected to the sea. They overlook the water helping to guide vessels safely. However there are three fascinating little lighthouses in Eastham that are not even within sight of water. Sitting quietly in a field 1/3 of a mile from the ocean's waves are the Three Sisters of Nauset. How did they get there? This is their story.

    The history of the Three Sisters began nearly 200-years ago when the Town of Eastham petitioned to have a beacon built along the shore to protect passing vessels after there had been so many shipwrecks. The proposal was approved on March 3, 1837 with $10,000($271,000 in 2021) being appropriated for construction of the new light station. However instead of there being one lighthouse it was decided that there would be three. The reasoning was to help vessels differentiate the Eastham lights from the single Highland Light to the north in Truro, and the twin lights of Chatham to the south. The fifteen-foot tall brick structures were constructed by local builder Winslow Lewis and his team who had put in the lowest bid.

    The triplet lighthouses were hastily built by Lewis and his crew, 150-feet apart on 5 acres of land that had been bought for $150. In all it took a mere 38 days for construction. The crew did not even abide by the markers for the three beacons that had been laid out. The project was seen afterward to have been cursed as work on the beacons had occurred routinely on Sundays which was seen still at the time as a desecration of the Sabbath. On July 30, 1838 the Eastham lighthouses were lit for the first time.

    The three towers which were initially referred to as 'the line lights,' due to the fact that they were constant and not flashing, soon gained the ‘Three Sisters’ nickname. Legend has it that vessels passing by remarked that they resembled three ladies in white dresses wearing black hats. Iconic author Henry David Thoreau came upon them during one of his visits to Cape Cod in the mid 19th century. He was less than impressed, calling the beacons 'shiftless and costly.' Another harsh criticism came from a report from Lt. Edward Carpender when inspecting the site in 1858. He saw the Three Sisters as serving no purpose as they did not help to guide vessels into any nearby harbor. Carpender also stated that the job of the three could just as easily be done by one beacon, preferably with a red-colored lantern.

    Despite less than favorable opinions by some the lighthouses did their job for decades until shoreline erosion threatened them. Today when a lighthouse is threatened measures are taken to save them by moving them safely away from the eroding cliffs. In the late 1800’s though the three brick towers were simply allowed to succumb to nature and fall into the sea. They were replaced in 1892 by three new ‘Sisters’ standing twenty-two feet tall and 150-feet apart. These new wooden towers with brick foundations were positioned thirty-feet back from where the original towers had fallen.

The Three Sisters watching over the Eastham bluffs. (Eastham Historical Society)

    The relentless hand of nature continued to eat away at the cliffs of present day Nauset Light Beach. In less than twenty-years the shoreline had eroded to the point that it was within eight-feet of one of the towers. Finally in 1911 it was decided that a single flashing lighthouse would be the best course of action going forward and the Three Sisters were decommissioned. Only the center tower would remain as a solo beacon attached to the lighthouse keeper’s house. The two discontinued lights were sold to B.J. and Helen Cummings in 1918 for $3.50 ($60.37 in 2021) each. They were moved in 1920 to Cable Road after some repairs, joined together by a room, and renamed the ‘Twin Lights Cottage.’ The beacons were used, one as a pair of bedrooms, the other as a kitchen, as the cottage also saw use as a gift shop and dance studio.

'Twin Lights Cottage' (Eastham Historical Society)

    The career of the remaining Sister along the shore was short-lived. By 1923 it has also fallen into disrepair. Rather than fixing it up it was decided that it would be decommissioned and replaced. It would be sold to Albert and Mary Hall for 50 cents($7.62 in 2021) and turned into a cottage much like the other two Sisters, named 'The Beacon.'

'The Beacon' cottage. (Eastham Historical Society)

A perfect substitute to take command of protecting Eastham’s coastal waters sat thirteen miles to the south in Chatham. It was there at the Coast Guard Station where another recently decommissioned lighthouse, one of the Chatham Twin Lights, resided. The forty-eight foot tall cast iron tower was moved to Eastham. Nauset Lighthouse was born, although it did not get its partial coat of red paint until 1940.

After the formation of the Cape Cod National Seashore in 1961 the lighthouse cottages were grandfathered in. In 1965 the Twin Lights Cottage on Cable Road was purchased by the National Park Service. The center tower cottage was purchased ten years later in 1975. It was reunited with its other Sisters, being placed in its former spot between them for the first time in over 50 years. After extensive renovations in the 1980's the Three Sisters were opened for tours with a formal dedication of the site taking place on May 16, 1990.

The Three Sisters as they appear today.

Around the turn of the 21st century the Three Sisters caused a bit of a stir along the shore. It is just off shore at Nauset Light Beach that a circular brick foundation was unearthed by the shifting sands. It was determined to be a foundations of one of the Three Sisters that had fallen over the bluff. Though it's been basically covered back up in the years since every so often it becomes exposed again and when the tide is low enough one can walk right out and touch it.

    Lighthouses are a part of the fabric of Cape Cod and have been for centuries. Some have simple stories, some have complex stories, it is likely though that none have a story as unique as that of the Three Sisters.

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In Their Footsteps: Cape Cod History - The Hangar Tea Room, Falmouth Heights

In Their Footsteps: Cape Cod History - Storyville Jazz Club

Be sure to check out my website: Christopher Setterlund.com

Zazzle Store: Cape Cod Living

In Their Footsteps: Cape Cod History - The Outermost House

    Cape Cod has more than its fair share of historic homes. Many are cared for by historical societies, some have been renovated and are now private. A few of these became iconic through the stories behind them. One of the biggest Cape Cod icons of the 20th century starred in a best-selling book. It showcased the rustic dream of living on a beach. In a fitting piece of irony that icon became a victim of the very sea that it romanticized in the book. It was the Outermost House and this is the story behind the icon.

    The story begins in 1925. Struggling author Henry Beston purchased fifty acres of beach roughly two miles south of the Coast Guard station in Eastham. He then asked his neighbor Harvey Moore a favor. Could he build him a small 20x16-foot, two-room shack in those Eastham dunes? Moore, a carpenter by trade, and his crew obliged and created a basic domicile consisting of a bedroom and kitchen/living room. After digging a well in the sand, and having the necessary outhouse built the job was done.

    Beston intended to only spend a fortnight in the dune shack he called Fo'castle as a respite from his struggles as a writer and the lingering effects of World War I. However the sand and the sea called to him so much that he extended his stay.

    After World War I Beston, born in Quincy, Massachusetts, began visiting Cape Cod to see friends. He stayed, among other places, at a cottage on Salt Pond in Eastham. Beston had a desire for a place of his own leading to him ask Harvey Moore to create it for him.

    Henry Beston ended up spending an entire year in Fo'castle in 1926-27. Alone with his thoughts he wrote of what he saw and heard in his solitude. Despite writing several notebooks worth of material Beston initially had no intention of turning them into a proper manuscript. It turns out his hand might have been forced into creating one of the masterpieces of 20th century literature.

    In 1927 Beston proposed to his girlfriend, accomplished writer Elizabeth Coatsworth. Believing in the importance of his manuscript Elizabeth told Beston: "No book, no marriage." He cultivated his collection of notes into The Outermost House. Beston gave it this title due to his belief that his shack on the Great Beach was the 'outermost' in the eastern United States. The book was published in October 1928. Henry and Elizabeth were married in June 1929.

    The Outermost House, released through Doubleday and Doran, was Beston's eighth published book. The initial sales were good and Beston even went to Europe to help promote it. In the first few years after the publishing of the book he would routinely pay visits to his beloved Fo'castle while also living in Hingham.

The Outermost House Cover, on sale at Amazon. 

    A visit to Damariscotta Lake, Maine to see his friend, painter Jake Day, saw Beston, Elizabeth and their two daughters head north. The family bought a parcel of land called Chimney Farm in the town of Nobleboro, Maine in 1931 and by 1933 they had permanently relocated there. Though he would occasionally return to Cape Cod in the coming decades, Beston for all intents and purposes was a Maine resident into retirement.

    So what of Fo'castle? The shack that became an icon of 20th century American literature? Sadly its position on the Great Beach of Eastham put it in danger from the get-go.  It was built only thirty-feet in from the sea.  Erosion rates have always been high on the Outer Cape. On the ocean-side of Eastham where Fo'castle resided the erosion rate was an average of 3.3-feet per year between 1865-2015.

    In March 1931 a large Nor'easter slammed Cape Cod, destroying two cottages on the Eastham dunes and pushing another into the Nauset Marsh. Another storm in January 1933 left Fo'castle only seven-feet from the bluffs edge. Beston himself expressed concern over his Outermost House succumbing to the elements. It was moved back from the receding bluffs soon thereafter.

    The years passed and the erosion continued. During the summer of 1948 once again the Outermost House found itself in danger. This time not only was it moved inland 200 yards, it was also reinforced and re-shingled to better protect it from all of the dangers that a shack on the beach might face. The move actually changed the direction Fo'castle faced. This was something Beston noticed upon a later visit to the shack as he quipped that somebody had 'moved the ocean.'

Henry Beston (Henry Beston Society)

    Though he grew distant from Cape Cod in his later years Beston remained important. He wrote the introduction for the 300th anniversary of the incorporation of his second home Eastham in 1951. The Outermost House author might have become settled in Maine but the shack itself remained. For those heading along Rt. 6 through Eastham one could lay eyes on Fo'castle out on the sandy spit in a clearing near the Eastham Town Hall.

    Beston retained ownership of the Outermost House throughout the 1950's. Though he was rarely there he allowed friends to stay there and bask in some of the inspiration he had relished. In 1959 he donated the shack and the fifty acres he owned to the Massachusetts Audubon Society. The nonprofit organization began renting the famed beach cottage to bird watchers among others. It is believed that Beston's donation and the general importance of The Outermost House and Fo'castle itself may have helped to spur on the creation of the Cape Cod National Seashore.

    The Seashore was created in 1961. Three years later in 1964 Fo'castle was designated a national literary monument by the United States Government. That same year on October 11, 1964 was Henry Beston Day at the Seashore in conjunction with the Audubon Society, National Park Service, and Massachusetts Governor Endicott Peabody. The ceremony was a success with a parade of beach buggies driving guests out to the shack. There would be an interpretive trail-side exhibit in the area surrounding the Outermost House for those venturing out to see it. It was a fitting tribute to a man that had put the natural beauty and wonder of Cape Cod on display for all of the world to read. This ended up being Henry Beston's last trip to the Cape.

    Beston died April 15, 1968 at his home in Nobleboro, Maine only a few weeks shy of his 80th birthday. His death sparked renewed interest in The Outermost House the book and shack. People traversed the Great Beach to gaze upon the inspiration for Beston's greatest work. Though erosion had been its greatest threat it was something totally unforeseen that spelled the end of Fo'castle.

    Between February 6-7, 1978 one of the most historic blizzards in New England history caught the region mostly by surprise. It was snow that covered most of the region, however it was wind and storm surge that affected Cape Cod. The high tide of 16-feet tore through the Outer Cape, briefly making the area north of Fort Hill in Eastham an island. Coast Guard Beach in Eastham was decimated. The vast 350-space parking lot collapsed forever changing the landscape of one of the Cape's most popular beaches. South of the Coast Guard station Fo'castle was pulled into the ocean by the raging waves. It was pushed back into the marsh and eventually torn to pieces.

The end of the Outermost House (Marilyn Schofield)

    The Outermost House was claimed by the very sea that Henry Beston romanticized in his book. Today there are no remains of the shack on the sandy spit south of Eastham's Coast Guard station. Since 1969 the beach has lost over 300-feet of shoreline making the Outermost House's original resting place under water now.

    Despite the changing shoreline due to erosion the solitude of the beaches on the Outer Cape are still soothing. They are a tremendous reminder of a simpler time on Cape Cod and in the world. They are also a reminder of how small we as humans are in this world. Henry Beston captured much of the allure and spirit in the Outermost House. Luckily one can still enjoy the expanse of sand and sea even if Fo'castle itself is all but a memory.

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View my previous blog posts: 

In Their Footsteps: Cape Cod History - The Nantucket Lightship Station

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In Their Footsteps: Cape Cod History - The Cape's Conservation Story

     The world’s population as of 2020 is 7.8 billion people. The total land area of the planet is 148.94 million square miles as of 2017, and that includes areas not suitable for human habitation. As the population continues to grow developable land is becoming more and more of a premium.

     It is true everywhere including Cape Cod. The population of the peninsula as of 2018 was 213,471. This is up a whopping 300% from the population of 70,286 in 1960. According to a United States Geological Survey in 2018 Cape Cod has lost approximately 4,400 acres of land due to erosion over the preceding 100 years. This means as the population grows usable lands shrinks.

     A major development in the 20th century was that of land conservation to protect and maintain the beauty of nature for generations to come. The conservation of land in American began in 1901 when Theodore Roosevelt was elected President. Roosevelt established 150 national forests, 51 federal bird reserves, 4 national game preserves, 5 national parks and 18 national monuments on more than 230 million acres of public land.

Theodore Roosevelt at Yosemite National Park c.1903 (National Park Service)

     Cape Cod has its own share of beloved conservation areas such as the Cape Cod National Seashore and Nickerson State Park. These are two of the biggest parcels of conserved land on Cape Cod and only two of many. However it all began somewhere. The movement toward preserving the natural beauty of Cape Cod ensuring that it would not be developed as the population grew. This is the story of the beginnings of the conservation movement on the Cape.

     Though President Roosevelt brought the conservation of land to the forefront in 1901 in Massachusetts protecting the natural resources began a bit earlier. In April 1891 the state established The Trustees of Public Reservations for the purpose of ‘acquiring, holding, arranging, maintaining and opening to the public...beautiful and historical places and tracts of land in the state.’ In 1954 it dropped the ‘Public’ from its name and as of 2020 it owns, assists with, or holds under conservation restrictions more than 72,000 acres of land in Massachusetts.

     In June 1909 a Bill was signed by Governor Eben Draper for improvements to aide the conservation of Bass River entrance. The $10,000 ($281,000 in 2020) Bill allowed for the restoration of stone jetties to help prevent shoaling and slow erosion. Also in 1909 the first public wellfield was created in Truro in the interest of protecting aquifer lands; this wellfield served Provincetown.

     In March 1913 the Dennis Village Improvement Society created the first public park on Cape Cod. This was located on what was called the North Mill Lot, at the meeting of New Boston Rd. and Nobscussett Rd. This was where the first windmill in town was built in 1745. Today the Dennis Village Playground still stands at the site. In 1920 the first steps were made to protect the wondrous Sandy Neck. Two acres of land was donated to the Town of Barnstable by John D.W. Bodfish in the memory of his father Benjamin in 1920. It was given to assure that the public could have access to the beach. After many more donations of land over the last century Sandy Neck Beach Park stands at 4,700 acres of natural beauty preserved with 1,500 acres open for all to enjoy. Nickerson State Park was born in September 1934 when Roland C. Nickerson’s widow Addie donated 1,900 acres of land to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

A marker for North Mill Lot with the Dennis Playground behind it.

     Various donations were made over the years helping to increase the amount of protected Cape Cod land. Eventually though it became necessary to create organizations dedicated to the acquisition and conservation of lands on the Cape. The first such organization came early in 1958 with the creation of a Conservation Commission in Barnstable.

     The largest addition to conservation land on Cape Cod came in August 1961. It was then that more than 43,000 acres of land on the Outer Cape was designated by President John F. Kennedy as the Cape Cod National Seashore. Inside the Seashore boundaries include such Cape Cod icons as Nauset Lighthouse, Coast Guard Beach, the Marconi Wireless Site, the Peaked Hill Bars Dune Shacks, and many more. In 2014 alone more than 4.4 million people paid visits to this crown jewel of Cape Cod conservation.

The high cliffs of Wellfleet in the Cape Cod National Seashore.

     A year after the creation of the National Seashore came another landmark in the Cape’s conservation efforts. Town conservation commissions had been popping up throughout Cape Cod in the years prior, however in 1962 the first private nonprofit land trust organization was formed. In August 1962 the Chatham Conservation Foundation was formed with the help of Robert McNeece, a town Selectman, former President of the Chatham Chamber of Commerce, and would become the head of the Cape Cod Baseball League from 1972-1976.

     The first land gift given to the Chatham Conservation Foundation came from Dorothea W. Smith on October 23, 1962. Her donation was Fox Hill Island, a 2.5 acre property located in Pleasant Bay just off of Eastward Point. Since that generous first donation the foundation had received many more to the tune of 224 parcels of land totaling more than 800 acres today.

     The concept of the nonprofit land trust was a success and as of 2016 there were 1,800 such entities in America with about 140 in Massachusetts alone. In 1986 the Compact of Cape Cod Conservation Trusts, Inc. was formed and currently works with 27 local and regional trusts for the continued protection and management of open space properties.

     For more than a century Cape Cod has been protecting and preserving much of its natural beauty for generations gone by and generations to come. There are giants like the Cape Cod National Seashore and Nickerson State Park. There are popular spots like Crowe’s Pasture in Dennis and South Cape Beach State Park in Mashpee. There are also lesser known gems like Monks Park in Pocasset and Bell’s Neck in Harwich. There is no shortage of beauty and wonder located outdoors on Cape Cod. Take a drive, take a ride, take a walk, just get out and enjoy it.

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My 5th book, Cape Cod Nights, is on sale at Amazon.com and through Arcadia Publishing

View my previous blog posts: In Their Footsteps: Cape Cod History - Cape Cod and the Telephone

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In Their Footsteps: Cape Cod History - Cape Cod's Woodstock

The original Woodstock music festival is widely considered to be one of the most important moments in the history of music. From August 15-18, 1969 an estimated 400,000 people crowded onto Max Yasgur’s farm in Bethel, New York. The list of musical acts that played during the festival reads like a who’s who of icons. Legends like Jimi Hendrix, Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, The Who, and more graced the stage enthralling the crowd. 

Two years later in August 1971 former Beatle George Harrison and Indian sitarist Ravi Shankar organized the Concert for Bangladesh. Taking place in New York City’s Madison Square Garden it was a pair of benefit shows to raise money and awareness for the refugees of East Pakistan, following the Bangladesh Liberation War-related genocide. The shows were attended by 40,000 people and by 1985 the concerts and subsequent investments had raised nearly $12 million. 

One year later in May 1972 those first two events collided in the dunes of Provincetown on Cape Cod. An idea was hatched for a Woodstock-type concert benefiting Bangladesh. Who organized it? Who played it? Was it a success? This is the story of Cape Cod’s Woodstock. 

The roots of this event began in December 1965 with the creation of the Provincetown Academy of Living Arts. This was a nonprofit year-round arts center where students and professional artists alike could study and perform. However after two years the organization was still looking for a physical home base for operations. In 1969 they expanded their operations and began holding and sponsoring art festivals. Things came together when 20-year old Harwich resident David Blackmore pitched the idea of the day long outdoors music and arts festival to the organization in early 1972. It was to be a free event hopefully with donations from attendees going to support Bangladesh. Although there was minor resistance from locals the Cape Cod National Seashore granted the festival. Dubbed the Provincetown Music and Arts Festival it was promoted throughout New England by Blackmore, something beyond what the National Seashore had anticipated. Despite that fact Blackmore expected only between 1,000-1,500 people to show up. 

The location chosen for the event was the Province Lands Amphitheater, which could seat 700, with a date of Sunday May 28, 1972. It was scheduled during one of the busiest weekends of the year, Memorial Day Weekend. It was a nearly-perfect weekend weather-wise. Not only was the event given the green light by the Cape Cod National Seashore, a section of dunes on Race Point Beach was opened up to allow concert goers who could not find accommodations a place to sleep. People, cars, motorcycles, and more lined the dunes and the streets of Provincetown. It was a far larger crowd than Blackmore had anticipated filled with hippies, Hells Angels, and more. Rumors would permeate the crowd in the time leading up to the show of potential big name acts at the event all the way up to a Beatles reunion. None of those rumors came to pass though. 

The Province Lands Amphitheater

(Christopher Setterlund)

The show began at 10am on Sunday and was packed with bands from the Cape and Boston. The top performer as far as Cape Codders go was Marie Marcus, the Cape’s First Lady of Jazz. However the top performer for connections to present-day was The Daddy Warbucks Band. At the time they had toured with Rod Stewart. Two of the members of the band were Marshall Bruce Mathers and his wife Debbie, their son, born only a few months after the show, went on to become iconic rapper Eminem. The other acts on the bill were: Albatross, who played in Falmouth; Flight, a brass band from Springfield; Keith Troupe, a newly formed band in the Harwich-Chatham area; L Z Band, a blue and jazz band from Boston; and Sadbird, recently of the Groggery in Boston. 

Thousands in attendance at the festival.
(Cape Cod National Seashore Archives)

All in all somewhere between 8-12,000 people crowded in and around the Race Point Amphitheater to hear the live music and show their support. Unfortunately the large, lively crowd for the event did not translate to large donations for Bangladesh. Before the festival was over it was announced that a mere $100 had been collected from those in attendance, or roughly $1 for every 120 people. It did not stop there as in the aftermath of the show it was revealed by Provincetown Police Chief James Meades that the festival may have been more harm than good. 

Crowds of people around the Province Lands Visitors Center
(Cape Cod National Seashore Archives)

The large number of people on the dunes caused extensive damage. The night before many had torn up beach fencing and shingles from National Seashore buildings to burn for warmth. Drug and alcohol use ran rampant before and during the event and at one point part of the Province Lands Visitors Center’s roof was set on fire. The end result was Meades proclaiming he would go to Federal court to file and injunction if another similar festival was ever planned. In spite of all that then-Superintendent of the Cape Cod National Seashore Leslie Arnberger applauded the efforts of the Park Rangers and the members of the U.S. Park Police that had been dispatched from Washington D.C. for keeping the enormous festival relatively contained. 

It was a moment in history of Cape Cod and the youth of the early 1970’s. It was an event not likely to ever be duplicated, or even allowed, on the Cape again. For one day in May 1972 Woodstock, Bangladesh, and Cape Cod culture all converged in the dunes of Provincetown. 

My 5th book, Cape Cod Nights, is on sale at Amazon.com and through Arcadia Publishing

View my previous blog posts: In Their Footsteps: Cape Cod History - The Wreck of the Montclair

In My Footsteps: Hudson, New York

                              

Cape Cod Sunsets 2020 Calendar available at Zazzle here: Cape Cod Living Store

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In My Footsteps: Cape Cod - Doane Rock & Doane Memorial

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In My Footsteps: Cape Cod - Jenny Lind Tower

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In My Footsteps: Trip 13: Wellfleet, Mass.

In My Footsteps

Christopher Setterlund

Trip 13: Wellfleet, Mass.

January 26, 2010

            Nestled deep in the heart of the Cape Cod National Seashore, Wellfleet is a picture perfect example of vintage Cape Cod.  Any turn off of Rt. 6 will lead you into the natural wonders of the Seashore, you can’t go wrong with any road you choose.  Wellfleet also houses one of the last remaining Drive-In theaters in the country; this is open during the warmer months and is a trip down memory lane.

            The first spot I found was actually a left turn off of Rt. 6.  In the hopes of finding a spot I had never before seen I took a turn onto Coles Neck Road.  The area I found was Bound Brook Island.  It consists of an amazing scenic beach(left) but getting to it is the hardest part.  Bound Brook Island Road is dirt and uneven, it might be better to park and walk or bike to it if you do not have a four-wheel drive vehicle.  The land along side the road comes up a few feet and makes it feel like you are driving down a chute; there are very few places to turn around until the small beach parking lot.

            Once you make it to the beach though it will all seem worth it.  There is a sandy pathway leading over the dunes to a beach with a tremendous view across Cape Cod Bay.  On a clear day it is possible to see straight across to Plymouth and other South Shore communities.  The view from the shore is amazing, but there is another spot that has the best view of all.  There is a sloping sandy hill at the beach at the end of Bound Brook Island Road with a path leading to its seventy-plus foot high peak.  From there you will feel like you can see from Provincetown to Maine.  This view in and of itself made the tough trek to the beach a mere footnote.

            The next place I visited is a lot like Bound Brook Island.  It is an island and is very difficult to get to, but the views are worth it.  Lieutenant Island is a little south of Bound Brook and is only accessible at low tide.  There is a bridge which passes over the marshy area(right) and although this bridge is slightly elevated the surrounding land is underwater at high tide.  If you plan to visit please check tide charts as it would be easy to become stranded.  The dirt roads can be treacherous so as with Bound Brook Island it is better to hike or take a bicycle if you do not have a sufficient vehicle.       

            Lieutenant Island is filled with summer homes and on this day was virtually deserted.  It is quiet and secluded in the colder months with beach views of Loagy Bay to the east and Cape Cod Bay to the west.  At times it can be an odd sort of clash between the wetlands and forest areas but that unpredictable scenery is what adds to the allure of this tiny island.

            The next area I visited is much easier to get to.  The Marconi Station Site is on the Atlantic Ocean side of Wellfleet and hovers precariously above a sharp cliff and pounding surf.  The site is a dedication to Guglielmo Marconi who in 1901 oversaw the building of the first transatlantic wireless telegraph station: The first radio station.  In 1903 the first wireless message was sent from a spot not too far from the dedication site across the Atlantic from President Theodore Roosevelt to King Edward VII of England.  The station that once stood here also was one of the first to receive distress calls from the Titanic after it struck the iceberg in 1912.

            There is a platform on a hill near the dedication site that offers a wide view of the Atlantic and the Seashore lands surrounding the Marconi site(right).  The site originally had four 210-foot tall wooden towers in a square around the transmitter building when built.  Due to heavy erosion of the cliffs however the site only remained operational for sixteen years and was closed and dismantled in 1917.  This is a great place for historians and nature lovers alike to visit.  Seeing the small scale model of the original Marconi site it is easy to close your eyes and imagine seeing those giant towers from all around Wellfleet.

            As awe-inspiring as the Marconi site and scale model are for historians there is a place that produces the same feeling for nature lovers just across the parking lot.  A mile long hike into the sandy pine forest will lead you to the White Cedar Swamp(left) which seems so out of place along the beaches and ocean.  The land leading up to the swamp is common for Cape Cod but the White Cedar Swamp seems to come up out of nowhere.  There is a boardwalk to lead you through the area.  The trees block out most of the sun allowing only trickles of light to splash through to the water.  It is a dusky feeling even in midday that is strange and beautiful.  It is one of the most recommended spots to visit on all of Cape Cod as words and images can only do so much to describe this wondrous setting.

            At the end of the day Wellfleet takes its places among the other Cape Cod towns with its share of nature and history that sums up what the Cape is all about.  Rt. 6 is barren and quiet at this time of year but during the summer months lodging and food are easy to find.  No matter the time of year though the sites of Wellfleet can be enjoyed by any visitor.  Have fun and happy traveling!

Directions: Bound Brook Island: From Rt. 6 head north past Wellfleet Center.  Turn left onto Coles Neck Rd.  This road becomes Bound Brook Island Rd.  Follow it for about a mile and turn left, this is still Bound Brook Island Rd.  Follow the road straight to the beach, go slow and be careful the road is dirt and narrow.

Lieutenant Island: From Rt. 6 head north about 1.5 miles past the Wellfleet Drive-In.  Turn left onto Lieutenant Island Rd.  Follow it over the bridge at the marsh.  Drive slowly and carefully as the island roads are dirt and fragile.

Marconi Site & White Cedar Swamp: From Rt. 6 turn right onto Marconi Beach Rd.  Bear left and follow road to parking lot.  Marconi Site is toward the beach.  White Cedar Swamp is located on far left of parking lot designated by a sign.

References: History of the Marconi Site

            Welcome to Wellfleet

            Hiking Lieutenant Island

Wellfleet on Dwellable