by Lisa Cristal
I had heard about the hidden hiking trail between Truro and Provincetown. You park your car by the side of the local highway and just walk straight to the ocean.
It’s approximately 30 minutes of uphill and downhill sand. The beginning is the hardest as the hills are bigger there and you haven’t achieved your rhythm. The sand is endless, the light beautiful, and the area is littered with beach roses, sea grass, but mostly sand. There are no trees or facilities so you need to bring food and water. Be prepared for the sun beating down on hot, sunny days. But, there are many rewards, especially if you pick a cool, clear day and there are few others walking.
The first time I hiked it was just such a day. I went with two friends; one, our leader who had walked the trail many times with her family, and the other, a novice like me.
After climbing the first hills we noticed a few gray, wind-worn cottages in the distance. They were small and spaced far apart from each other and did not look well kept. Most were surrounded by sand or windswept scrubby pines and sea grass. As they were not directly on the path, I only could see the wood planks or shingles of the homes with some glass windows winking through. You could imagine them as the first small homemade cabins built by homesteaders.
As much as I wished to be Goldilocks staring into the Three Bears’ house, I sensed that the dune shacks and their occupants garnered privacy. I noticed that no one left the trail to look in the windows or bother the owners.
But I was so curious about the shacks. I learned that some of the original ones were part of an old lifeguard station. By the 1920’s, artists arrived seeking the solitude and beauty of the area. You can’t drive to the shacks, but you can park your car about two miles away. There’s no running water or electricity and kerosene lamps and propane gas are the norm. You must hand pump water and bring it to your cabin. Some homes have attached outhouses.
Nature is close and sometimes in the shacks. Mice reside in the dwellings.
The winds shift and sand is everywhere. In the spring, residents who have been away for the winter must dig their way into their shack. Houses that were once beachfront can relocate without moving by losing their ocean vistas. Others, such as the one Eugene O’Neill resided in, have fallen in the ocean during storms. Artists and writers like Jack Kerouac, Norman Mailer, Jackson Pollock, Willem De Kooning, E.E. Cummings and Mary Oliver found inspiration there. Some people have stayed for decades. Currently there is controversy over ownership of the dune shacks but that is another story. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/06/us/cape-cod-dune-shacks.html
If you keep on the path you end up at the Atlantic Ocean. On my first visit the three of us were the only people making the hike. At the ocean, we were greeted by a woman running in and out of the waves. She told us she used to hike there with a friend who has died. Now she goes there each year and jumps in the ocean to honor her friend’s memory.
The beach is wide in length but the distance between the path and the ocean is narrow. At certain times of year it is made smaller because the nesting grounds for the plovers are cordoned off. Some days you can spot napping seals sunning on shore or swimming nearby.
The peacefulness of the place is unparalleled; a gift at the end of the path and a marked contrast to the public Cape Cod beaches.
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You can enter a lottery to stay in a beach shack. My friend who took me there has entered. She has promised me a night if she wins.
Lisa Cristal is a retired attorney who believed that she could not write anything other than threatening letters and briefs. Thanks to the Writing Workshop study group for disabusing her of that notion.