e x p l o r e n a n t u c k e t
with Peter B. Brace

LONG POND IN REVERSE I'm going through paddling withdrawal this week.

The wind - both southwest and then three days of northeast - that buffeted the island last week and into the weekend kept me off the water most of the week. The last time I got out there was last Tuesday evening after I got off deadline, and even then the southwest wind was still honking when it usually lies down as the sun sets.

I did get some relief Wednesday afternoon when I push-raked for scallops off Pocomo Point in about six feet of water with waves occasionally breaking over me. I got soaked, but I got a bushel in about two hours despite the warnings from the wader-clad masses closer to shore who said I shouldn't even bother. Yup, being seven feet tall and wearing a wetsuit definitely helps.

So, I went for a walk through the eelgrass and picked up a few scallops along the way, and I got to be in the harbor at the same time. Not that I won't get out in the kayak again, but I think those trips are waning as we approach the dark of daylight savings time and the colder weather, so that got me thinking that maybe it's time for my webbed feet to evolve into hiking boots for terrestrial ramblings.

I chose a hike along Long Pond on Saturday as a way to transition inland from the water. Having paddled this pond plenty of times and walked along it, it's the logical choice for the always rocky conversion to walking from kayaking.

There are two ways to explore this pond, one of which I've already covered in my previous series for The Nantucket Beacon, "Walking the Walks." For this hike, I chose to walk up Massasoit Bridge Road, a dirt road that leads to several houses, runs behind the Nantucket Landfill and eventually deposits you out on Madaket Road near Barrett Farm Road. But I'm didn't walk that far because I did want to see the pond.

The hike begins on the south side of the narrow wooden bridge at the Long Pond end of South Cambridge Street. Once over the bridge, immediately go left up onto a grassy area next to a wooden gate marked with a Nantucket Islands Land Bank sign. From where you park, walk back out to the road and hook a sharp left onto Massasoit Bridge Road.

Walk past all the driveways and their houses, ignoring whatever turns you come to until you reach a small overgrown pond down off to the right side of the road. Opposite the pond is a left turn into the brush. This trail leads out to Long Pond and eventually runs along it. Although arcing at first to the north, the trail quickly winds around to the northwest.

You'll know you're at the pond when you reach a small clearing with a short trail on its north side running down to the water's edge. You might encounter a few red-wing blackbirds down near the pond in spring, summer and early fall, and if you walk closer to dusk, you'll find that there are still some black-crowned night herons working the shallows of the ponds. Great blue herons hang around later and sometimes through the winter, so walk quietly and you may see these majestic slate-blue water birds before they fly off at the slightest sound or movement, as they are quite skittish and love their privacy.

Long Pond, like Hummock and Miacomet ponds, is a year-round habitat for Nantucket's flock

of mute swans. You'll likely see these large pond dwellers paddling out in the middle of the pond and, if you're lucky, flying low in formation over the water.

Take a walk along Long Pond and you just may encounter a mute swan.

When you've finished spotting waterfowl from the edge of the pond, walk back up to the meadow and continue on the trail, keeping the pond on your right as you walk west-southwest. Beware of pond birds that you might see along this part of the walk, but also be on the lookout for northern harriers and red-tailed hawks. Northern harriers fly low, hovering in the wind just over the brush and closer to the ground looking for rodents while red-tailed hawks can be seen soaring above or perched on telephone poles or house chimneys scouting for the same food.

You'll also encounter a telephone pole converted into a nesting platform for ospreys, but this time of year the ospreys are on their way down south or are already lounging in the South American sun. Come back in early spring and maybe you can spot the first osprey of the season.

After the osprey nest pole, the trail takes a dogleg away from the pond and then resumes a parallel track along it. At this point, look for a right turn down a narrower trail that takes you closer to the pond and back to the parking area. Ignore this turn and you'll end up back out on Massasoit Bridge Road near some of the houses.

I love this walk on windy days when I want to be protected from the winds and also during the spring when the pond is bustling with bird activity.

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