78: Two Walks

B A V O N,  V A



   After the requisite walk to the end of the boardwalk for a cool view of the lighthouse, I wonder what else I can do to garner more essence from this marshy property.  Satellite views show no trails to its interior or shoreline.  There’s just too much water.  And reading materials mention nothing but this boardwalk.  That’s not enough though.  I want more from this visit to New Point Comfort Natural Area Preserve. 


The property has a violent history.  In the 1930’s a hurricane ripped through here severing the lighthouse from the mainland; literally washing the tail-end of this peninsula away.  The lighthouse, now a locally iconic monument, sits on a rip-rap island several hundred yards from shore accessible only by kayak. 


The 105-acre property from which the lighthouse was severed is now owned by The Nature Conservancy and managed by Virginia’s Natural Area Preserve program.  As with most of the state’s natural area preserves, this undeveloped peninsula tip plays an important ecological role: it provides ideal habitat for several rare plants and animals.  Hence, its protection.  


From a public access standpoint though, only the planks of the short boardwalk are featured in the information about this sensitive property.  Nonetheless, I have a tendency to poke and prod when visiting places, so after walking the planks, I walk back along the access road and find a hint of an opening in the tall Phragmite reeds.  A wildlife trail perhaps?  


I slip between the reeds and begin weaving along the barely-visible trail to its unknown destination.  I feel like Moses parting the Red Sea.  Walled in by head-high reeds, it’s hard to see where this path leads.  The going is slow but the sun keeps me directionally-oriented.  Were this any other season, I’d be eaten alive by insects.  But in mid-December, I wander unattacked.  


Not surprisingly, the path eventually turns too marshy.   Poking and prodding at New Point Comfort has come to an end.  I stand in the quiet for a few minutes, and then snap a few pictures before retreating.  A short jaunt but long enough to extract extra essence.  After walking the planks and still needing more, adding a second walk through the reeds has brought more lushness to the memory of this very cool and important property.  



Learn more about New Point Comfort here
Location: 99 State Rte 600, Port Haywood, VA 23138, USA

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