Monday, July 14, 2014

Very Low Tides Make for a Great Walk on the West End Tidal Flats

With the full moon comes not only a few days of quite high tides, but also some exceptionally low tides as well. I don't pretend to know how all that moon and tide stuff works, but I've noticed that a very low tide and a very high tide seem to go hand in hand. Whenever I see a very low tide it seems to be pretty well guaranteed to be followed by a high tide that exceeds the average high tide mark, that dark strip that runs the length of the breakwater in the West End.
When the tide is this low you can easily walk across the tidal flats along the left side of the breakwater all the way out to that little spit of sand that leads out to Long Point, the very tip of Cape Cod. It's a little less strenuous, perhaps, than walking out on the breakwater, where you sometimes end up having to hop from one rock to the next, although you'll use a different set of muscles walking barefoot in the wet sand that squishes up between your toes. It's a good idea to do a few gentle stretches of your legs and feet before and after you take this walk, and again before you go to bed, particularly if you're not used to this sort of walking. And you might want to take a small pail along for interesting shells and other treasures you'll likely find along the way.

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