Mud, geese and a rainbow: Hiking to Fox Island in Wellfleet

WELLFLEET — The island in the marsh had mystified me for years. What was it called? What was out there? Was it full of strange animals, like giant opossums that had evolved in a peculiar way?

I would ask myself these questions as I hiked around Indian Neck in Wellfleet over the years. On the eastern side, there's a huge marsh and the island sits in the middle like a big cucumber. Every once in a while, I would take a few steps into the marsh toward the island, but my hiking boots would immediately sink into the mud. I would retreat and yell "dang it!"

First I had to figure out the island's name. There were enough clues, even for a chucklehead like me. Place names in the area included Fox Island Road, the Fox Island Wildlife Management Area and the Fox Island Marsh and Pilgrim Spring Woodlands Conservation Area.

There seemed to be a theme. Could it perhaps be Fox Island? I still wasn't sure, so I reached out to the Open Space Guru, better known as Mark Robinson, executive director of The Compact of Cape Cod Conservation Trusts. If there's a wild place on the Cape, Mark has been there.

I sent him a map of the area, with a pointer aimed at the green blob in the marsh and the burning question: "is this Fox Island?"

"Yes" was the answer. And, of course, the amazing Mark had been there. "I jumped the crick once!" he wrote. He also added that about half of the approximately four-acre island is owned by the Wellfleet Conservation Trust and the other half is part of the state's Fox Island Wildlife Management Area.

With that settled, I dug my Kamik Icebreaker boots out of the garage. Crossing a marsh is messy business, and those amazing boots had guided me through many shellfishing expeditions on the muddy flats of Wellfleet. They could handle the slop I was headed for.

The Curious Prius and I chugged out to Indian Neck and came to rest near a town landing. I alighted, switched into the big boots and trekked over to the edge of the marsh. This time, I was going to make it.

A lot of squelching ensued as the marsh mud tried to take me down. But I kept going and jumped Mark's Crick. A few steps more and I was standing at the edge of Fox Island, an incredible triumph!

I immediately renamed the place "Foxy Eric Island," to give it some panache. I was about to put up a big neon sign to make it official, but then I saw the rainbow. The combination of illuminated marsh grass and crazy-colored sky arch was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen, an awesome reward for stumbling around in the mud like a nut.

The top of the island was fairly open, populated mostly by pine trees. I trekked around, planning spots for the chalet, hot tub, helipad and two lane bowling alley. Then I realized it was kind of nice the way it was. The surrounding marsh glowed in the late afternoon sun and the quiet was intoxicating.

Then I heard a bunch of honking. It seemed like every Canada goose on Cape Cod had arrived for a big meeting in the marsh. I know a bit of goose language, and not surprisingly, they all seemed to be saying "let's poop on a golf course." I was going to walk out and give the gaggle a piece of my mind, but those birds are scary!

I settled into island life, which mainly involved sitting on a hummock and humming Jimmy Buffett tunes. I declared myself emperor and started a new civilization based on a pine cone currency. I started to gather all the pine cones, but then my gloves got sticky. So I renounced the throne and transferred all my powers to a particularly attractive horseshoe crab shell.

Perhaps someday I would return with a better plan. But the sun was setting, a chill was creeping over the marsh and I had some chubby sausages at home that needed fry pan love. Adieu, Fox Island!

Eric Williams, when not solving Curious Cape Cod mysteries, writes about a variety of ways to enjoy the Cape, the weather, wildlife and other subjects. Contact him at ewilliams@capecodonline.com. Follow him on X: @capecast.

Thanks to our subscribers, who help make this coverage possible. If you are not a subscriber, please consider supporting quality local journalism with a Cape Cod Times subscription. Here are our subscription plans.

This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Cape Cod hiking: A journey to Fox Island in Wellfleet