Getting gnarly in Back Bay/False Cape

After a week of the most solid and consistent surf of the year (check out surfline’s feature: http://www.surfline.com/surf-news/east-coast-swell_41968/), Saturday, March 20’s conditions left plenty to be desired. The swell finally backed off to traces after providing one last fun push Friday night. South-southwest winds winds blew in even warmer air temperatures and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky.

Word was there was still some waist- to stomach-high surf in the Outer Banks, but Josh Alley and I decided against committing our resources to chasing those kind of waves, especially after scoring super-fun waves seven out of the last eight days.

Recently, we had talked about how cool it would be to kayak from Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge – toting surfboards and gear – to False Cape Landing, hike across and get some surf.

So with the surf knee high in Sandbridge and actually pushing through in the Outer Banks, we thought a scouting expedition to False Cape would be a great way to spend a day on the water without getting out of town – a change-up of sorts to pounding pavement in search of waves. Plus, we thought we could happen across a fun sandbar doing its thing down there, possibly in the waist-high range.

Scoring surf was a fairly low priority on this trip. It would have been nice, but this was more about figuring out the best way to approach a trip like this – to see whether or not it was possible.

After glancing at a map, we learned pretty quickly that this kind of trip is suited best for an overnighter. We faced six-mile paddle to False Cape and a half-mile trek to the beach from the landing.

Still, we figured an hour’s session would still be possible if we played our cards right, so we went for it. Surfboards were strapped to the kayaks’ backs with bungees, gear, food and water were packed away in the holds and we were off… straight into the teeth of a 10-15 mph southwest wind.

This made the trip down extremely exhausting, with plenty of wind resistance and water splashing into our boats. We decided quickly that the much closer Barbour Hill Landing would be our best bet, then walking across the spit to get to the beach.

On our way, Mother Nature put on quite a wildlife show. Within a three-minute span, we saw a kingfisher, a bald eagle and a herd of deer actually charging through some shallows near the marsh. So unreal.

After the nearly two-hour, highly physical paddle, we arrived at Barbour Hill Landing ready for our hike. It was nice to use the legs after the upper body workout we just endured. We hiked around the west side of the giant dune, which is only about 10 feet shorter than Jockey’s Ridge in Nags Head, but far more vegetated. The ecosystem of the high dune and the swale below offered an interesting contrast.

After the three-mile hike, we arrived at the beach to find sub-standard surf. It looked rideable, but marginal. We decided to save energy by resting then hiking back to continue what we believed to be the much easier paddle back. After all, the wind would be at our backs.

And it was. As the sun set behind Back Bay, offering one of the best panoramas I have ever seen, we rode the wind and its tiny swell back towards the refuge’s landing five miles ahead.

Then the sun went down.

Things change in a hurry on Back Bay during twilight. Sillhouettes make judging points of land difficult, and things just look different and eeire out there.

We got a little mixed up in a cove as the sun disappeared, but Josh’s iPhone had GPS, so we were covered. We were definitely stoked he packed that thing.

All in all, it was definitely an exhausting day of adventuring through the region’s mot pristine natural area. It’s crazy to think that False Cape State Park is fully enclosed in Virginia Beach’s city limits.

But this trip would be much better suited as an overnighter, and with the promise of actual solid surf. Still, I’m stoked we scouted it out and learned a ton about what to do down there.