6 days ago
From trash to treasure, one Harbor Island's glorious evolution
The sun rises to the right of the Graves Light.
Stan Grossfeld
After a half-hour boat ride, the 21st century melts away. Here there are no residential houses, no cars, no electricity (except for the welcome center), no TVs, and no public WiFi. After the last boat departs, there are no people here except for the caretaker. Everything carried in must be carried out. The camp sites offer stunning sunrises over the ocean, magnificent sunsets over the skyline, and miles of unspoiled trails.
'All I see is happy birds and chill coyotes. It's my happy place,' Enkelhart said. 'That's the cheesiest thing I think I've ever said in my life, but I mean it.'
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Spectacle Island was named because it resembles a pair of eyeglasses, two drumlins separated by a narrow spit.
Campers arrive at Spectacle Island for the first overnight camping trip. The island is a carry in, carry out experience.
Stan Grossfeld
It used to be a dump, literally. It had a horse rendering plant, and grease reclamation facility. There was a smallpox quarantine hospital here and ships with known cases were required to stop and quarantine there. It had two hotels in the 19th century until the cops busted them for illegal gambling.
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In the 1920s, 100 people resided here, and they even had a little red schoolhouse. In the '30s, the final factory closed, and it became Boston's garbage dump from 1935 to 1959.
In 1992, the Big Dig sediment was used to fill in and cap off the landfill. The highest part of the island is now 255 feet and affords amazing views in all directions. After the planting of thousands of trees and shrubs, the park opened to the public in 2006.
The National Parks Service calls it 'trash turned into treasure.'
Camping was allowed in the spit of land between the two drumlins on Spectacle Island.
Stan Grossfeld
This event quickly sold out. One hundred campers paid $39.19 to have the 114-acre island all to themselves after hours. That included a park ranger guided sunset nature walk, musical bingo, and art activities, Subway sandwiches for dinner, and a continental breakfast on Sunday. After Saturday night's sunset, there were s'mores by the fire on the beach. Everyone seemed to channel their inner 10-year-olds.
It's a nature lover's delight. Rangers reported a white-tailed deer was spotted on the island this season and the list of birds seen here looks like an Audubon Who's Who.
Each direction offers amazing views.
A swinging hammock in the shade is the place to be on a summer's day at Spectacle Island.
Stan Grossfeld
Neighboring Long Island Hospital looks haunted. The airport runway is like clockwork with planes at peak times landing two minutes apart. The boat traffic on President Roads, Boston's main shipping lane, is hustle and bustle with everything from cruise ships to giant tankers. The Port of Boston's Conley Terminal in South Boston looks bigger and more formidable from the sea.
Star gazing isn't great, as it's too close to the city lights, which gives full moon intensity light to the island.
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Rebecca Smerling, director of programs for Boston Harbor Now, calls Spectacle 'the jewel of the harbor cleanup.'
Campers with headlamps look for sea glass and other artifacts.
Stan Grossfeld
'I was talking to some people who don't even have a car,' Smerling said, 'and they just love the idea that they could take the subway [and ferry] to a camping site.'
There's a small beach with a designated swimming area and a shower and changing areas. But there's also a posted sign warning visitors that pieces of asbestos have been found on the beaches at Spectacle Island
Sometimes weird things happen here.
Campers of all ages toast marshmallows for s'mores on the beach at night.
Stan Grossfeld
'A full horse jaw will come up occasionally (from) when it was a horse-rendering plant,' Smerling said.
The overnight is quiet except for a bunch of coyote pups who kick up a ruckus and some boaters who anchor in the harbor and party into the night.
Sunday morning predawn, one camper sits with his back to the city and the ocean comes to life out toward the Graves Light. Next to him is the Krystle Campbell Gazebo, dedicated to the former Spectacle Island catering manager who died in the Boston Marathon bombings. Her smiling photo brings a tinge of sadness.
Rook Zheng of Stoneham climbs to the top of the southern drumlin of Spectacle Island to view the sunrise.
Stan Grossfeld
Rook Zheng of Stoneham thought about sleeping in but instead hiked to the top of the South Drumlin for the views. She got treated to a sunrise that looked like a living Grateful Dead logo. Sunshine Daydream, indeed.
'Oh my ... that was amazing. Glad I woke up. That was definitely worth it,' said Zheng, a biotech researcher.
She thinks that to make Spectacle camping accessible on a regular basis like Peddocks Island is a tough call.
'It's debatable. It's a really nice trail,' she said. 'If you start doing campsites, then you inevitably change the landscape of this island.'
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On the ride back, most campers raved about the experience.
A camper watches boat traffic on President Roads at dawn.
Stan Grossfeld
John Harris of Topsfield had visited there a half century ago when he was 14, accompanying his mother, who lived there with her family in the early 1930s. Her photo is even in the historical video in the welcome center.
'There were no structures left,' Harris said. 'We went up the island just trying to see where she lived. She found a rock. It was round like a bowling ball and she remembers as a child rolling that across the floor. They would use that to weigh down a plate atop the sauerkraut to keep the cabbage submerged in vinegar. And we brought it home.'
A happy camper takes a joyous shower after swimming at Spectacle Island.
Stan Grossfeld
He said the Spectacle Island rebirth would have pleased his mother, who passed away in 2015.
'Now, it looks great. When the Big Dig came, the soil out there was barren, and I never thought anything would flourish,' Harris said. 'But now, looking at it, it's amazing what they've done.'
At dawn, tents surround the Krystle Campbell Gazebo, dedicated to the former Spectacle Island catering manager who died in the Boston Marathon bombings.
Stan Grossfeld
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