To the Top: A Memorial Day adventure
By Richard Brendel
Since the mid 90s, the inside of the Morris Island Lighthouse has been closed off to all but a select few individuals affiliated with the non-profit group, Save The Light. The Lighthouse became even more inaccessible with the installation of a coffer dam in the fall of 2007. The Saturday of this past Memorial Day weekend was the day I finally got to go inside.
Photo by Amy Polston
Our adventure started at the old Coast Guard Station at the Northeastern corner of Folly Beach. We stood at the end of the beach waiting for our ride; I in my work boots and my photographer friend, Amy, in long pants and tennis shoes. Around us were Memorial Day beach goers in their bikinis and board shorts. Beached boats lined both sides of the Lighthouse Inlet with flags flying and grills firing. The scene reminded me of the infield at a NASCAR race.
We met our leader, Al Hitchcock of Save the Light, on his boat and he tendered us across the channel to the sandbar that was once the famous Morris Island. Once the boat was beached and anchored, we met up with the rest of the group which would accompany us to the lighthouse. Our journey wasn’t easy. We first had to wade through at least 100 yards of wind and wave chopped water that came up to our chests while carrying two ladders, important electronic components for the wind meter, a large “danger-keep out” sign and Amy’s camera. Once we neared the lighthouse, we had to dodge the rocky remnants of the old lighthouse tenant’s house. The ladders were to scale the coffer dam.
We split into two groups and I went first. We manned our ladder and began our assault on the lighthouse. We weren’t sure if the tide was low enough for us to make our crossing when we set out, but we quickly found out that we could make it. When we reached the barnacle covered rocks, we raised our ladder and Al’s son, Carl Hitchcock, was the first to ascend. After the ladder was secure I quickly followed Carl to the top to help with the second ladder.
This is where it got hairy. The distance between the dam and the base of the lighthouse was too great, so instead of an easy decent, we had to wedge the ladder between the concrete base and the inside of the dam. Our easy ascent unknowingly precluded an extremely treacherous decent. Once Carl had secured and tested the ladder, it was my duty to relay what lay below on the other side of the dam.
I straddled the top of the dam and slowly lowered myself onto the wedged ladder. Once on the ladder I had to back-peddle, American Gladiator style, over the moat, over the jagged and rusted remains of stalagtite metal, then lower myself onto the slippery oyster and barnacled base of the lighthouse. What an adventurous way to spend my Memorial Day weekend!
