Camping: Cape Cod 2026, Day Three

Tuesday, September 22, 2026, was the third of five days of camping at Shawme-Crowell State Forest in Sandwich, Massachusetts, on Cape Cod.

For the previous day of this five-day camping trip, see Cape Cod 2026, Day Two.

Bicycling

Today I rode from the campground at Shawme-Crowell State Forest to the Cape Cod Canal Trail. I followed the canal trail to its western end, then continued on Shore Rd. and a few other scenic, low-traffic roads to the north trailhead of the Shining Sea Rail Trail. I made a wrong turn and ended up on Route 28A for a short stretch, a section with more traffic than I liked. I was surprised to see that this section was part of Bicycle Route 1. The ride measured 18.28 miles on my watch.

Piers of the Bourne Bridge

{}Route 28A Bike Route 1 Sign

My return trip was more efficient since I knew where to go. I saw many trophy houses along the water and many scenic little harbors. The roads usually had no shoulder, but traffic was light and for the most part the drivers were polite. The east headwind along the canal was very powerful, and I could only ride slowly in one of my lowest gears. I saw a pair of touring bicyclists riding west along the canal trail with the wind at their backs (they were the only touring bicyclists I saw on my five-day trip). My return ride wa 16.9 miles long, and I finished at 1:35 p.m.

I managed my effort well for these long rides, with about 75% of the ride in Zone 1 and 25% in Zone 2, with an insignificant fraction in Zone 3.

Afternoon Activities

After eating lunch, I took a nap for 90 minutes until 4:00 p.m.

At 4:35 p.m., I walked to Stop & Shop for a few items. The roads had no shoulders or sidewalks until I reached the crosswalk across Route 6A. I saw no kids playing outside. I would not live here.

I walked back to my campsite after finishing my grocery shopping. The digital map on my phone indicated the existence of a shortcut to the campground from the nearby housing area, but it didn’t exist. I arrived at my campsite at 6:35 p.m., completing a total of 5.62 walking miles.

My Apple Watch Series 10 was down to 6% when I got back. It was fully charged only 18 hours earlier, but activities such as bicycling drain the battery quickly. This poor battery life is disappointing.

I ate dinner after sunset and went to bed at 7:15 p.m.

For the fourth day of this five-day camping trip, see Cape Cod 2026, Day Four.