By the Autum of 1849 Henry David Thoreau was ready to make the first of four trips to Cape Cod to encounter the ocean and to witness whatever influences the Atlantic must have on the land, as well as the people who live upon it. For the most part, these places are among the 45,000 acres designated as the Cape Cod National Seashore in 1961. And though his footprints have long since vanished, his thoughts still run through the minds of all who come to this peninsula and witness the ocean for themselves.