You'll want to take some old shoes to Holland - Beyond the West

Sunset, June, 1991

You'll want to take some old shoes to Holland Lacking deserts to wander or mountains to scale, the Dutch created their own challenge: wad walking--hiking across the Waddenzee at low tide. It's an adventure tricky enough to require a guide, popular enough to require reservations. It's an exhilarating, mucky walk past dikes that hold back the ocean, on bird-lively mud flats, into waist-high tidal rivers. You might see oystercatchers, iellyfish, sand worms, even seals on sand bars.

Starting from coastal towns in Friesland and Groningen (provinces some 3 hours north of Amsterdam), guided trips run May through September. Reserve well ahead, then call to reconfirm once in Holland (bad weather can cancel). Hikes are strenuous; minimum age is 12.

Walks are timed to coincide with low tides. Trained guides tote tide tables, radios, and emergency gear. You'll hike in patches of black sticky mud and do some wading in cool but not freezing water.

Walks include the 6-mile Zwerftocht (about $5.50), a half-day introduction; and 10-mile Engelsmanplaat ($5.50), to an island and back. Three other walks return by boat: 7-mile Ameland ($12.50), 12-mile Rottumeroog ($16), tough 15-mile Schiermonnikoog ($16).

What to wear, bring; guides

Wear boots or high-cut shoes that lace tightly. Knee-high wool socks hold warmth while wet. Wear a wool cap and sweater, windbreaker, shorts, sunglasses, and sun screen. Carry water and binoculars; in a watertight daypack, take snacks and changes of clothing and shoes.

To book a trip, write or call one of the following agencies in the Netherlands (to call from the U.S., first dial 011-31, then dial the local number with the initial zero); request an English-speaking guide. Stichting Wadloopcentrum, Postbus 1, 9968 ZG Pieterburen (Groningen); 05952-300. Dijkstra Wad Walking Tours, Hoofdstraat 118, 9968 AH Pieterburen (Groningen); 05952-345. Wadloopcentrum Friesland, c/o VVV Dokkum, Grote Breedstraat 1, Dokkum (Friesland); 05190-3800.

To reserve specifically for Engelsmanplaat, call 05198-2100; for Ameland, 05197-1656; for Schiermonnikoog, 05120-2058. For more on any of the walks, call 05185-1491.