As 42 people departed on foot from Sepiessa Point Reservation in West Tisbury at 9 a.m. sharp on Saturday morning, the air was a cool 50 degrees and the sky was clear blue. We were heading ultimately to Wilfred’s Pond Preserve in Vineyard Haven. The 15-mile walk would cross Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank properties, ancient ways and public roads that are hidden in the back woods of the Island.

It was the 19th annual cross-Island hike, organized by the land bank commission in celebration of national trails day. Each year they chart a hike starting from where they ended the year before, one that cuts through the Island on as many land bank trails as possible and ends on the beach.

From Sepiessa Point, on the shores of the Tisbury Great Pond, we walked north into the woods below the Edgartown-West Tisbury Road. It was an intricate web of trails; some were little-used footpaths with bushes and branches encroaching from the sides, and some were wider, more worn paths.

No one would have known where to go amid the confusing junctions we navigated were it not for a hike leader who knew the trails well. Bill Veno, the land bank senior planner, briskly lead the group.

“For those of you who haven’t been on the land bank walk before, I walk at my usual pace, and if I take a turn I will usually mark it with a piece of tape, this yellow tape, so you know that’s the direction you are supposed to go,” said Mr. Veno, addressing the group on the beach of Sepiessa at the outset.

Walking at the rear was Matthew Dix, the land bank’s conservation lands foreman.

The morale of the group was high as we crossed the Edgartown-West Tisbury Road and entered the state forest. Many on this trip were experienced cross-Island hikers who appreciated both Saturday’s ideal weather and the relatively mild 15-mile trek. Last year thunder, lightning and rain accompanied the walkers on 21 miles of trail. The longest trail that they have ever walked was 28 miles long.

“That went from, I think, East Chop down to Sepiessa and then back up to West Chop. But that was before my time,” said Mr. Veno while waiting to see if a group that was lagging behind would catch up with him.

By 11:30 a.m., having snaked our way to the West Tisbury Fire Station, we took a break for lunch.

There was much socializing among the hikers. Some people had come to the Vineyard specifically for the hike. Part of the draw of the annual hike is that by going on it every year, you start to build up a knowledge of the vast number of walking trails that the Vineyard has to offer.

“I still don’t know all the trails,” said Pam Goff, the land bank commissioner for Chilmark, who has been doing the cross-island hike for years. She added:

“Even [Mr. Veno] doesn’t know all of them.”

After a half an hour halt for lunch, the group heaved heavier legs up onto their feet for the final half of the journey. Not everyone had stayed for the whole journey; however, some new walkers had joined during the break. When we departed again at noon, there were 40 people in the group. Mr. Veno assured us that there would be another break during the afternoon, and then charged on into the woods of West Tisbury.

Along the way there was a diversity of landscapes, flora and fauna. There were beautiful trees hosting birds whose chirps provided continuous background music. There were horse farms nestled everywhere in the woods. After one turn in the path, there was an unexpected sighting of humans taking refuge in the cool getaway of the woods; two girls were sunbathing at the bottom of a small ravine, in what must have been a secluded spot before the party of 40 hikers intruded.

In a very Vineyard moment, one of the hikers recognized one of the surprised girls as his niece.

As the day turned into afternoon, we got deeper into Vineyard Haven. We crossed the field of the Tashmoo Overlook and walked towards Tashmoo beach along a mix of roads and paths.

When we finally arrived at the end of the walk, at Wilfred’s Pond Preserve, it was 3:40 p.m. — only 10 minutes behind schedule. The sand and the blue ocean on the north shore was a sight for sore eyes and respite for sore feet after hours of trees and fields and paths. There was a sense of camaraderie standing in a group on the beach.

While the sun may have burned, and ticks may have grabbed on, and everyone may have become exhausted, in the end those were temporary annoyances. The experience of walking from one end of the Island to another will last longer in memory, as an inspiration to discover more of the interconnected walking trails that fill Martha’s Vineyard.