Fri, Mar 21 2008 - Cumberland Island Backpacking Adventure (View Original Event Details)
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Though our adventure officially started on Friday, for some of us the “fun” started Thursday night when we tried to escape the clutches of the beast known as Atlanta. She held on to us with all her might, choking off every passage of escape as best she could but we finally made it out of her grasps and were on our way to St. Mary’s.
Friday began with a decent continental breakfast from the hotel and a free lesson on how to make a waffle for some of our “waffle challenged”. Then we were off. The ferry was set to leave off at 8:45 after short presentation from the ranger on the do’s and don’ts of the island, however the presentation did not even start until after 9AM. Little did we know that this was foreshadowing future ranger led events. The ride to the island was peaceful with a feeding of the “rats with wings” and a sighting of dolphins. After our camp assignments, which were exactly what we hoped for, we began our journey. Our hike was to take us 10.6 miles up the island to our first campsite, Brickhill. We stopped on the way at Stafford Beach Campsite for a nice lunch on the beach. Our fellow adventure seeker Lee brought his hand dandy GPS and our mileage was about right at this point, so things were good. A few wild horses were on the beach, pictures were taken and we were off again.
The trail was great, ranging in scenery from live oaks, to pine forests, to swam lands. We stopped at a massive live oak that politely permitted us to play in his arms and take some photos. Then we reached our mileage of 10.6 miles, however, we did not reach our destination at this point. Our journey took us another 3.4 miles to our campsite and set the tone for the rest of the trip, *images on this map may not be a close as they appear* . After eating dinner and deciding on torturing ourselves even more the next day by taking our pack with us to the First African Baptist Church, we watched a beautiful sunset.
Then came the next day of adventure when we broke camp and journeyed north to search for the mythical Wharf Ruins on the north end of the island. The trail disappeared along the water and we had to “palmetto whack” through the bushes to find the trail. To our disappointment apparently the magical ruins would only appear when the new moon was out and you swung a piece of driftwood over your head three times in a counter clockwise rotation. But we made the most of it and enjoyed the ocean between Cumberland Island and Little Cumberland Island for a short time. We continued on to the First African Baptist Church. The door was unlocked and to our surprise no one caught on fire as they entered the doors (we had our doubts about a couple of you). After eating lunch the trail was hit once again and the party made it way to Stafford Beach Campsite.
Sunday we were awakened by the infamous “Sirens of Cumberland Beach” singing their lullaby of “Sunshine Day”. It is said by the locals that they only visit campers when there is a birthday among the group. They sounded suspiciously like the Brady Bunch and shortly after their song was finished the camp was giving birthday wishes to Kelly. Some of our group headed to the beach to watch the sunrise and give good old Apollo a little “help” with our hands and feet. Then our road took us to Plum Orchard Mansion where we were told to arrive around 1:15 to 1:30 for the tour. We arrived earlier than expect at 11:30, ate lunch and looked around the outside of the mansion. During our exploration Lee spotted an alligator in the pond in the back, at least 6 foot in length! Then we patiently awaited the ranger to arrive and start the tour. Remember earlier about foreshadowing? The ranger arrived promptly and hour behind schedule along with a large group for the tour. After the tour we headed back to our camp for a skit from the Benny Hill show provided by Paula and Lee.
Monday morning we were once again visited by the Siren’s and this time their tune was to Styx “Come Sail Away”. This could only mean one thing accoring to legend, another birthday. Birthday wishes were once again given but this time to our fearless leader Paula. We said goodbye to our campsite and headed to the ranger station. After unloading our packs, we hiked out to the Ruins of Dungeness and looked for Shark's teeth. Some treasure were found and after a short lunch we hiked to the cemetery located near by. Chris and Susan climbed a tree over the marsh and then we made our way back past the Ruins to my secret spot of Shark's teeth. After collecting our loot we took the ferry back to put an end to our amazing adventure
To sum it all up, if Lee had not brought his GPS, no one would have ever known we hiked an additional 10 bonus miles. This time it was free, but next time I will have to charge extra!!!
In all honesty, thanks to EVERYONE that was on the trip. Even with the blisters, gnats, and late rangers, everyone was in good spirits the majority of the time. I was very impressed with the endurance everyone showed on this trip and willingness to go the extra miles just to find new adventure. Look forward to our next journey!!!
Michelle Pics
Paula's Pics
Jason's Pics
Stan's Pics
Susan's Pics
Steven's Pics
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