In Search of Manatees in Florida’s Spring-fed Rivers (Marion, Hernando, and Citrus Counties, Florida)

 This weekend, I'm joining the Atlanta Outdoor Club on several paddle trips along the clear spring-fed rivers of northern Florida in search of Manatees and adventure, of course. I arrived last night at the AirBnB the organizers rented for us in Astor, FL. While I only new a couple of the other attendees, everyone made me feel extremely welcomed. The mansion they rented is gigantic and the interior is constructed of various types of cypress, with a gigantic living room, several bedrooms, a magnificent kitchen and dining room, as well as a nice fire pit area outside overlooking the canal and river. After some introductions, a terrific dinner, and some discussion of the plan for the weekend, we all head to our respective bedrooms for a good night's sleep in preparation for a long paddle tomorrow.

Day 1 - Juniper Creek Run

I slept well and awoke early. After taking a quick shower and getting a little breakfast in my belly, I join the others as we make last minute preparations. Before long, we caravan away from the house and head to our first destination, the Juniper Creek Run. Unfortunately and unbeknownst to us, this area does not allow inflatable kayaks. All but one of our paddlers are in hard-shell kayaks, but the one remaining gentlemen has an inflatable. One of our organizers who has paddled this run several times, volunteers to lend the gentlemen his hard-shell boat and he will just skip today's paddle. This works out. 

As this is the first time I've put my new boat in the water, I'm curious to see how it performs. From the launching pad, I gentle ease my way in and in doing so almost manage to flip myself in this shallow water, but I catch myself with my left hand, jamming my thumb a little bit in the process. The others enter their boats and soon, we are off on first paddle.

The water here is crystal clear and very shallow in most places (only a few inches deep), but our lightweight craft pass easily across the surface in most areas, though I do find myself scrapping a few submerged logs here and there. We see abundant wildlife as we make our way, including a couple of alligators (one of them roughly twelve feet long), turtles, and abundant avian species.

The channels and current of this creek do require some small level of technical paddling and while I'm a little overwhelmed at first, I quickly remember my skills. After all, it's been a few months since I've been in a boat and that last time was on a wide-open reservoir. The gentlemen in the borrowed kayak doesn't fair quite as well though as he rolls his boat and goes into the water several times. We all do our best to assist him and give him some advice, but I think his nerves were getting the better of him by the end. You could see in his paddle strokes. When he realized he need to correct his track, he would first go to steer one direction and then immediately remember that he needed to go the other way to prevent the current from pushing him into the brush and trees growing along the banks.

Eventually, we reach the end of the run. It was a long, but terrific paddle. The twists and turns made for quite an adventure and being so near alligators in the wild always adds a sense of danger, though gators of this size would rarely attack a human (the twelve-footer may have been big enough). After exiting our boats and reloading them on our respective cars, we return to the house for a bit to cleanup. 

For dinner, we hit a local bar and grill. I order a beer and a mahi-mahi sandwich, which is fantastic. After dinner, we return to the house and enjoy a fire on the patio, while discussing the days events and many other topics. It was a great day and we managed to get in about 7.2 miles on today's run. I'm looking forward to what tomorrow brings. Perhaps we'll see some manatees.

Day 2 - Chassahowitzka River and Homossassa Springs Wildlife Refuge

Similar to yesterday's start, I rise early, showering and eating some breakfast before most of our crew has stirred. Once the masses have awoken, they do the same. Today, we have a healthy drive to our destinations and we try to get an early start. It's nearly a two hour drive to our first destination on the Chassahowitzka River. This location was not in the original plan, but the organizers were unable to get launch permits at the planned spot, Weeki Watchee Springs, and settled on this as an alternative. As I've never been to any of these places, one seems just as good as the other to me.

Today's paddle will be in a much wider channel for the most part, and as we put our boats in the water, we note that the water is not nearly as clear here as yesterday's paddle. No matter, it will still be a great time. 

We first paddle out to an area where one of our organizers and lead paddler believes we will be able to see some manatees and sure enough, there are three or four of the rotund water cows feeding on the underwater flora. These animals are huge; most as long as my 11.5 foot long kayak. They lumber around below us occasionally surfacing for a breath of air. With nearly a dozen boats floating above them, you would think they would be timid and move away, but perhaps because of their great bulk, they go about their business as if we weren't even there. 

As we wait, we listen for their breaths when they surface to locate them in the waters below us. This is the first time I've ever seen manatees and to see them in the wild like this is quite an experience. They pass within inches of my boat as they move to and fro in search of the rich plant life growing on the river's floor. After thirty minutes or so gawking at them, It's probably time for us to move on and let these guys eat in peace.

We continue downriver and head for one of the springs feeding it, known as the Crack. It gets a little tight on some areas, but still not quite as bad as yesterday. On one shallow sandy section, three of our group end up beaching themselves. While two are able to scoot themselves free of the sands, the one remaining paddler has to exit his boat and tow it by foot back to the deeper waters. Luckily, I managed to avoid the sand all together. 

More wildlife is present here and we see numerous bird species and a large amount of fish swimming below our boats in the water, which has become more clear as we move toward the spring. Eventually, the water gets too shallow to paddle in and we pull our boats partially onto shore to prevent them from floating away, while we make our way the rest of the way to the Crack on foot. It's only a hundred yards or so. 

When we arrive, we are greeted by numerous other visitors, some of whom are playing on a rope swing that carries them out over the actual vent of the spring. It looks fun. The water here is a sort of hazy blue as it rises from the depths, but quickly becomes crystal clear as it fans out away from the Crack. I'm not much of a swimmer and so, I decide not to take a plunge from the swing, though several of my companions do. The water just above the vent is much deeper than the shallow creek we walked up to get here. 

We decide that his would be a great place to have lunch and all return to our boats to get our food. I manage to get my feet stuck in the bog beneath my boat and have quite a time freeing my feet without loosing my water shoes in the mud, but finally free myself and join the rest of the group for a short break at the spring.

After a short break and more horseplay on the swing, we agree that it is time to head back. We get in our boats and start paddling back the way we came. Passing the launch point, we attempt to paddle up to another spring, but it is so packed with kayaks from other visitors, we decide to turn back and call it a day, at least on the water. We only paddled about 3.5 miles today.

We load our boats and then head for another location, the Homossassa Springs Wildlife Refuge, which we had passed on our way here. This place is home to numerous rescued animals of all varieties. Regrouping, we take a short shuttle ride, which is nothing more than a truck pulling a couple of trailers with bench seats, to the main starting area. From there we agree on a meeting time and then head off on our own to explore the animal enclosures.

This place is essentially a zoo, but the animals within are all rescues of one sort or another that likely wouldn't survive long in the wilds. I'm really against traditional zoos, but something like this makes sense to me. As I wander along the boardwalks and paved paths through the animals, I'm amazed by the number of black vultures that call this home. One of the signs indicates that while these vultures are not technically part of the refuge and come and go as they please, they act as natural housekeepers and help keep the facility free of disease by consuming uneaten food.

There is a huge variety of animals here from alligators to the oldest hippopotamus in captivity, to the whooping cranes, to bald eagles, to a black bear, to mountain lions, to manatees. It's a cornucopia of wildlife. It seems the keepers do their best to give these rescued creatures a good life, which is quite commendable.

Additionally, the facility contains an underwater observation area. Steps lead down below the surface of the spring-fed waters right beside the vent. From down here, one can see schools of large fish swimming about. I spend a couple of minutes down there, but soon return to the surface.

Meeting the group back at the start we start the long journey back to our temporary housing, though we do stop for some delicious ice cream along the way. Some of us also stop for a quick dinner at a New Orleans-inspired restaurant. Desert before dinner, it's the way to roll while you're on vacation.

Getting back to the house, we get a fire going and then have an all our concert on the patio. One of the other participants has been teaching herself to play guitar and brought a small "backpacking" guitar with her. As I've been playing guitar and singing most of my life (in bands during high school and college), I give her a few pointers and we all join in and some singalongs (mostly rock ballads of the 70's, 80's and 90's) as we enjoy some adult beverages and the crackling flames. It was a lot of fun and I remember how much fun it used to be performing in front of an audience, though it's been many years since I've done so.

Finally the light from the fire pit dimming and our beverage containers becoming empty, we all decide to turn in for our last night on this great trip. I had originally planned on heading home first thing in the morning, but the group talks me into do one more paddle on the way home, which they claim may be the best one. I agree and as a thank you, I tell them I will make breakfast for all of us.

Day 3 - Silver Springs and River

I'm among the earliest risers in the group and get my shower and pack before most are awake. As promised, I get a breakfast scramble going for the group. It's nothing special, just eggs, ham, and cheese, but everyone seems to like it and thanks me for preparing it. After breakfast, we do the necessary clean-up of the house and pack our gear for our long drives home.

Our paddle for this day is at Silver Springs, which is only about forty-five minutes from the house and on our way back to the interstate we will all take home. We put our boats in and set up the shuttle at the other end at Ray Wayside Park. Once all of us have returned to our boats, we start our paddle. 

First we head out to the gigantic Silver Spring, the largest artesian spring in the world. I admit that I had to look up what "artesian" actually means. It simply means that it's a free-flowing spring, where the water rises without the need of any kind of man-made pumping mechanism. The water here is deep, clear, and very blue. It reminds me of the water in Lake Tahoe a bit. Large fish swim in abundant numbers and pass beneath our kayaks. It's pretty surreal.

After spending a little time here, we head back a short distance the way we came and then take a sharp turn into the Fort King Paddling Trail, this short but narrow water passageway runs parallel to the river, but offers better wildlife viewing options. We see more alligators and abundance of bird life. In addition, we can see the ruins of what was once a wooden fort-based summer camp and a number of supporting structures. I'm unsure as to when this was open, but it has all fallen into disrepair over the decades. 

After about a mile, we exit the paddle trail and rejoin the Silver River. We paddle slightly upstream to a little cover, where we once again see a number of giant manatees going about their daily routine. The waters are more clear here though than yesterday and we have a better view of the behemoths. One passes right beside my boat. We linger a little while observing these magnificent but docile beasts before continuing our trek downriver.

The channel here is wide and the waters are much deeper, though the water is still crystal clear. We see huge numbers of turtles. In fact, I accidentally bop one on the head as he surfaces near where my paddle was going in the water. Hopefully, it didn't injure him. I was paddling pretty gently and so, I don't think he was hurt. We see large fish, alligators, and waterfowl of numerous different species as we continue down river.

We also pass above several manatee hastily making their way to their favored feeding grounds upstream. It's kind of strange to see animals this large pass below your boat through this clear blue-tinted water, maybe even a little unnerving. 

In a few sections, I can really test the speed of my boat. No twists and turns or shallow bottoms to worry about here. It's nice to really work out my shoulders like this a bit, and to see what this new boat is capable of in terms of speed. Though there are twists and turns here, there are not the super tight ones like we experienced on Juniper Creek. With the river ranging from thirty to eighty feet wide in most places, maneuvering is very easy.

And then, just as we make our way around one of these big turns, I finally see something that I had been told to be on the lookout for; something that you would not expect to see in the trees of Florida . . . monkeys! Specifically, these are rhesus macaque monkeys. I was told they were brought here by an eccentric land owner in the mid-1930's in the hopes of opening some sort of jungle adventure park, which never came to fruition. Since then, they have set up shop and built quite a large colony, numbering in the hundreds, on the shores of this river. 

*Enhanced to zoom in on a monkey

It's wild to see creatures like this playing and fighting in the trees above us. There many, many of them in the trees. Some of them, including some very young ones, climb out onto the branches overhanging the river. I would think that they would be easy prey for the alligators should they fall in, but they don't seem to worry about this grim prospect and go about their playful day. Even on the forest floor, we see several of them sitting on logs and just lounging around. Wondrous!!!

As we near the end of our paddle, spot more alligators, manatees, and turtles along the way. Turning into the canal for the Ray Wayside Park, we drag our boats ashore and I shuttle the other two drivers back to their at the other end. When we return, we help each other load our boats and say our goodbyes. In total, we got about 6 miles in today on the river. It's truly been a fantastic weekend and I've made several new friends (not the monkeys). Now it's time for the long drive home.

Rainbow Springs (Marion County, Florida)

 

My next stop takes me to Rainbow Springs, a natural wonder that feeds up to 600 million gallons of crystal clear fresh water per day to form the Rainbow River. The site is also a popular state park and takes advantage of numerous facilities that were constructed the area was the site of a privately owned resort in the 1930's. The resort closed in 1974 and several years later the community rallied around the idea of turning into a state park.

The remnants of the resort are present all long the trails. Man-made waterfalls are around most turns. Some have water running across, while others remain dry. The highlight is the spring itself, which surfaces from numerous vents all around the area and provides for an abundant ecosystem. The waters are very clear in most areas and reflect the brilliant blues of the sky above. While I don't see any on this visit, I'm told that alligators, turtles and a variety of bird life call this place home. 

It was a nice stroll, but again, I must be on my way. I expect I will see much more of these clear waters and the wildlife they support from my kayak over the next couple of days.

Crystal River Archaeological Site (Citrus County, Florida)

 

Escaping the cold temperatures that have hit the Atlanta area for a few days, I'm on my way to northern Florida for a few days to do some paddling in my new kayak on the spring-fed rivers of the area. On my way, I decided to stretch my legs at a couple of interesting sites. The first of which is the Crystal River Archaeological Site near the town of the same name.

This Native American site contains six mounds, similar to those found in the Mississippian Culture, but overlooking the nearby salt marshes. Many of these mounds were used for burials. It is believed that around 7,500 people were buried in and around the complex from around 250 BCE until around 1600 CE. The area has been preserved as a Florida state park.

I take a short walking tour of the area and try to take in the historic nature of the site. The largest of the mounds, Temple Mound, was partially partially cut away prior to the site's preservation. Now, a wooden staircase allows access to the summit. From there, the observer gets a birds eye view of the river and salt marshes that border it, as well as the entire complex itself, though several trees have grown from and over many of the mounds.

It's a very interesting site and well worth a visit if you are in the area, but for now, I must move on. I still have miles to go before I reach my final destination on this trip.

Atlanta Botanical Gardens - Garden Lights (Fulton County, Georgia)

 
It's a cold night a few days before Christmas. Each year, the Atlanta Botanical Garden puts up a barrage of holiday lights around their park and we thought it might be something that my mother would enjoy visiting. After the drive downtown to the garden, we had to wait in line in our car for about thirty minutes before we could gain entry, even though we had purchased timed tickets in advance. It's just that popular, I guess. Eventually, we got parked and headed into the gardens.

The initial area was sort of a brick courtyard with a number of trees decorated troves of green, blue, and purple lights. Lots of attendees wandered around the area. From there, we walked up to a slightly elevated terrace where a number of model trains were running through more decorated trees. As we exited this area, a fellow attendee offered us an extra drink ticket she had and after some discussion, I walked down and grabbed a whiskey-spiked eggnog and a warm cider for us to sip on as we continued our stroll through the event.

We wandered for a while down lines of rainbow colored tree sculptures, along another courtyard with lighted geometric shapes (probably made of plastic or glass) in the general shape of small trees and shrubs, and through a number of tunnels lit with strands of colored lights. From here, we dumped out near a fountain with giant floating lotus blossoms. On the other side of the fountain, a stand offering ingredients to make smores over some nearby fire pits tempted us, we opted not to partake.

From there, we entered a building meant to represent a tropical rain forest at night. Inside the humidity was almost unbearable in our winter gear, and so, we made a quick walk through. Sounds represent the night calls of the jungle ring throughout the room and green laser lights, presumably meant to simulate lightning bugs, dance on every surface as we make our way to the exit. It was interesting, but just too uncomfortable to spend much time in.

Finally, we make our way past the Ice Goddess Fountain and through the canopy among Nature's Wonders. The Ice Goddess is a giant statue set behind a beautiful water feature. Her hair is made of several lines of green and blue lights, providing a divine scene. The canopy walk takes us through a forest where long streams of colored lights hang like the tracks of raindrops from the tree tops. These streams are light activated and change patterns in coordination with numerous pieces of orchestral music blaring from loud speakers. It's a fantastic display and a great way to end a fun evening. My mother seemed to really enjoy herself; mission accomplished.

Fort Frederica (Glynn County, Georgia)

On my long drive home from Cumberland Island, I decided to stop at and explore the ruins of an old English fort. Fort Frederica was built for the sole purpose to protect English interests in the new world from the Spanish in Florida. It's about a twenty-mile detour, but I think it will be worth it. 

Once I arrive, I grab a map and begin walking around what is now a National Monument preserving the former community and military installation. Not much remains, but archaeologists have uncovered quite a lot about daily life in the town community, which was constructed mostly of tabby in the mid-1730's. The basic layout is a grid, of which street signs have been erected to give a since of the areas former organization. Excavated foundations line the roads at evenly-spaced intervals and informational signs indicate what each building is thought to have been (blacksmith, baker, candle-maker, etc.). 

Approaching the shoreline, the remains of the King's Magazine stand as a the first line of defense against approaching invaders. A battery of canons were originally here and have been returned to greet unwelcome visitors by sea. In conjunction with the fort wall that surrounded the entire community, this must have been a pretty secure location from to safeguard the waterways to Savannah. In 1742, it did just that as a battle was waged by the Spanish to take the surrounding lands. The fort held and the invaders repelled. It's amazing to be able to walk among the ruins of such a place.

Cumberland Island Adventure Weekend (Camden County, Georgia)

Off for another fun-filled adventure weekend. This time I'll be revisiting one of the first destinations I hit after my move to Georgia, Cumberland Island. It was almost exactly two years ago that I joined REI for my first bike-packing adventure during a long weekend on the largest and southernmost of Georgia's barrier islands. It was fantastic time and I really enjoyed it, but I found myself wishing I had a little more time to explore the island. For this trip, I'll again be joining REI, but for a simple camp out. The REI guides will be leading several hikes during the weekend, but they are all optional and I will have lots of time to explore on my own. REI simply provides the campsite, meals, and ferry to the island . . . oh, and some optional wine and beer in the evenings.

It's a long drive from Atlanta and with the ferry leaving the dock at 2:00 PM sharp, I need to get an early start. I packed the night before and was able to get quick shower and hit the road just after 6:00 AM, which should give me more than enough time to stop for lunch somewhere along the way. It's raining most of the way down and I note that my driver's side wiper blade is starting to rip. I start alternating the wiper speed in relation to how hard the rain is falling in the hopes that it will last me the trip. As I start approaching Savannah, the rains seems to dwindle down to and eventually disappear completely.

When I arrive in St. Mary's, Georgia, our meeting spot, I find a parking spot and walk over to the check-in. The guides do the standard COVID-19 screener and then tell me I can put my gear anywhere as we wait for the ferry to arrive. I have almost an hour to burn. I head back to the jeep and do a quick change of clothes. I had worn very comfortable items for the drive down, but I'm hoping to get a hike in once we get to the island and after getting my tent set up. So, best to change into some more outdoor-ready clothes while I have the time.

At the appointed time, we load up ourselves and our gear onto the large ferry. About sixty-five of us in all, which includes our guides, some backpackers, some adventurers going on the bike-packing trip that I did two years ago, and the rest filled in by those just going for the camp out, like I am. The ferry ride is pretty quick and I get to know some of my fellow campers as we make our way through the coastal waterways on our way to the Sea Camp Dock on the western side of the island. We quickly disembark and after a few words from the lead guide about the plan for the evening, I quickly head off to Camp Armadillo (my assigned area) to set up my tent. Some of the folks here have never been camping before and require some assistance to erect their tents. While I do help with a couple of quick questions, I have my tent and sleep system ready to go in a matter of minutes. I tell my neighbors that I'm going to head off and get a few miles in before dinner. I know they are doing drinks and hors-d'œuvres at 5:15 PM, which gives me about an hour-and-a-half to explore. 

I head out to the eastern beach, which is just short stroll from our campsite. From there, the great Atlantic Ocean opens up before me in all it's glory. I turn right to head south along the shoreline. In the distance, I see a large yellow buoy that has washed up. After about a mile-and-a-half along the beach, I see the marker for Dungeness Beach and decide to head inland to wards the ruins of the old mansion. Along the way, I encounter several wild horses busy about their business. They are cautious of me, but don't seem to feel overly threatened. Still, I give them a wide berth as I walk around them. I also encounter several armadillo, none of which seem to have gotten much wiser since my last visit to this place. 

Along the way, I spot a sign for a cemetery and decide to head through the salt-water woods a bit to check it out. Here lie the remains of some of the Miller-Green family, overlooking the southern salt marshes. Beyond, a well constructed observation deck affords me the opportunity to enjoy a spectacular sunset  It seems almost magical. Further on, I walk through the re-purposed housing of the former estate staff, now residences for the Park Service personnel. I note the magnificent live oaks here. Some of which sprawl out almost like a gigantic spider on the land. The resurrection moss is thick on some of the large low-hanging branches and with the lush green color of the moss, I assume it has been raining recently.

As I turn to head back, I had down the main road of the island, which is a combination of dirt, sand, and gravel. I spot a couple of deer running off into the palmetto woods at the site of me. One turns back to get a better look and I snap a decent picture of her, before she follows her friends. 

Arriving back at camp, I covered roughly five miles this evening, though I didn't track it. After dropping my pack, I had over to the kitchen camp and I'm greeted with a nice cold craft beer. Now, this is the way it's suppose to be. The guides have prepared some trays of charcuterie for us, while they work on dinner. A campfire is just starting to roar and I take the opportunity to chat with some of my fellow campers. They seem somewhat surprised that I was able to get in such a nice hike already, but after showing them some of the pictures on my phone, the surprise changes to mild jealousy. 

For dinner tonight, we enjoy a hearty vegetable stew along with some sauteed chicken. It's actually pretty tasty. We all enjoy more alcohol while we finish our dinner and then two our guides announce that they will be leading a night hike in a little bit. It's completely optional, but what else would I do I have to do. After we've had time for our dinner to settle a bit, those of us going on the hike group up and head out. The pace is purposely set pretty slow and I catch myself having to walk with purpose to prevent myself from getting to far ahead. Our goal is the Nightingale Trail, which I passed the trailheads for earlier, but did not explore. I'm glad it will be something new and the added benefit of the darkness adds a great element.

We spot a couple of armadillos as we make our way through the woods. An somewhat elderly gentleman ventured off at one point to find a "facili-tree" and after he doesn't return, the guides begin to get a little concerned. One of the guides starts retracing our steps, while the rest of us wait. Soon, the gentleman shows up from the opposite direction that we were expecting him from. He's fine and just got turned around a bit, but now we're stuck and the other guide is hastily making her way back the way we came looking for him. After discussing it with the remaining guide, I offer to run back and let her know that he's safe and with the group. We agree and that's exactly what I do. After about a quarter-mile, I get within earshot of the search party and let them know that they can come back, which they do.

Heading back to camp, with the entire group, we say our good night' and head off to our respective tents. This night hike was about 3.5 miles, bringing my total for the day to about 10 miles, which includes carrying my gear from the dock to the campsite. As I lay down on my sleeping pad, I think about the remainder of the weekend and look forward to what tomorrow may hold.

I awake a little before sun-up and head down to the restrooms, a short stroll away. I also decide to take advantage of the showers available there. The water is freezing cold, but it's suppose to be near 80 degrees this afternoon. I think the chances of becoming hypothermic are pretty remote. That said, I don't think I was truly prepared for that ice-cold water hitting my chest. It was quite a body shock and certainly stirred me from any thought of falling back asleep any time soon. I quickly lather up and then do my best to rinse the soap and dirt off of me under the shower-head. I'm not sure I got all of the suds, but I've had enough of this for now.

Returning to camp, I grab my mug and eating utensils before making my way back over to the kitchen camp. This morning, we have something of a continental breakfast, including bagels, fruit, oats, and the remaining charcuterie from last night. I fill a plate and chat with other campers, while I roll around plans in my head. Originally, I had considered making my way all the way to the northern end of the island, a round-trip distance of approximately 24 miles. I'm confident I could do this, but after finding out that all the water north of hear requires purification treatment and me without my filter, I decide to settle for something a little more south.

In addition to breakfast, the guides have also put out trays of meats and cheeses and other food-stores for us to make our own lunch. I opted for a ham and Swiss, along with a couple of granola bars.This should serve me well on my solo adventure across the southern end of the island. The guides will be leading a hike through the Dungeness Ruins, which I want to explore as well, but I want to get an earlier start and after cleaning my bowl and spoon, I grab my day pack and head south on the main road.

Quickly, I run directly into the shadow of the once expansive Dungeness Mansion, owned by the Carnegie family. They built the mansion in the 1880's and lived in it for roughly 40 years. The mansion was destroyed by fire in 1959, leaving a massive ruin for modern visitors to admire and explore. The grounds include several other structures a garden, a boat house, and an ice house. It must have been something in it's day with 59 rooms, but now, it just provides an interesting rest spot for black vultures to land on and wild horses to tromp around.

After passing through the main part of the grounds, I head off along the marsh trail, which is mostly on an elevated board walk above the salt marshes. In the distance, I can see a small group of wild-horses feeding on the tender grasses and overhead, more black vultures circle in search of their next meal to scavenge. That won't be me. Popping out from the boardwalk I encounter a sandy area with dead and dying trees poking out from the white sands. Even more of these flying black harbingers of death can be seen here, perched on the branches of these trees. It resembles what a post-apocalyptic landscape might look like and I capture what I think is a great shot of it.

From here, I make way back out to the beach. If I were to turn left, I would essential follow the same route as yesterday, but in reverse. I decide to head right and further south instead. I'm hoping to explore the South End Trail, should it still be there. After nearly two more miles along the beach and following in the footprints of more wild-horses, I see the black and white pole marking the trail. Heading in, I quickly get confused as to which is the man-made trail and which trails were made by the horses. Further still and I encounter an area overgrown with thorn-bushes. I try to force my way through them only to snag my shirt several times. The reports I had read suggested that this trail might be difficult to find and follow, but I'm not even sure I'm on the trail and I decide to head back to the beach. 

I stop at the long stone pier to enjoy my sandwich. I decide that I will simply make my way along the beach to the southern tip of the island. The sandwich is good and returns to me some much-needed energy. Along the way, I pass by Pelican Beach, and true to its name, a large number of pelicans are hanging out along the sandy shoreline with some of their much smaller, but more numerous distant cousins. As I've followed the beach, I encounter all kinds of the living ocean washed up on the sands, including a pair small sharks, a bird that I think is a king fisher, and several horseshoe crabs, all of which have become or will soon become food for the vultures, which even here are ever present. A reminder that nothing in life is permanent and natures recycles everything. After hitting the southern-most point, I turn and head back up the beach to my camp. I was able to get in 10.2 miles on this little trek and I'm ready to relax a bit.

Once I get back to camp, I find that I'm one of the few there, as most of the group has accompanied the guides on the Dungeness Hike. I take seat in my comfortable camp chair, tilt my hat down to block the sun, and doze off for a little while. When I awaken, the hikers are just now returning. I'm hot and sweaty and with the current temperature feeling like the high 70's or low 80's, I decide to cool off once more in that frigid shower. It's pretty much the same routine I followed this morning, but I do feel much better after having cleaned up a bit.

Just in time, I head on over to the kitchen camp and enjoy a couple more nice beers. In addition to more charcuterie, our camp chef has also prepared a delicious appetizer salad consisting of arugula, fennel, apples, thin slices of red chili, mint, and cilantro in a honey-sweetened vinaigrette dressing. It's really, really good. It's pirate night this evening and our guides have prepared a number of pirate-based activities to keep things interesting. For dinner, we'll be enjoying a low country boil pretty standard-fare in this part of the world and made by combining peel-and-eat shrimp, boiled potatoes, sausage, and small ears of corn on the cob. It's pretty tasty.

For desert, it's a smores kind of night. We're presented with several options for our chocolate and provided with a small marshmallow roasting skewer. It's rather comical explaining the concept of a smore to some of the non-campers and then watching them attempt to make them over the campfire. Those of us more experienced, try our best to provide some guidance, but in the end, making a smore is a very personal thing.

After our adventure with fire, several of us head out onto the beach for some stargazing. With Jacksonville, FL only a few miles to the south, it's not true dark-sky conditions, but it's far better than can be experienced in Atlanta. The tide has pulled the waters way out and I walk what seems like almost a quarter-mile before finally finding the sea. It's nice out here and the group is enjoying hearing about the constellations and heavenly bodies far above us.

With that, we head back to camp for the night. I crawl in my tent and notice that I have several insect bites on my arms and legs. These are likely from the "no-see-ums" that I experienced my last time on the island - small gnats and biting flies so small they can't really be seen unless you are specifically looking for them, thus the name. Regardless, they have feasted on me pretty well. I crawl under my backpacking quilt and try to doze off. It's warm and very humid. I wake sometime around midnight soaking wet with sweat, but soon fall back asleep. Around 3:00 AM, I'm again awakened by the sound of raindrops on my rain fly. It's been perfect so far on this trip; I guess we have to expect a little bit of weather. 

I finally rise from my dream state around 6:45 AM and begin packing my clothes. We'll be getting back on the ferry around 10:30 for the return trip to civilization. After I finish packing the items inside my tent, I head over for breakfast. I leave my tent up in the hopes that some of the water from the early-morning rain will dry in the time it takes me to eat. It does a little, but not much. For breakfast this morning, we're enjoying shakshouka, a North-African dish prepared by poaching eggs in a thick tomato-based sauce with onions and peppers. It's quite tasty.

After breakfast, I return to my campsite and breakdown what remains of my gear, before carrying it to the dock. There I chat with the guides as we await the arrival of the ferry. I'm sad to be leaving this relaxing and wondrous place, but I'm very glad I had the opportunity to return once again. As the ferry pulls away, the guides, who are remaining on the island for another day, wave to us and do a wave for us. As we approach the mainland, we encounter a few dolphins swimming in the shallow coastal waters. It's dreary this morning and I think everyone is now anxious to get back to their cars after the long ferry ride, though given the opportunity to remain on the island for a few more days, I suspect each and everyone one of us would have jumped at the chance. Overall, it was a magnificent experience.

Pine Log Creek Trail (Bartow County, Georgia)

 

Today, I decided to join one of the Atlanta-area outdoor groups to explore Pine Log Creek, which is a several miles north of Lake Allatoona. I was unaware of this trail system until I saw the event posting, but as the timing worked out and it was a new place to explore, I decided to give it a go. It's a little over an hour drive from my home and I left early enough to account for any traffic. You never know what crazy events you might encounter on the highways around the city. When I arrived at the parking area, I was the first one there. A couple of cars were present, but judging by the frost on their windows, I suspect they had been left there all night. It's cold this morning and I leave my coat on while I await for the others. They arrive soon after and we do a quick introduction before hitting the trail, staring with the western loop.

After a short straight-away, we cross an elevated bridge over Pine Log Creek and drop down on the other side. I took my coat off just before we left and though our pace is pretty slow, I'm already glad I made that choice as I'm starting to warm up just by moving. The leaves have mostly fallen and cover the trail like a blanket, but the indention left by previous trekkers leaves little doubt of the path. As we follow alongside a steep hillside above a feeder creek, I notice and point out a wasp next affixed to two tree branches and suspended far above the ground on the far side of the gully.

The four of us trek on, while getting into discussions on various topics including wine, the pandemic, a brief history of the Jewish people, Roman architectural challenges, and a myriad of other fascinating topics. All the while, we make our way up and around to the highest point of today's trail along a series of large switchbacks. At one point on the way up, I notice a buck in the distance dashing off away from us. He was probably wanting to avoid getting into a conversation about the pandemic.

Dropping back down the far side of the small mountain, we hit the intersection with the eastern loop and begin to head that way. This second loop is much shorter than the first, but takes us to the water-filled pit of a former granite quarry. The waters are an eerie blue and on the far side of the "lake" a giant boulder juts out of the water looking much like the head of a crocodile, complete with an eye. We see a few other hikers in this area as we make our way around to the interesting boulder. Though we cannot traverse around the entire lake, we do go as far as we reasonably can, which includes a fair bit of scrambling.

Turning back, we decide to hike up the far side and around the far side of the quarry to see what is there. It takes us a steep hill that unfortunately offers very little in the way of views, but it was still a good workout. From here, we bushwhack our way back down the hill, shuffling through the fallen leaves until we return to the quarry and head back towards the parking lot on the remaining section of the eastern loop, which later intersects with the lower half of the western loop.

All in all, we managed to cover about 6.1 miles, including our little off-trail adventure. The scenery was quite beautiful and for a hike I had never heard of before a few days ago, this made for a great way to start the morning. As always the company was fantastic and I wish them well as I get in my jeep and drive away.