Cumberland Island Bikepacking Adventure (Camden County, Georgia)

 

A couple of months ago and prior to moving to Atlanta, I began searching the internet for groups and events that I thought I might want to be part of after the move. Among the events I had found was a REI-hosted bikepacking trip to a large island just off the Georgia Coast called Cumberland Island. While I've done a pretty fair amount of backpacking over the last several years, I have never been bikepacking. To go with an experienced group, who would also provide the necessary gear (and bike) seemed an ideal way to both try out a new activity and to explore a new area. Besides, as I get older, my knees my appreciate a lower impact activity, lol.

Day 1

Meeting up with the two REI guides and nine adventurers near the National Park Service's visitor center for the island, we began our preparations. I brought a lot of my personal backpacking gear with me, expecting to leave some of it behind in the jeep. The guides were terrific about telling us what to expect and demonstrating how to properly load the bikes and specially-designed bikepacking bags they provided. From all indications, it was going to be a fabulous weekend with terrific weather.

With our bikes loaded, we peddled down to the ferry that would carry us and our gear the 45-minute ride down the St. Mary's River and over to Sea Camp, the primary ranger station on the island. The ferry ride was uneventful, but pretty and gave us a chance to get to know each other. In addition to my group of bikepackers, REI was also hosing a basic camp-out on the island this weekend, which would be attended by thirty-five or so more people. Though the park service does provide a daily ferry to and from the island, this boat was hired by REI to carry all of us over to the island.

After we disembarked from the ferry, we filled our water bottles and then headed to the larger group's campsite to share in some of the REI provided food. Barbeque pork was on the menu tonight, but as I had notified the guides of my vegetarian diet, they had provided some additional dehydrated meals for me and another young lady that share my dietary preference. From what others in my group said, the barbeque was quiet tasty though.

Once we had our food and water situation set, we made a last check of gear and equipment and then began peddling down the sandy dirt Main Road north toward Stafford Beach, which would be our home for the evening. Approximately a four-mile ride, we arrived well before sunset. The guides suggested setting up our tents and then exploring the beach a bit before we built a campfire and settled in for dinner and the evening. The campsite itself was set back into the sub-tropical woods and surrounded by dense fauna. As one of the guides and I made an initial inspection of the area, we encountered the first of many armadillos. Apparently, the little armored rats are quite prolific on this island. 

Doing as suggested, I quickly set up my tent and then walked the quarter-mile or so from camp to the beach. I'm not a "beach-person" per say. Generally most beaches are far to crowded for my taste, but this particular stretch of the Atlantic coast we had all to ourselves this evening. Cumberland island was once almost entirely owned by the wealthy Carnegie family. With a number of bequethals and other purchases over the decades, the Park Service has managed to obtain most of the island. The few residents that remain are often descendants of descendants of the Carnegie's and maintain their own secluded small pockets of the island. 

After returning to camp, I helped get a campfire going and then began heating some water to cook my dinner, a dehydrated rice and bean dish this evening. We shared stories around the fire and as the temperature dropped with the setting sun, noted that while it was very dark outside, it was only 6 PM. Still, we had all had a busy and active day and most of turned in around 8:30 or so. 

Day 2

I slept really well. The temperatures got down into the mid-forties overnight and some complained about being cold, but with my cold gear on and under my backpacking quilt, I was just right. Not in any huge hurry this morning, I wandered out to the beach once again to see a gorgeous sunrise. Most of the others started stirring and made breakfast before we all broke down our camps and reloaded our bikes for today's journey. 

Setting out on the trail around 9 AM, we ran into a number of wild horses, which I'm told are also very prevalent on the island. While not aggressive, they do tend to do and go wherever they want, and pay little attention to us. I'm very used to wild horses, having just moved east from Nevada, home to the largest wild-horse population in the country, but the horses here appearing somewhat unhealthy have a different battle to fight than the ones I'm used to. In Nevada, there is very little nutrition available in the high desert, while the horses here suffer from very limited sources of fresh-water. Somehow though, they make do.

I notice how sore my tail-bone is. I haven't ridden a bike since Burning Man last year, and that was the first time I had ridden one in probably more than a decade. I'm told you get used to it, but damn, this kind of hurts. 

Our first stop today is at Plum Orchard, which is a large mansion build as a wedding present for one of the Carnegie heirs and his bride. It's about a five-mile ride from our campsite and we arrive pretty quickly after our departure. Here, the forest opens up to well groomed and gigantic yard, complete with the occasional live oak for character. The magnificent house sits perpendicular to the shoreline. After resting for a bit, we take advantage of a tour of the mansion offered by the park service. 

As we make our way through the original house and the expansion, two things become clear. First, our tour guide is quite knowledgeable and second, the Carnegies were fabulously wealthy and fabulously snooty. The later comment becomes quite obvious when the guide describes the additional hallways and accommodations built for servants just to prevent them from being seen by house guests. The home itself though is a thing of wonder. Built in 1898, it included a number of early iterations of modern conveniences. 

After the 45-minute tour, we broke to explore the grounds and eat some lunch. A few of us wandered over towards the shoreline and enjoyed our lunch at a perfectly placed picnic table under the shade of a live oak. These oaks are all over the island and are somewhat unique in the way their large branches hang so low to the ground, often touching it.

Once we finish up lunch, we head back to our bikes and depart for tonight's campground at Brickhill Bluff, another eight or so miles to the north. We end up taking a wrong turn and adding on a couple of miles, but it's of no matter. We are in no big hurry. Along the way, we see more armadillo and wild horses. I'm told there are lots of wild boar on the island as well, but never manage to see any of those critters. Just as well, their tusks can be dangerous.

We arrive at the campground around 3:30 PM and while some members of the group want to head up to see the first African Baptist Church and some other ruins further north, my backside is screaming at me to get off of this bike. I opt to set up my tent and then take a little hike, before returning to camp to enjoy the sunset from my camp chair. It's paradise with the exception of swarms of biting gnats that refuse to leave me alone. 

No fire tonight, as the Park Service has directed, but we manage to create a camp-fire like environment with the use of a couple of solar lamps. As the night settles in, we prepare dinner and enjoy each other's company. Re-hydrated pasta primavera for me this evening. It's actually quite tasty and the cheese sauce is icing on the cake. While I chow down, I hear something rooting around near my tent, a few yards from our dinner spot. I pull out my headlamp and wander over to find an armadillo digging through leaves. I gently kick a stick at him to encourage him to move on away from my stuff, but he takes very little notice and continues his search for food. A moment later, one of our guides makes note of the little spider eyes peering back at us from the leaves. Several large spiders have come up to see what's going on. Perhaps these guys are what the turtle-rat is looking for.

After cleaning up from dinner, I and the others return to our tents and enjoy another wonderful night's rest. As I set my tent up on a ridge just above the shoreline, I'm treated to the sounds of tiny waves crashing all evening. It's very relaxing.

Day 3

Rising before dawn today, we quickly pack up, eat a very light breakfast, and hit the trail. A few of our group need to leave the island early by catching the public ferry which departs two hours before the one REI set up for us. As I climb back onto my bike, I'm reminded of just how painful this is. My tailbone is killing me now and as we ride, each little bump in the road causes pain. I try to keep up with the main group that is now traveling pretty fast in order to cover the eleven or so miles before the early ferry departs, but after a little while I fall back to the slower group. As I'm really in no hurry, it doesn't make much difference. I was just hoping to get back earlier and enjoy some breakfast at the larger REI camp-out site.

Going at a pretty slow pace, we still arrive back at our starting point just prior to the early ferry's departure. We wish those leaving early (which is the majority of our group) safe travels and then head over to enjoy some breakfast hash made by some of the REI camp-out guides. 

After second-breakfast, one of my new friends and I hike a couple of miles (not getting on a bike again for a while) to the southern end of the island to see the ruins of Dungeoness, which was the home to Lucy Carnegie for many years, before falling into disrepair and eventually burning down in the 1950's. Judging from what remains, this must have been akin to a medieval castle in its day. It was huge.

Returning to the dock, we await the ferry and the depart for the mainland. It was a really enjoyable weekend and while I have gnat bites and an incredibly sore backside, it was well worth it to explore such a remote area and make some new friends. In total, we covered almost 30.6 miles over the course of the weekend, and while I certainly need some time to recuperate, bikepacking is something I will do again.