The Georgia Conservancy is an outstanding organization that dedicates their efforts to protecting our natural environments and inspiring people to do the same. As part of the later, they lead several trips each year to some of the wilder parts of Georgia. I was lucky enough to join them a year or so ago for one such adventure into the Okefenokee Swamp. This weekend I'm headed to the Georgia coast for another trip with the organization. This time, we'll be camping out on Cabretta Beach and kayaking out to the nearby Blackbeard Island. This three areas make up the larger Sapelo Island, which has a rich history that we'll learn about along the way.
After the long drive, I finally reached the Sapelo Island Visitor's Center, where we will collect our gear and then ride the ferry over to the island. As folks arrive, we get to talking about the upcoming weekend. Everyone seems excited. I've visited several of the other barrier islands along the Georgia coast, but this will be my first time on Sapelo. I'm looking forward to it, as this particular island is heavily protected and can only be visited by permit, which the Georgia Conservancy arranged for the group. Shortly before our departure time, we loaded all of our gear onto the ferry and with a whistle from the boat captain, we were off.
The ferry ride through the salt marshes only takes about twenty minutes, but it offers some great views of what's to come. Upon our arrival, we unload all of the gear and place it on a long flatbed trailer with benches fashioned on either side. This will be our transport to our campground. With the twenty-five or so of us loaded on, our campground host hooks up his pickup truck to the trailer and begins the short drive to Cabretta Beach. The roads area combination of pavement and dirt - mostly pavement as we pass through Hog Hammock, which is the only remaining Gullah-Geechees community in existence and the includes the only full-time inhabitants of the island. These people are descended from the enslaved peoples brought here against their will from West Africa in the 1700 and 1800's. Their culture is rich, as can be seen by their community.
Finally arriving at Cabretta Beach, we unpack the trailer and settle in to the campground, which is quite expansive. I think I'm going to like our campsite quite a lot. It's very open and full of young live oaks with their spider branches spreading out. The earth is soft and should make for a comfortable night's sleep with my sleeping pad between me and it. I quickly erect my tent and get my gear sorted for the weekend. Before dinner, I decide to take a quick walk out to the actual beach. We're wedged between the salt marsh and the ocean-side beach. It's a grand location.
Returning to the campsite, our hosts have kicked-off happy hour. The trip is partially sponsored by Creature Comforts, one of my favorite Georgia Breweries, and they sent a supply of their products to keep us hydrated. I enjoy a couple while sitting around the raging campfire and waiting for dinner. We're also treated to a table of snacks, including hummus, pimento cheese, and assorted vegetables and crackers to dip with. It's a great way for everyone in the group to get acquainted.
Before too much time has passed, we're treated to a delicious chili for dinner, complete with all the toppings you could want. We crowd the picnic tables near our outdoor kitchen and continue conversation while finishing our dinner and drinks. After dinner, we return to the campfire, which has been built inside a ring of tabby blocks and surrounded by benches. One of our hosts mentions a hike out to the beach under the moonlight in a few minutes and several of us decide to join him.
It's only a short walk and with a nearly full moon, only the occasional headlamp is required to avoid muddy areas. The beach is made of fine white sand and with the tide currently out, we have a huge swath of it. As we make our way down way north along the beach, the ocean waves gently roll in to our right. We find a few small jelly fish that have been stranded by the waves and one larger one that is being fed on by a small crab. One of my fellow attendees picks this one up for a closer examination.
After getting back to camp, I decide to turn in for the night. It's getting cool, but I should be plenty warm enough in under my quilt. Once settled, I quickly fall asleep and only wake a couple of times through the night.The morning comes with a cool breeze blowing in from the ocean. Actually, it's more than just a breeze. These winds are pretty strong and a concern for our plan to kayak to the nearby Blackbeard Island. I take a walk to rouse myself from slumber and find myself back on the beach again where we had hiked last night. The winds are very strong and the waves are now pounding the shoreline. With the tide now in, there is much less beach to see. I revisit an item that caught my attention last night, but that I didn't really examine too closely. A washed up and overturned 'boat' has been wedged into the sand here by the unstopping waves and tides. However, this 'boat' is made of very uncommon materials, including blue canvas tarps, wire-ties and styrofoam. All of this has been secured around a frame of steel pipes that were somewhat hastily welded together. I wonder if this craft was used by someone trying to reach American shores? We'll likely never know, but it's interesting to think about.
Returning to camp, I'm greeted by the smell of smooth, buttery oats and fresh fruit for breakfast. I enjoy a bowl of this along with a cup of freshly brewed coffee. Soon after breakfast, we are asked to get our kayaking gear ready as we load back up onto the trailer and are transported to our launch point. From what I'm told, our kayaking guides don't believe the gusting winds will cause us much of a problem due to our planned route and the way it is protected by the shoreline. The road here is dirt and includes some deep puddles that the truck nearly gets stuck in a couple of times. There must be a foot of water in some of these, but we manage to arrive at the kayak launch without any trouble. Our guides give a brief overview of the plan for the day and then get everyone outfitted with a kayak. I end up with a paddling partner in a large tandem. While I'm an experience paddler, I've never been in a tandem and so this will be a learning experience. We launch our boats and gather along the shoreline waiting for everyone to be on the water before heading over to Blackbeard Island. I find myself trying to steer a little bit from the front seat, but quickly find that my efforts are not very productive. It seems the front paddler provides most of the power, while the individual in the back has much more control over the direction we are traveling.
It's a short trip and after only twenty or thirty minutes on the water, we ground our kayaks on a long, pristine beach on the extreme southern end of Blackbeard Island. This particular island is a National Wildlife Refuge, mostly protected for migrating birds. There is no development on the island and visitation is heavily regulated. As a wilderness area, no machinery is allowed on the island, meaning the few trails that exist are cut by machete and two-man saws when necessary, instead of chainsaws as one would expect elsewhere.
We leave our boats and discuss our plan. Everyone is free to explore at their leisure, but we'll reconvene here by the boats in about an hour-and-a-half. I decide to head off into the interior alone for a bit. The coastal forest is pristine here and the ground is defined by undulations of sandy hills, grown over by the vegetation. Most of the trees here are pine, with the occasional live oak. There is also a huge amount of palmetto, which I have to fight my way through on a few occasions. There is no trail to speak of, but that makes it all the better.
I make my way to the ocean-side beach, which stretches as far as the eye can see to the north. It's pristine and untouched, with the high winds driving in wave after wave to pound the island. Heading back into the forest, I try to cut across and meet up with the larger group that was headed west. It takes a bit of bushwhacking, but eventually, I catch up with them and continue my exploration. This really is a highlight of the trip. I enjoy seeing these untouched areas so much.
At the appointed time, we start heading back to the area where we beached the kayaks. Along the way, we spot some bald eagle nests and their residents high overhead. Cathy Sakas, a renowned expert on the bio-diversity of these coastal islands has joined us and gives a short talk about the various samples collected by the group during our explorations. These samples include seashells, sand dollars, seed pods from various plants and trees, and human refuse that has found it's way to these shores. It's interesting and she definitely knows here material.With the talk finished, we enjoy a quick lunch of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, which we made before leaving camp, and then load into our kayaks and hit the water for the return trip. We'll be paddling alongside Little Blackbeard Island, which was separated from the larger section during a recent hurricane. As we make our way, a group of white pelicans eyes us suspiciously and eventually leave the water and take to the sky above us. We reach the point where we are going to leave the water, which is conveniently within walking distance of our campsite. Each in turn, we paddle our boats into a narrow slit and leave the water. As I exit the boat, I end up planting my foot in a muddy hole and sinking several inches into it. Luckily, there is a water hose back at camp.
While everyone settles, I decide to take the opportunity to take a quick shower. Yes, I said shower. I'm so used to camping or backpacking without the ability to shower, but this campsite has a bathhouse, complete with a water heater and three shower units. I love being outside, but I equally love the idea of a hot shower once my day is over. I feel so much better after cleaning up. I spend a little time outside trying to get the mud off of my shoe, which results in my primary shoes getting pretty soaked. Luckily, I brought another pair to wear. I place the wet ones on one of the tabby blocks near the campfire to dry. Happy hour has started once again and I enjoy a couple of beers, while we wait for dinner to be prepared. It's low country boil for dinner tonight. For those that are unfamiliar with this dish, a low country boil consists of small corn cobs, potatoes, peel & eat shrimp, and usually some form of pork sausage. Boil to doneness and add Bay Seasoning to taste. You're ready to dig in. I make a plate of food and head over to the fire. For some reason, I'm much colder right now than I have been all day. Perhaps, it's the shower. Either way, the raging campfire warms me up nicely.
We stay up for a few hours telling tales around the campfire. Many members of the group make smores, but I'm not really wanting anything so sweet this evening and so, I remain content with the conversation and my Creature Comforts Tropicali. Around 10:30, I decide to turn in for the night. It feels good to crawl back into my tent after a day well spent and I'm quickly asleep.Breakfast this last morning, consists of a nice egg, pepper, and sausage scramble. As we're not departing the island until 3:30pm, we have plenty of time to break down camp and get back to the ferry. Still, I don't waste much time after breakfast and soon bring my loaded pack to the trailer. I'd rather be early than late. I spend the next couple of hours conversing around the campfire and exploring the nearby area once again. It's very relaxing.
After loading the trailer, we start our trip back through Hog Hammock and toward the ferry dock, but we make a stop at the South End House, a mansion owned by several wealthy socialites over the years, including R. J. Reynolds Jr., heir to the tobacco empire. Later it was turned into a lodge and remains as a historic site. Here, we are able to explore the rooms and grounds of the mansion for an hour or so. It's quite beautiful. Our guides offer me another beer from the cooler, which they dug out from under the other gear. Who am I to turn down a could beer, and I enjoy it while sitting on the edge of an empty pool, complete with a marble statue of the Roman Goddess Venus in the center of it.
With my beer finished and our time expired, we load back onto the trailer and complete the trip to the dock. Unloading the gear is something akin to a factory assembly line and everything is stacked in minutes ready to be loaded onto the ferry once it arrives. We wait for about thirty minutes before the boat arrives and then with similar efficiency load everything onto the boat.
And with that, my weekend adventure on Cabretta Beach is complete. We ferry over to the shore and load our gear into our individual cars. We say our goodbyes and thank the staff for a terrific weekend before going our separate ways. This truly was a magical weekend and I'm so very grateful I was able to be part of it. The islands were amazing and per their intention, the Georgia Conservancy has inspired me to do what I can to protect this area.
