Cumberland Island - Sea Camp (Camden County, Georgia)

I'm leading a group of novice campers on a trip to Cumberland Island for the weekend. It's a long drive from my home near Atlanta, and so, I drove most of the way last night and then finished the route this morning before meeting my three other adventurers at the Cumberland Island Ferry in St. Marys, Georgia. I had been in contact with the others over the last couple of weeks to ensure they brought the appropriate gear and understood what to expect on the island. Everyone, including myself, seemed excited about our weekend excursion.

At the appropriate time, we boarded they ferry and settled in for the 45-minute ride over to Sea Camp dock, which is the main entry point to Cumberland Island. This will be my third (I think) trip to this island, but the first for a couple of my companions. Once the ferry docks, we grab out gear and disembark. It's a short half-mile hike to the Sea Camp campground from the dock. Our agreed upon plan is to first head to our campsite and set up our tents and sleep systems. While getting things set up, we are visited by one of the many, many armadillo that inhabit this little paradise. I give it a gentle nudge with my boot to encourage it to move away from our campsite.

We're able to get all of that done without incident and I'm able to help a couple of the others with some of the finer points of setting up a tent and/or inflating a sleeping pad. By two o'clock or so, we're all settled in our campsite and I suggest we walk out to the beach. This is one of my favorite features of Cumberland island and most of the barrier islands in general. I'm not a 'resort beach' person, but seeing miles of completely undeveloped beach stretching as far as my eyes can see is quite appealing. We head out and follow the short trail and boardwalk over the sand dunes until we reach the white sandy beaches and the Atlantic Ocean spreads out before us all the way to the horizon.

We walk a couple of miles north up the beach, collecting shells and admiring the birds that feed here. It's a bit windy with the waves rolling in, but the temperature is quite comfortable with a fleece on. Everyone seems to be having a fantastic time. Eventually, we find a large flock of small waterfowl spread out all across the beach and decide it is a good time to turn around. 

Once back at camp, we get a fire started and prepare our individual dinners. The fire starts out pretty well, but soon a collapse of the logs puts it in jeopardy. I'm rather indifferent to the fire, but one of the others is determined to see it blaze again. She spends a huge amount of time and effort in this endeavor, but eventually surrenders. 

I had mentioned that there was a planetary alignment underway and we decide to head back out to the beach in the dark and take in what we can see. While we're able to spot Mars, Jupiter, and Venus, the cloud cover we had earlier in the day soon returns and blocks our view. Ah well, we tried.

Heading back to our campsite, we catch site of a opossum on the way. Soon, we're back at camp and everyone decides to turn in. We crawl into our respective tents and start up a movie, or audio book, or whatever we each enjoy. The night passes and I'm able to get a good nights sleep. It didn't even get as cold as expected.

When I rise in the morning, I'm surprised by how warm it is. I was expecting temperatures in the low 40°'s, but it feels more like the higher end of that zone. I change into some fresh cloths and crawl out of my tent. After a quick trip to the recently refurbished restrooms, which are just a short walk away, I get some tea going and begin to prepare my breakfast. The others are doing similar chores. After our meal, we begin to break down camp. Our plan for the day is to explore the southern part of the island on foot and get a few miles in the process. 

After dropping out gear at the dock, we head south along the main road (which is nothing more than compressed soil and sand) towards the Dungeness Ruins. What remains of this expansive mansion was once home to a branch of the wealthy Carnegie Family, but it was destroyed by fire in 1959. The ruins and what remains of the city that was home to the mansions support staff are maintained in a state of arrested decay by the National Park Service. We spend some time walking around the ruins and nearby community, and discussing how these people were dedicated to serving their wealthy employers. We also discuss how poorly this would likely be perceived in today's culture.

After the ruins, we continue south through the palmetto and live oak forest until we reach the raised boardwalk through the salt marshes. The tide is out and the oyster beds are revealed. A number of birds, including a long-legged egret, search the mud for their sustenance. I've asked everyone to be on the lookout for wild horses that roam the island and finally we encounter some as we leave the marshes and head for the beach. We see five in total. The first three require us to do some light bushwhacking, but we stumble on the remaining two without trying. Majestic animals, but they live a hard life out here on this island.

Hitting the beach, we head north and decide to have some lunch on the white sands. I only brought some cashews, but it should be enough to hold me over. A couple of seagulls pace nearby, looking for an easy meal. Soon, we head back into the woods and north along the Parallel Trail, which runs parallel to the main road.

A mile or so in, we hit a crossroads and head back towards the ocean and a shelter we had spotted yesterday. It serves as a great spot for a short rest break. From there, we turn back south the way we came and eventually back out to the Sea Camp Dock. Now, we just have an hour or so to wait for the boat to carry us and our gear home. In the mean time, we are assaulted by hordes of 'no-see-ums', which are tiny biting gnats that congregate where they know people be. I do my best to protect my skin from these little bastards, but I'm sure I'll have number of whelps tomorrow. Our total hike today was a slow and leisurely 7.5 miles. 

The ferry soon arrives and we scramble to get a table inside for the ride home. Back at the St. Mary's dock, everyone thanks me for organizing the trip and we go our separate ways to return to our homes. I think everyone really enjoyed the weekend.