Cumberland Island Trip Report

“What did the fish say when he swam into the wall?

Dam



Saturday,
Packrat and I met HumanPackMule & Treebait at the St. Marys. Treebait was not feeling good and decided it would be best not to go. The other three of us got on the boat a headed out.
We hit the Parallel Trail and walked it till it's end then got on the Main Road. After a bit we turned off on the Willow Pond Trail and that's when the bugs started eating us alive. We made camp at Yankee Paradise then walked to Plum Orchard for water.
Hiked about 8 miles for the day.

Sunday,
After a night of hardley no sleep because of the bugs we hit the beach and headed north. Saw a big dead Sea Turtle. We turned down the South Cut Trail and saw a small 2 foot Alligator. We turned down the Main Road and HPM spotted a Bigger one at one of the Bridges. We went and took pictures. They used me as a gage to see how close they would saftly get. He was about 5 foot long.
We got water at Plum Orchard then made camp at Stafford Beach.
Miles = 12 (HPM & Packrat) and 13 1/2 (me)



Monday,
Headed to Sea Camp and hung out like bums. It rained some.
Miles = 3 1/2 miles.

Tuesday,
HPM and I took a walk to the Dungenous Ruins area before the boat showed up.
We also Me a couple from North Alabama and told them about TT. and everyone feasted at Hardees.”

“Hey Walkindude, great photos! It's Spelled "Dungeness," by the way. Like the crab.”

“Great pictures. That's at the top of the todo list for camping with the kids. I'll have to wait til early spring though. I would think March would be a good time to camp there?”

“great pictures! looks like a great place.”

“Holy crap, I hate working for a living.
Wish I could have joined you guys!
The pictures are great!
You guys do need to quit bothering those little baby gators, lol.”

“Bull$hit? Horse$#&%!$. Dam!

Walkindude breaks out the Reader's Digest Condensed version of the trip report. lol.

Good trip guys. When Treebait decided not to join us I dumped the 5lb 2 man tent and decided to just use my sil-tarp.
Big mistake. It was still too early in the year and I got eaten alive. I look like I have acne.

It rained on us a Sea Camp and the 'ole digital camera got wet. So unless there is some sort of eletronic laying-of-hands that I can do then that sucker is dead, dead, dead. So my pics are in limbo.

Dayhiker if you are going in March then make it early March.”

“Thanks for the tip. Is it a bug issue or temp issue or both? Would January be good? February is all tied up for me.”

“Was it gnats or mosquitoes eating y'all?”

“I love pictures and trip reports!!

No-see-um bugs or mosquitoe bugs?

My son camped on an small Island on the coast this weekend and didn't get a sinlge bite. Must have been the breeze.”

“Mostly bugs, of all varieties.
April and May is when the heat starts ramping up.”

“Wow, looks like y'all had a great time!

I don't recognize the Huntsville people...but hey, it's a big place.
If y'all are lurking, stop, and join us for a hike sometime!”

“They were cool folks and said they'd drop in.

So where are y'all at?”

“You have mail!”

“could you send to my work addy?
mlong@7thman.com”

“Will do.
I'm happy you have a work address now! ;)”

“Oh sorry Dayhiker I missed some questions.

January is when I go mostly. If it's windy then being on the beach will suck the warmth right out of you. Sometimes I need to be bundled up big times sometimes fleece at night is good.

Feb is about the same. Could be cold could be perfect.

In this area we say we have two seasons hot and February.”

“So am I.
Back 'atcha.”

“HMP take the batteries out of the camera and let it dry out with all of the openings open for a few days. I had a regular camera get wet and it dried out and worked again. I'vealso heard about putting them in the oven on really low heat.

Great trip guys i've always wanted to go camping at the beach. I think Gojo was telling me about this place.”

“Thanks for the info.”

“Great pics, WD!!”

“Heh heh, I think HPM put the final nail in his brithers' cameras' coffin.”

“Dude finally gets some gator action! Yay!”

“HPM - killer of cameras

Sad but true.”

“Way cool Walkindude and the pictures were very pimp!!!!


I would like to go backpacking there.

8)”

“Hey WD,
how long a drive is it to CI from Nashville?”

“Looks like Lizs will be in the hood the week of T'giving.

Cumby is plan "A".
If lack of reservations is a problem, we'll likely head down to Ocala NF.

Either case will be a win for our Midwestern farmgirl....

I haven't been there for a couple years, now. I've got the itch!


Yam -
St. Marys, GA, is five hours beyond ATL.”

“Treebait,
I typed that up right after I woke up this morning so that's my excuse for the spelling. I even had the map next to me and still messed it up. LOL!!

Yam,
It took us about 8 hours to drive down (at night), and about 9 hours (daytime) to get home.

HPM,
Hope ya get your camera working!

StoveStomper,
I know you can say "baby gator", but I was tickled to death to finally see one in the wild!



From now on, I will only hit Cumberland Island in the WINTER. I'd have paid $20 for a can of Off!”

“Cool pics, WD!”

“Looks like a great beach hiking experience. It wasn't too ot for the dude?”

“It was still a bit to hot and the bugs were pretty bad but I still enjoyed it. Seeing the alligator was worth the trip!”

“MDK would have been high with that gator WD?


8)”

“You call that hot?
That wasn't hot, it was warm.”

“Naw man. The gator was very cool. He was walking along that stretch of water heading for bigger marsh. HPM spotted him and I took off running through the mud. He completely stopped and let us check him out for about 5 mins or so. We backed off and he continued on his way.”

“I'm usually sucking up the AC in those temps. I'm a puss if it's over 70 degrees.”

“Packrat and I were standing there looking at each other watching WD running through the marsh grass.

Dam!”

“I remember you saying something like, "That mud is going to be deep."”

“I was suprised that it wasn't that bad.”

“Yeah I did.
I was very suprised that it wasn't deep. Normally you would be up to your knees in that stuff.”

“Cool hike... cool report. Yeah, gojo, I'm looking forward to seeing this! Very, VERY different from any place I've hiked. I take it a person could hike this in trail runners as opposed to hiking boots? What's it like around Thanksgiving, temp and bugwise?”

“Sure thing Lizs. I was wearing NB 963 walking shoes on this one. Bugs will be gone and temps should be about 72 to 55.”

“Well, bugs should be gone anyway.”

“dude...finally ...a gator encounter!! yay......(got a huge one waitin on you down here on rum island.)
cumby is always a great trip! i vicariously enjoyed the trip thru your pics and no insect stings!!...thanks”

“Howdy OM!!!
I'm looking foward to getting back down there again. How big is your gator at Rum Island?”

“lizs....i have done it in sandals, even barefoot on the beach side...
you do want to protect from chiggers in the woods tho.

if plan A fails due to reservations..i know of a great place with similar flora/fauna and a jungle river ride...no permit needed ..on the way to ocala!”

“LOL! I think I've heard of *that place, om!!* ;-)”

“Barefoot on the beach is the only way to go!”

“yep”

“I heard that if an electronic device gets soaked to submerge it in pure alchohol...which will displace the water and evaporate more efficently...or so in theory...HPM..do you have a card reader?..if not get one for 10-15 at walmart..and if they are corrupted...i'll send you the crack to that proggy....you guys can play with my 10 foot gator next time”

“innuendo!!!!
















LOL!”