Cumberland Island Armadillo Fight!

“So last night, Stovestomper, Arclite, and I saw an Armadillo whoop on another Armadillo. It was kamikaze! Waaapow! He flung himself in the air and whipped his backside into his enemy!

This trip was great. Stove - I am hanging out in the Kingsland library waiting for my pictures to be saved and developed. Thanks again for organizing. I had a blast! What a great place! What a tough paddle there! Wooohooo!

I can't decide which was tougher - the paddle there or the hike, but I am so happy that I went on this trip.

Arclite - you might be home by now. Good meeting you and I hope to see you both on the next paddle trip... or football. Go Vols!”

“Smoky.... when I lived in GA, it was one mile down that road past the Winn Dixie on the left. Probably where you were having your pics done.
That Kingsland area has kazillions of armadillos !!! But, I never saw one whup up on another one though... I bet that was so comical!!
Glad ya'll had a good time there in my ole stompin grounds.”

“Go Hawks! Well I'll never forget the armidillo that charged gojo, stopped pretty close, jumped three times, then apparently thought better of it and ran away.

Where are the armadillo cartoons?!??!

Can't wait for a full trip report!”

“I was born in Brunswick and lived briefly in St. Mary. When I was last on Cumberland I was amazed at the sheer number of armadilloes. They were everywhere, rooting about in the leaves searching for whatever little bugs and stuff they eat. I was hiking on one of the trails and one came out of the woods just rooting along until he quite literally bumped into my boot. As soon as he realized what he had done, he turned around and hauled back into the woods.

Also, one of the main trails was closed down on that trip because an alligator had built her nest so close to the trail that she was charging any hiker who walked down. So the rangers closed it off.”

“Lol, Bob! I had a 'dillo walk into me out there too! Poor stupid thing.”

“those things can motor. i saw one charging thru the brush back behind om's house a few years ago”

“a 'dillo fight?? too cool!”

“Just got back home.

It was an epic trip we all can be proud of.

15-20 knot head winds and rain from the git go from Crooked River State Park with waves of water crashing over our bows. Hardest paddle I have ever done. 12 hard miles of yaking with off and on rains and a strong wind in front of us the whole way. Smokygirl and arclite are great paddlers! Smokygirl started slow and was having some slight trouble in the waves and wind, but wound up strong and was first into camp. I picked up some great pointers on paddling from arclite.

We had a fantastic paddle back today. Calm and a slight breeze at our backs.

I took them on a death march dayhike yesterday in that summer heat from Brickhill, South to the South Cut Road over to the beach, North up the beach to the North Cut Road, to High Point where the local landower asked us if we were 'lost' and didn't offer to let us pass. He did give us a ride in the back of his pickup back to the beach, then the death march continued along the North Cut Road to the African Church and continueing on to the Warff Ruins, and back on the North/South Road back to Camp.

Lots of dolphins, we saw several dolphins splashing hugh amounts of water on the banks and eating the fish as they flopped back toward the water. Smokygirl got suprised by a manatee.

In addition the the dillo wars, I discovered the local raccoons have learned to open sealed kayak hatches. The little thieves got my bagles and muffins! I also learned the local coons LOVE beer. They got into the garbage bag and bit and crushed a beer can with a few drops of beer left in it.

The wildest wildlife sighting was while we were sitting around camp at sunset yesterday. We were invaded by about ten very very drunk middle aged women and the guy from High Top, where they were staying. They came to 'see' the sunset from the backpackers camp. Several were very loud drunks and had to be lead around by the two or three non drunks. Very entertaining. Arclite got a good one in as the High Top guy walked past. He said "You don't look lost". Ha Ha.”

“sounds like it was pretty wild...”

“In other St. Mary's/Cumberland news, this was cool. http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/local/news-article.aspx?storyid=39658”

“You have them down there, too?”

“Yeah Gremlin, and they travel in herds. ;-)”

“Sounds like an interesting trip,Stovie.But one a beginner would have had difficulty with for sure..I think I'm glad I bailed.. lol..I think. :)”

“Great trip!

Ummm, I forget. Where is High Point? (or ya gonna make me dig out my maps??!?)

Is it the area MARKED as private? lol... I recall there's one along that North Cut..”

“trekkngirl - I had to admit, I was kinda glad in a way that you had bailed. The first part was very brutal and not good for beginers. You would have been pissed at me for dragging you along. LOL.
It was great the other two days.

lizs - Be quiet about the 'private' area. ;-)”

“This brings back memories of my trip to Cumberland Island with my son when he was stationed in GA. What a memorable two days we had! The paddling sounds like it was pretty rugged, we just went over on the ferry. I remember how smart the raccoons were, & very aggressive too. Being a midwestern gal I was surprised to see the armadillos. Are they really stupid or what? We walked up on them a few times & it was like they didn't see or hear us until we were right on top of them.”

“GREAT TRIP!

Once again, I greatly enjoyed the company we keep here on thebackpacker.

It was good to see you again, Stove. And it was very nice to meet you Smokey.



What a paddle!!! It was just a tad bit longer than the one I’m used to from St. Mary’s to Sea Camp. The 12 mile paddle, with 15-20 knot headwinds, was tough but fun. The 12-14 mile day hike, in 90+ degree heat, was tough but fun. The 12 mile paddle back, in 90+ degree heat (with very little breeze), was tough but fun. But the really sweet touch was finishing that 12 mile paddle, in 90+ degree heat, and then hauling the boats up that 20ft cliff back to the access trail…sweeeet.

The scenery was awesome. The river is pretty. The tidal estuary was spectacular (especially with the feeding dolphins). The island has amazing diversity for such a small area. And that Sunday evening sunset was just beautiful.

The armadillo attack was wild. It was just like WWF Smackdown!



I’m glad that we were all reasonably strong paddlers. That trip would not have been fun for an inexperienced paddler.

There are many paddling destinations down here. Just a couple for future thought:

Cayo Costa Island; St Joseph’s Peninsula; The Keys; The Everglades; The Suwannee River, … and many base camp/day trip possibilities.


But can we try to make these future trips from October to May? The summer is better for the mountains… NOT CAMPING OUT IN THE ONE PLACE IN THE USA THAT MOST RESEMBLES A STEAM BATH!”

“Aaah, arclite, but yer purdy face looks even sweeter after the sauna, I'm sure :-)

lol”

“LOL
No pain, no gain! ;-)”

“Lizs, you are too kind for a Hawkeye. Are you sure you're not a closet GATOR?


Stove, are you sure its not, "no pain, no brain"? Hey, I'm used to the heat, but that cold shower at the campground was something else. That was almost better than a night with Lizs... almost.”

“Lawd have mercy - I had a good ole time in the Okefenokee Swamp after I said goodbyes to y'all.

Trekker John - that's funny that you knew exactly where I was at!

Arclite and Stove - another kayak trip sounds great!

Hope you all had a great July 4th - I sure did! Finally back at home and.... back at work.”