Cumberland Island Redux – The Walk

Third time lucky

Is April the cruelest month? TS Eliot was wrong. I love April. Wild flowers. Green leaves. Long days. The Easter bunny. My daughter’s birthday. And almost perfect weather for hiking. It’s time to hit the road tomorrow as I hop in my Jeep and drive eight hours south. On Monday I’m meeting a friend and we’re taking the ferry to Cumberland Island, Georgia’s largest barrier island. Wild, calm and wonderfully untamed. Definitely not what you would call Waste land.

It had reservations in October, but the federal government shutdown scrapped that plan. Cumberland Island is a national seashore managed by the Forest Service. Technically, the island was open, but inaccessible because the Park Service controls the only way to get there: by boat. Since the ferry wasn’t running, I rebooked for March. March arrives and health problems prevent me from traveling. Now in April, all cured and ready to walk, here we go!

Sun, coast, sea turtles and more

Excited is an understatement. Cumberland is a historic natural paradise with lots of character and lots of wildlife. Read my previous post if you want to learn more about the history and details of the island. We are hiking and camping on most of the island with camping reservations at three of the five campgrounds there. We’ll visit ruins, meet wild horses, get sand in our shoes, and (hopefully) avoid ticks. My hiking partner, Debbie, is also visiting for the first time, and as we brainstorm and confirm plans, we talk about what to expect.

I would love to encounter an alligator in the swampy area, but from a distance. And I hope that if I am lucky enough to see turtles, they are alive and not drowned after getting caught in the net of a trawler on the high seas. I’ve heard that happens too often. I won’t go near any wild horses and I’ll also stay (politely) away from crowds of hikers. I’m really looking forward to a peaceful respite from the current chaotic daily life in the United States.

It’s a long way from southwest Virginia to Cumberland Island, Georgia.

Walking along the white sand path.

We will only walk about 28 miles as we hike from one end of the island to the other on flat, sandy trails. It sounds easy, but there will be challenges. Drinking water is only available in the southern part of the Island. Where we camped there is no drinking water available. You have to walk a bit outside the camp to fresh water sources to collect and filter them. Other challenges: lack of bathrooms, tons of bugs, spotty cell service, zero trash receptacles, zero electrical receptacles.

As an experienced backcountry hiker, this is no big deal. Indeed, this is paradise, or at least right now, as I write this, in the comforts of civilization. When I get back I’ll let you know.

“I sat on the shore

Fishing, with the arid plains behind me

Should I at least put my lands in order?

T. S. Eliot The wasteland

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