Cumberland Island National Seashore

I’m back from my backpacking trip on Cumberland Island. We (my brother and I) had perfect weather the whole weekend…low 80s, gentle breezes, lots of sunshine. For the most part, it was an incredible experience. For the most part, we had a blast. However, there is one part that was not so good and even left us wondering about our fate, but I’ll get to that later…

Day 1:
We arrived on the island at the Sea Camp Dock on the ferry Saturday morning at 10:00. We did our orientation with the ranger and let her know that we were headed for the Hickory Hill Campsites in the backcountry. The nearest (untreated and sulfur) water was about a mile away. There are of course no restrooms or showers in the backcountry. Everything we needed for survival, we carried in packs on our backs. My pack weighed in at 45 pounds and Brother’s at 55 pounds. The hike to the campsite was nearly 6 miles. That doesn’t sound far, but considering the heat and the weight we were carrying, it is much more difficult than it sounds. But we did it, sipping water through our hydration packs the entire time and pausing to snap pics of the beautiful scenery. We saw armadillos for the first time. (I had seen one ran over along the road before, but not a living animated one, so that was cool!) We also spotted wild turkey along the trail, but no horses that day.

We reached our campsite less than 3 hours later and set up camp and had a tasty dehydrated meal. Then we set out for a four mile hike to the beach and back. We had to take a longer route via the Duck House Trail to the beach because we were told by the ranger that our closest beach access, Willow Pond Trail, was flooded and the alligators had taken over. We relaxed at the beach a while before heading back to camp. There was no one else there. It was so peaceful and serene. The beach was overtaken by many different kinds of birds…pelicans, oyster catchers, seagulls, sand pipers, etc.

After an early dinner back at camp, there was an early bedtime. I was wiped out. There was no one around us for miles. I fell asleep listening to a hooting owl. Brother cursed about this owl the next morning, but I liked listening to him hoot.

Day 2:
After breakfast, we started a day hike of many, many miles (approx.13 miles) to the northern tip of the island and back. Our first stop was nearly 3 miles away at the Plum Orchard Mansion. The mansion was built in 1898 by the Carnegie family which at one point, owned 90% of the Island. (Their other mansion, the Dungeness, was destroyed by fire and only the foundation stands now. But I’ll mention more later.) Plum Orchard is beautiful and huge. We ran across some wild horses roaming the grounds here. Then we were off for the settlement and First African Baptist Church. After what seemed like forever we made it there. It was hot now and we couldn’t feel the breeze. What was worse, was we were realizing that our water supply we had carried was quickly diminishing. I never would have plotted that hike had I known “the settlement” consisted of a couple of modern houses. (only a few people live on the island) I had envisioned old historic structures barely able to stand. What’s worse is that this church was completely overrated. This is the church that John F. Kennedy Jr. married Carolyn Bissette. Their wedding was the first time that many people ever heard of Cumberland Island. This tiny church which appears so cute in photos and is seemingly standing on nice shaded grounds was in the open sun backed right up against a house that had roosters roaming around and crowing. I had dreamed of walking up to that church and taking pics and all I could think was this is it? I cursed the Kennedy's because I know that they didn’t have to walk there. Soon afterwards, we started toward the beach on the North Cut Road. I knew it was a little longer but I knew that if we walked along the beach in the wind and near water that we could wet ourselves in that we would stay cooler and thus less thirsty. We walked for such a long time. The sun was sinking low and we still had a long way to go. Panic began to settle in, but I reminded myself that survivors are the ones that don’t panic. I watched Brother’s gait. He was wobbling. His face was red and when he spoke, it was in a whisper. I felt tears welling up in my eyes. I knew he was dehydrated and that help was very far away. I began to pray.

We trudged along silently not expending the extra energy on words. I thought I heard something on the beach and I turned to look around. There was a white truck driving on the beach! The truck drove up next to us. The driver asked, “Are you okay?” We talked with them a moment. I knew this was a miracle: A.) because we had not seen a person since Plum Orchard. B.) There are very few vehicles on the island, save the handful of residents and park rangers. Btw, the “roads” here are just wide sandy trails. C.) It came at the feeling of deepest hopelessness. These men had been working on the north end of the island and were heading for “civilization” (what little exists) to the south end. They offered us a ride on the tailgate to our trail head. They drove us approximately 3 miles to the Duck House Trail. From there we climbed the giant sand dunes and walked 2 more miles to camp. We thanked them over and over. We offered them money. I had $80 in my backpack and would have gladly handed every cent of it over to them. But they refused to take any money. I was moved to tears by this experience. I pray with all my heart that they will receive a miracle like this in their direst need.

On the Duck House Trail, I continue to watch Brother’s wobbly gait. About ¾ mile down the trail, he stops and informs me that he thinks he is going to pass out. I tell him to sit down and give him the last of my water. He refuses at first to drink the last of my water. I insisted telling him that I did not feel like I was about to pass out. We had a little over a mile back to camp where we had fresh water waiting and I felt fine, just exhausted. We stopped at the stinky sulfur spring and collected water in our empty bottles to treat back at camp. We wanted to make sure we had extra for the hike back to the Sea Camp Dock for the ferry the following day. We wiped off to cool down in the spring. The smell luckily went away and did not leave our skin smelly. I felt fresher. We made it to camp shortly after that. It was nearly dusk. I immediately drank a bottle of fresh water and lay down on my sleeping bag. I was asleep in less than 3 minutes. That was the best nap I ever had in my life.

Later we woke up and treated the water we collected. The bad smell was almost completely gone after treatment. It tasted like the water we drink on vacation in Florida. We complained about the Tampa’s water while we vacationed there in the past, but that evening it tasted like heaven. Funny how perspective changes. Brother tended to the many blisters on his foot. It was a bloody mess, no joke. I had one small blister where my sock rubbed the ball of my foot. I felt so sorry for him. We ate and collapsed again. We would be waking up early to backpack out.

Day 3:
We woke up very early and packed everything up except the tent. Our alarm had gone off at 4:00 instead of 5:00 a.m. Damn it! At least we had time for a little nap before it became light. I woke brother up later to inform him it was twilight and we finished the rest of our packing. It was just light enough to see the trails when we began the hike.

We made it back in just over 2 hours! We really booked it! I felt bad because I took the lead and hiked at a rapid pace making sure I was not to miss the 10:15 ferry. In my hurry, I had forgotten poor Brother wobbling along on those blisters of his. I slowed my pace and let him lead so he would not feel rushed. We made it to the Sea Camp Dock at 9:20!

The ferry ride was sweet. I leaned back and closed my eyes in the sun and thought about the trip. I was so proud of myself. I was tired, but still feeling good enough to do more. I had walked the entire length of the navigatable portions of Cumberland Island. If I had more time I would have liked to walked to Dungeness Ruins, the cemetery, and by the old rusting cars once owned by the Carnegies. But I had already done that years ago. I’ll be coming back to the island again. Now you can rent bikes there. Next time I'll rent a bike and I’ll ride back up to Plum Orchard and ride around the south end of the island’s ruins and ride the beach with my hair in the wind same as the wild horses’ manes blow wildly as they gallop the beaches. For now, I am proud to know that I have accomplished much and took some nice photos of the beautiful weekend. As far as this being the true test of my Hotness Plan…I don’t know if I look hot, but I feel hot. I am capable of doing much more physically than before and I feel hotter for that.

When the ferry landed in St. Marys at 11:00, I felt like a new woman. I knew food, Gatorade, and a hot shower were not far away!

Tomorrow I am driving up through Virginia around Mt. Rogers (Va.'s highest peak) with my mom. I have been inspired by the wild horses and hear that the Mount Rogers area is full of wild ponies. We will be back by Saturday. Then I plan on being a slug until I must get up and go back to work Monday.


Beginning our hike down the Parallel Trail, Brother pauses a moment for a photo.







Here's me carrying my pack which is almost half my size.








Armadillo rooting in the ground.





Here I am just after reaching our campsite. No shower. No make up. No boyfriend. No wonder!!!!







Giant sand dunes line the beaches of Cumberland Island. I have actually hiked to the top of one to get this picture.









Pretty colorful shells are all over the beaches.





The beach was covered in hundreds of birds this evening.










Dinner time at the campsite!










Beautiful Plum Orchard Mansion.







Here's one of the wild horses walking the grounds of the mansion.







I'm on the front porch welcoming everyone to my humble home. haha.






Here's that blasted church I nearly died to see. Those blasted Kennedy's probably got a limo ride there!!! Ughhhh!








Wild horses among the dunes.







A refreshing moment for my tired feet.