Cumberland Island

Cumberland Island, GA
30 53.808N 081 26.718W

Last night, at anchor near here we could hear the sound of booming surf. This is only the second time we've been anchored within earshot of surf. It's kind of scary for a sailor since a sailboat that finds its way in to surf is doomed.

Boy are we glad we stopped here. Several times before we passed by Cumberland Island without knowledge of what was here. Most of the island is a pristine nature preserve, the best we've ever seen.

This morning we rowed ashore and set out on a hike. We were immediately struck by the beauty of the campsites on the Bricknell River shore. Massive live oak trees covered with Spanish moss make for wonderful shaded grass groves. Clumps of palm plants are abundant adding lush green color. This is the place our grandson Nick would have loved. He has almost unlimited wilderness and natural beauty all around, and almost no people.

The wild life is wonderful too. We hadn't walked for very long before we came upon a wild horse grazing on the grass. The horse was semi tame. I was able to approach within 10 feet of him before he shied away. Before the end of the day, we were able to see 9 wild horses, two armadillos and one alligator. We also saw tracks of deer and raccoons. We wanted to go across the island

Around noon Libby was getting tired so we returned to the boat without making it to the beach. After lunch and my afternoon nap, I set out again alone to find the beach. I walked about 90 minutes until I found it. I was amazed. Huge barrier dunes 50-100 feet high made of very fine very white sand isolate the beach from the island. The dunes are spectacular.

When I got out to the beach, a strong wind was blowing parallel to the shore. A faint, ephemeral river of sand was blowing along the surface at a speed of 15-20 miles per hour. It was fascinating to watch.

The island is unspoiled. We saw no trash of any kind except on the beach. The beach was littered with empty water bottles that no doubt drifted in from the sea. Whoever is responsible for the bottled water fad should be waterboarded, then hung.

Notable was the almost complete absence of bird songs. There were very few insects and few small birds (no doubt related.) Thinking of northern forests I was also struck by the absence of squirrels despite the fact that the forest floor was covered with acorns. Oh well, we're not naturalists enough to explain these things, only to observe them.

I recommend to all of you who could ever get here. Visit Cumberland Island. There is no bridge. You must get here by boat. We have some great pictures. I'll post them at a later date.