US barrier island: Cumberland Island, Georgia

[billie_morini]

On the US eastern seaboard, there's a magical island very close to the State of Georgia mainland.

In this recent forum thread, new forum contributor, Onelove, shared some comments about Cumberland Island (viewtopic.php?f=6&t=34050&p=216187#p216187; Sunday, May 13, 2018, 1:43 am). Onelove wrote:

“Yes, Cumberland is amazing. It actually can pick up excellent swell! I see Cumberland from my island and go there by boat with friends who are charter captains. I have spent time on little Cumberland too. Spooky spooky.”

Cumberland Island is an unspoiled, pristine preserve. It is a designated national seashore and wilderness area. It is the largest of Georgia's Golden Islands consisting of an area approximately 36.500 acres (167 km2). Coincidentally, it is the westernmost point of shoreline on the Atlantic Ocean in the United States. Before the Europeans "discovered" it, indigenous people settled there about 4,000 years ago. Later inhabitants were part of the Mocama group. Native inhabitants had a good life here because the climate was mild and terrestrial and sea food was abundant.

Access is by boat. Most visitors take the St. Marys-Cumberland Ferry into the intercoastal waterway and land on the east side of the island. From there, travel is by foot. The island has three major ecosystems: 1) Salt marshes along the western edge, 2) Maritime forest replete with gnarled live oak trees covered with Spanish moss and palmetto plants at the edge of maritime forest, and 3) 17-miles of sugary sand beaches with golden tinged waves.

I'll share some photos from my circa 1982 adventure to this beautiful island.

(some info above sources from Wikipedia because my mind is old & forgetful)

[billie_morini]

After disembarking from the ferry on the island's west side, you enter a magnificent maritime forest. The oak are live oak species and they are filled with Spanish moss and a little old man's beard. The trees are thick and the climate is warm. I always expected to see monkeys in the tree limbs! (No monkeys live here, though. But, the trees would be perfect for them!). However, there are nine-band armadilios, wild boar, other large and small mammals, and many bird species.

[billie_morini]

Many tree trunks are ringed with these tiny, drilled holes. These are made by the yellow-bellied sapsucker. This woodpecker lives throughout the eastern US and Canada. Nearly every southern kid when I was growing up knew these birds well.

[billie_morini]

In addition to armadilios, bob cat, deer, squirrel, and other mammals, you'll see feral horses in the forest and on the beach. The feral horses are quite famous, but not as widely known as the more extensive wild herds on Virginia's Assateague Island. However, it is still a thrill to see them on Cumberland Island.

[billie_morini]

Along the eastern foot route, you'll pass through marshes before reaching the sand dunes. The algae is usually and remarkably Kawasaki lime green in color. My frustration was the commercial film processor available at the time my photos were printed could not achieve the correct color. I was shooting with a medium high quality 35 mm film camera and usually carried 3 lenses at the time. I do not recall whether I was using Kodachrome or BASF film. Kodachrome was preferred, but BASF was cheaper and I was poor then.

This is one of the areas on the island that you could see American alligators. They'd been over hunted in previous decades, but were making a steady comeback due to national preservation efforts. It was still a thrill to see them at this time in Georgia and Florida because they were not ubiquitous like now. These days, you encounter these freshwater alligators from Texas to Florida to Virginia. You've got to be careful about this, especially if you are traveling in a canoe or john boat with a dog. Alligators are crazy about dogs. Gators will jump into your boat to eat your dog!

[billie_morini]

Eventually, you are through the marsh and reach the dunes. Then you can see the clear shot to the sugary sand beach!

[billie_morini]

You continue like Jack Johnson sings, "We've got to get right down to the sea." When you arrive, the beach is entirely yours. The magic in these waves is there are golden highlights on the peak of each cresting wave. The first time I stood in this magical spot, the music from the Who played trough my head and I spoke these lyrics out load to no one.

"I'm free
I'm free
And freedom tastes of reality
I'm free
I'm free
An' I'm waiting for you to follow me
If I told you what it takes
To reach the highest high
You'd laugh and say 'nothing's that simple'
But you've been told many times before
Messiahs pointed to the door
And no one had the guts to leave the temple!
I'm free
I'm free
And freedom tastes of reality"

[billie_morini]

After skinny dipping, you make camp for a good sleep before exploring the remainder of the island over the course of 3 to 5 days. Everything you need, you've brought in your backpack.

[dtc]

Those marshes are spooky. I can see why ‘southern gothic’ is a thing

The waves look a bit, well, brown ...

[Onelove]

Sediment from the marsh. The hue changes depending on tide, time of year, swell, and recent storms.

[Onelove]

You will occasionally find gators in the lineup too.

[Maggie]

Cumberland Island Georgia is a nice National Seashore. The wild Horses are fun to see.

[billie_morini]

The swamps and marshes in the southeastern USA are incredible environments. Most people have at least heard of the Florida Everglades. They are impressive, but my favorite is the Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia. It’s remote, chock full of raw nature, and visually stunning. You quickly realize that if you mess up in there, say break a leg, you are on your own and you must manage your own way out. The place is crawling with gators and it is easy to recall hearing them chomp turtle shells in the night darkness. All three carnivorous plants native to North America exist here, too. Long after my explorations and adventures here, I met my wife. I learned her mother was born and raised on the edge of this magnificent swamp.

[billie_morini]

Talking more about the spooky aspect of these magnificent swamp environments, South Carolina’s Francis Marion National Forest, Virginia’s Dismal swamp, and Louisiana's swampy river delta offer up some of the best of spooky. A portion of the 1982 commercial movie, “The Swamp Thing,” was filmed in the aforementioned South Carolina location. A professor and I were conducting research in the swamp when we encountered thick electrical cables on the ground. Then we saw lights and film cameras. Then we saw and heard the Hollywood people talking their lingo while working. We then saw the lead actress and the Swamp Thing monster finishing a scene. Security told us we needed to leave because they were filming. We told them they needed to leave because they were interfering with our research! They may have been funded by Embassy Pictures. We were funded by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Written accounts say filming occurred primarily in Charleston and to the south on Johns Island. I do not have any firsthand knowledge about this, but can report some movie making action in the swamps north of Charleston.

(Poster source: http://sciencefiction.com/2018/01/25/th ... hing-1982/)

[billie_morini]

...because no bridge is too far, here's the romance scene from the movie. This scene is called, "Much Beauty In The Swamp."

[Big H]

I grew up in Washington DC and lived in Atlanta for a time......took many trips to the NC outer banks, Charleston low lands, Chesapeake bay areas (Assateague & Chincoteage) as well as participated in a few marine archeology surveys in the Chesapeake area. I love the eastern seashore; rich with history and archaic traditions.

[Maggie]

It is good Cumberland is protected unlike St. Simons that has sadly become horribly over crowded. Really very sad, the old spirit of the island is as they say “gone with the wind”.

[Onelove]

Here on Jekyll they are toeing the development line. I despise everything about Saint Simons. The last scene from glory was filmed on the beach here on Jekyll.

[PunaTuna]

I would have to agree...St Simons and Jekyll islands were a total letdown. Although the live oaks with Spanish moss hanging did remind me of home, but even back then the amount of development in what I remember a national park should be was depressing to say the least...but no where on a scale compared to the Brunswick area from which I was working at the time. It’s good to hear they have at least one island they haven’t ruined yet

[billie_morini]

Recent comments from Maggie, Onelove, and Punatuna are very timely. We've got a new fight on our hands to save Roxy's and billie's beloved, pristine Gaviota Coast. There's new developers from Beverly Hills trying to take the property leading to one of the older locals' secret spots. A full photo summary is available at this link and was prepared by a a local (surfing) historian: http://goletasurfing.com/pimpinmothernature.html

The comments from Maggie, Onelove, and Punatuna coincided with me looking for a new retirement location. I've presently fixated on North Carolina's Outer Banks. But, in the search for a new home there, I looked more closely at NC coast a couple hundred miles south, as well as, Georgia's St. Simons Island and Florida's east coast. OMG: so OVERBUILT! Just like Orange County California, in particular Laguna Beach.

If you look at the photo summary provided at the link above, then you will see a security guard wearing a hat and double breasted pockets. He tried to catch Roxy and me the day after our local (surfing) historian experienced his shared story. Roxy and I were too fleet for this guy, but my heart is aching.