Cumberland IS, GA

April 12-13, 2010

We left Jeckyll IS, GA early in the morning so we could catch high tide due to some ares in Cumberland River being somewhat shallow. We made it through with no problems. Most of the way was bordered by marshlands and forests on main Cumberland IS. We went between Drum IS and Cumberland IS anchoring offshore by the ranger station and where thee ferry boat from St. Mary's lands. This dock can be used for a dinghy or daytime tie up. When we arrived it was misty so we did not want to unload the dinghy from or deck. We had to wait for several hours, not arriving on Cumberland until about 3p.m. I had broken my little toe the night before on the boat so I could not walk far or fast. We took the river walk through the Maritime forest over to the next area south which had a museum in the old ice house. We saw evidence of the wild horses but we did not see any. We did spot two armadillos. There were some wild flowers in the woods and we saw a few tree limbs with flowering trumpet vine. There were graves from soldiers who fought in the war of 1812. Some huge live oak trees existing then. I took a picture of Charlie standing in front of one huge one. The museum showed the history of the island since indians in BC through the Spanish, French, Revolutionary America, Civil War and since.

We went back the next morning and took a walk throught the maritime forest and palms over to the beach. It was interesting that the live oaks near the beach did not have any Spanish moss while the ones on the river side were filled with Spanish moss. They had a walkway over the dunes to protect them. The beach was deserted and windswept. It did not have many shells. We saw tracks and droppings of the horses, but alas we still did not see the wild horses. Off this trail there were a large number of rustic camp sites. There are water spigots scattered around and there is a shower house in a main area. we saw a few campers taking their loads back to catch the ferry. I don't think there are any paved roads on the island and no bridges to it. the ferry from St. Mary's makes 2-3 trips each day.