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Kingfisher Cumberland Camping

March 3rd, 2010 Cumberland Island, First-time Backpacking, Kingfisher Academy, Overnight, Swimming, Tree Climbing

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I couldn’t resist the alliteration in the title of this post!

Last week, Ms. McGinnis (a middle-school teacher at Kingfisher Academy) and I took a group of twelve 9-13 year olds on a 4-day, 3-night camping trip on Cumberland Island National Seashore on the coast of Georgia. For those of you not familiar with Cumberland, it is my favorite place in the United States. From the jungle of live oak trees, saw palmettos, and Spanish moss to the wild horses to the pristine beaches, Cumberland is an exquisite place to be outdoors.

I’m always excited to introduce new people to the island, and this group of students from Kingfisher Academy were in for a treat! February is one of the best times to visit Cumberland because the gnats and mosquitos are not out yet and it is still sometimes warm enough to soak in the sun at the beach. On this trip, we experienced the best day possible: 75 degree temperatures, full sun, no bugs, and an island virtually to ourselves because the ferry doesn’t run on Tuesdays.

Though rain was predicted on Monday and Wednesday, nature smiled on us and only produced a slight drizzle both days. Enough to get us damp, but not soaked to the bone.

Despite this good fortune, this was still a most difficult trip. Not only were these students relatively young (four days out is a long time for 9-10 year olds), but this was the longest camping trip most of them had been on, the first camping trip for some, and the first time away from parents overnight for one or two. As a result, our group had to learn a camp routine and develop comfort sleeping and living in the woods. We were not without a good deal of complaining, but I saw a lot of growth in the kids.

Some kids refused to wear “dirty” clothes, insisting on changing into “clean” ones (sometimes twice a day), but on our last evening when the temperature was dropped into the mid-30s, all the kids quickly put on multiple layers when I asked them to - no matter if they had any “clean” clothes left.

One girl slept really poorly the first night, laying awake listening to the sounds of the forest. The next night, feeling more comfortable, she slept like a rock.

We developed lots of routines: dish washing and tooth brushing after meals, where to put trash, where to keep our food safe from raccoons, always zipping up the tent when you leave it, etc.

At the end of the trip when Ms. McGinnis asked the students what they were most proud of, and it was a joy to hear their answers: completing a 7.5 mile hike, having a quiet moment watching the bright moon at night, and my favorite, just coming on this trip!

Though we stayed in Sea Camp all three nights, we were not at all sedentary. I’m not sure if you can be with kids this age. The first day, we set up camp and then spent the rest of the day combing the beach for sea life and running. This group ran around more than any other group I’ve been with. No wonder we were all in bed by 9pm each night!

On Tuesday, in the glorious 75-degree weather that I previously described, we took a 5-mile day hike to Dungeness, a ruined Carnegie mansion from the early 1900s. We visited Raccoon Keys and searched (mostly fruitlessly) for sharks teeth. We saw 9 wild horses. We visited the salt marshes on the southern end of the island, and took a long walk back to camp along the beach.

We even got to go swimming…well, sort of. My rule was that no one goes in the water unless I do, and it was so beautiful on Tuesday that I decided it would be okay. We splashed in the waves, got thoroughly wet, and then had to rinse the salt water off our bodies in ice cold showers! But it was worth it!

That night, the kids collected wood, built a pyre, and lit the fire. We roasted marshmallows, made s’mores, and told stories.

The next day we cleaned up camp and tightened the guy-lines on our tents in case of rain and then took a 7.5 mile day hike to Stafford Beach and back. This was not easy for the kids. 7.5 miles is the longest hike I’ve taken them on this year and it started drizzling when were a mile from camp. Prepared, we put on our rain gear and continued. Though blisters, sore ankles, knees and legs hobbled us, we did it! And at least one student learned it’s better to not wear short socks with high-top basketball shoes.

Though the rain soaked some of our firewood, the kids (and me and Ms. McGinnis) were diligent and stashed enough wood under the tarp for a fire on our last morning. The students built a pyre the previous night and covered it with my pack cover. So on Thursday morning, I awoke before everyone and used their pyre to light the fire. We toasted our bagels, drank tea and cocoa, then packed up camp to leave.

We were all very ready to go home, but leaving Cumberland is still bittersweet for me - especially since the clouds cleared and blue skies and sun streamed down through the Spanish moss as we backpacked to the ferry on Thursday morning. Despite the chilly wind, I couldn’t help but sit on the upper deck of the ferry to wish the island adieu. Most of the kids fell asleep on benches in the heated cabin of the ferry.

I can’t wait for my next journey to Cumberland Island in the fall. Be on the lookout for our announcement (in May) of our next Cumberland Island trip open to the general public.

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Wind, Water & Wisdom Backpacking Trip

August 17th, 2009 First-time Backpacking, Overnight, Swimming, Tree Climbing

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We just completed a wonderful - and tiring - 4-day backpacking trip with the new school, Wind, Water & Wisdom and several other homeschool families. Aged 11-15, these kids thrived in the woods, collecting millipedes, salamanders, frogs, bugs, and other fun critters. Camp was often chaotic, but everyone pitched in when needed, and our group began more efficient with each day we stayed in the woods.

All of our pre-trip nervousness and stress disappeared the moment we walked into the woods. It’s amazing how the forest can bring peace back in my life.

We stepped onto the Benton MacKaye Trail with excitement and awe, and soon arrived at our first night’s campsite at Peter’s Cove. The evening was filled with

…”hobo meals,” s’mores, and more.

Because few of our hikers had been on a backpacking trip before, we had a lot of teaching to do - how to best pack and adjust packs, how to set up tents, where to collect the best firewood, etc. But we never had to teach the love of nature to these kids. In the midst of J.S. and me trying to toss ropes for hanging food bags, I lodged our rock (tied to the rope) in the crook of the tree. Afraid that we had “donated” our rope to the tree, we called H.S. over, who scampered up the tree, untangled our rope, and then hung the rope from above!

Few of us slept well the first night (as is typical on backpacking trips), and Day Two was our longest day with the most elevation gain. Though the uphill was difficult, we collected wild blackberries, told stories, and took long breaks to climb trees. We made it to camp alongside the Jacks River, waded and bathed in its water, cooked a huge meal of pasta and sauce, and ran to our tents as the sky opened up and rain poured down on us.

The tents held, but the sky didn’t clear until after noon. When it did, we packed up and began the first of our 14 river crossings that day. Everyone completed the crossings masterfully, and we escaped the river without anyone washing downstream. We only got wet when we chose to!

That night, we celebrated H.S.’s 14th birthday with cheesecake and candles. R.D. also turned 14 the day after our trip.

On a trip such as this, the “lessons” of nature are not always evident. The kids (and adults) were so at home in the woods, that we encountered few difficult situations. Even in the rain and fog on Wednesday morning, everyone was upbeat and generally positive. However, a few moments stick out in my mind:

One young man’s mother had told me that he had a very difficult time on his last trip to the woods, so I was paying extra attention to his well-being. In the middle of the night, I looked out of my tent window and saw a light coming from the fire-ring. This young man wasn’t able to sleep. Instead of tossing and turning and waking up his tent-mates, he had coaxed our fire back to life and was sitting near it warming himself, deep in thought. I was impressed that the person I thought would need the most help on our trip was so self-sufficient. He and I talked for a few minutes around the fire, and then went back to our respective tents in the hopes of sleep.

Another young man, smaller than his peers, had trouble adjusting his own pack, much less picking it up and putting it on. He regularly asked me to carry his pack or at least remove some of its gear. I was confident he was not carrying too much weight, so I always responded, “We’re all a team on this trip, and that’s your part of our gear to carry.” Still, every time we stopped for a break, Josh or I had to lift his pack onto his pack and snap together his waist belt. Then, on the last day, on our last stop, I suggested to this young man that he get a head start on the rest of the group. His eyes lit up, he stood up with his pack, fastened his own waist belt, adjusted his shoulder straps, and set off hiking.

One young woman, in particular, was amazingly self-sufficient. She ate what was put before her, efficiently packed her own pack, and periodically chose to walk in the rear of the group, in solidarity with the slower hikers. When one participant’s pack was not fitting well, she was willing to trade packs, even though the new one was not as comfortable. She adjusted her straps and made it work. Even when she got blisters, once I showed her how to bandage herself, from then on, she doctored herself, sitting next to me as I wrapped other people’s blisters. This confidence and self-sufficiency comes naturally to her, but it is also a testament to her comfort in the wilderness. She was the 2nd youngest person on our trip!

I was privileged to lead a trip with such amazing kids. Though I’ve barely mentioned the parents who participated in this backpacking trip, I was impressed at their stamina, laid-back attitude, and gentleness with the children. Without their accompaniment, my job would have been much more difficult.

So, we exited the woods having built deeper community and grown more comfortable living outside of civilization. I can’t wait until our next excursion. What a wonderful group of monkeys!

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Cumberland Island #2

April 6th, 2009 Cumberland Island, First-time Backpacking, Overnight, Tree Climbing

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Ideally we would never begin a trip with a 6-hour car trip, a late night, an early morning, or a funny-smelling hotel.

But, then right at the border between Georgia and Florida there’s Cumberland Island. Cumberland – the barrier island where you need to reserve a space in months in advance, that pristine place that scoffs at my notions of how far away a weekend backpacking trip can realistically take us and still be worth it.

And it’s always worth it, immediately. That’s what I kept telling myself last Thursday when we left Atlanta around dinnertime … and then stopped pretty immediately for what became a long dinner.

We had lovely, up-for-anything company: Odette’s a hiker, fried oreo master, and had been backpacking once or twice before this trip. Annie’s a self-taught naturalist, and took her first backbacking trip with us in the autumn. Rachel and Nick hiked up mountains in Colorado with us last summer, and are our favorite board game duo.

Though they didn’t know it, I had an alterior motive for inviting them along: none except for Annie plan on staying in Georgia for the long haul. As a native, I feel an obligation to show off the state’s best sides, so that no matter what they experience in Atlanta’s traffic or smog, they’ll still have fond memories.

At least, if we could stay awake. We ended up pulling into our hotel around 3 a.m. Friday morning, and then met the 11:45 a.m. ferry in St. Marys that would take us over to Cumberland. Here’s a picture of our group:

And then – despite our sleepiness and a strangely windy ferry ride where we jostled with a horde of boy scouts for elbow room – we landed. With one look at the island (and one climb on a favorite tree) we were once again sold.

Despite the welcome quiet, we kept busy for the next three days — walking along the beach and trail and road, roasting marshmellows over a camp stove, watching birds and alligators and horses and armadillos, touring the Carnegie mansion called Plum Orchard, eating, and, of course hangingupside down.

Of course, it turned out we weren’t the only ones hanging by our toes. The last night Jonah woke up to the distinct sound of a raccoon trying to get into our food – even though it was suspended from a tree with a rope. Before I could say “huh?” he was out of the tent, watching a raccoon try to grab at our food bag with his front claws while it hung from the tree with his rear legs. Jonah quietly scared it away, and we re-hung the bear bag out of raccoon-reach. Then, back to bed.

In all, we hiked more than 23 miles in three days (11 on the last day alone!) and it didn’t rain once. It was another late night back home, but I think we all agreed: the trip was so very, very worth it.

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