Day 136 (Happy anniversary Neil and Heather)

Daily stats
Start: 7:45 AM- On ICW 4 miles east of St Marys
Finish: x PM - Brickhill Bluff camp site on Cumberland Island
Time: x
Daily dist: 14 miles
Total dist: x miles
Companions: None
Weather: Absolutely beautiful, east wind 10 mph 75 deg. Partly cloudy
Notes: I spent the day exploring Cumberland Island National Park on foot and by kayak

Cumberland Island is a National Park and in my opinion a National Treasure. In modern times this island was the vacation play spot for the Carnegie family who built several mansions on the island many of which still stand today. Saved from the grip of land developers in the early 70’s this park has some of the most beautiful undeveloped coast line I’ve seen on the Atlantic. Inside the island dirt roads and trails tunnel through huge live oak trees dripping with Spanish moss. The roads and trails connect the old mansion grounds and new camp grounds sprinkled across the island.

Sunrise over Cumberland island on a rare calm morning and smooth water

Timing the tides carefully I got on the glassy smooth water at about 8:00 this morning and rode the tide in to the Dungeness dock. One of the things Cumberland Island is known for is it’s population of wild horses. I hoped that I’d get a chance to see one of these famous creatures and as I paddled up the length of the island form the south I scanned the shore line. Just as I neared the Dungeness dock I caught my first glimpse of a brown horse walking a trail that paralleled the water. After landing I saw a half dozen more horse grazing in the meadow behind the dock.

Some of Cumberland's wild horses

Dungeness ruins

From the dock I hiked over to the Dungeness Mansion Ruins where more horses grazed in the lawn surrounding the ruins of the huge house. Further on I arrived at the beach which I followed to the north to the “Sea Camp” campgrounds which is a very pretty spot pressed up behind the beach dunes under huge live oaks. From there I walked back across the island down the coast and back to my boat.

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A veiw from Dungeness Mansion

Next it was on with the still flooding tide to Plum Orchard Mansion about seven miles further up the island by kayak. There I cooked lunch on a picnic table in the shadow of a huge Georgian Revival mansion. While I walked around the mansion I noticed a couple electrical outlets set up for sump pumps in the building’s basement. Not being one to pass up a chance to charge my batteries I dug out my computer and phone and plugged in. It is behind the mansion with a view of a weed covered pond full of alligators that I’m writing this post waiting for my batteries to charge and the tide to switch so I can ride the flow to the north and my planned campsite at Brickhill Bluff.

Cooking lunch by the Plum Orchard Mansion