Cumberland Island National Seahore’s Beauty Challanges Managers
Virtually blind, the armadillo is easy to approach, but not to photograph.
©Bert Gildart: Despite the mammal’s chunky armor-plated make up and total lack of fear, the animal was proving hard to photograph. Janie and I had found the armadillo on Cumberland Island Georgia and were amazed by its Cavalier mannerisms.
We’d seen the creature rooting near an old historic mansion known as Dungeness and because I wanted good professional quality images, crept over to the armadillo’s general location with a long telephoto lens. Fearing to approach too closely, I simply stood stationary when suddenly my subject came rooting over toward my feet, head buried, apparently chomping on roots. Suddenly the virtually blind creature realized it was not alone and abruptly leaped into the air. Then it scurried about 15 feet away. The distance was OK for photographs, but the darn thing kept its head buried. Changing to a short lens, I sat down and then moved in close, still waiting for the animal to elevate its plated head.
Fifteen minutes later I grew frustrated and shuffled my feet in the leaves. Apparently that was enough for the armadillo, which began searching for the source of the noise. As a photographer from Montana, the experience was my first extended time with the nine-banded armadillo, and I was fascinated.
It was a nice way to begin an extended tour of this barrier island that has seen so much of American history and that has such a wonderful assortment of wildlife and other interesting animals.
WHERE HISTORY RINGS
We had begun our tour early in the morning, boarding the Cumberland Princess from the mainland for the 45 minute trip to the barrier island. Disembarking at a dock near the Ice House Museum, we joined ranger Ginger Cox for her several hour long interpretive program on the island’s history. She explained that a James Oglethorpe built a hunting lodge on the island and named it Dungeness. As the years passed others came to the island and the list rings like an American history book.
Ms. Cox talked about Lighthorse Harry Lee, another Revolutionary war hero who took ill off the coast of Cumberland and sought shelter on Cumberland. He stayed until his death and was buried here for a time. We saw his grave, but patriots dug up Lighthorse Lee’s body and reburied him next to his son, Robert E. Lee in Virginia.
L to R: Horses are descendants of the slave operated plantation, and though not indigenous removal attempts generate a shrill public outcry; the Cumberland Princess provides access to the island for backbackers and visitors alike. Or, the wilderness minded can kayak.
The most influential family to occupy the island was the Carnegie family who built a 28,000 square foot “castle.” In 1925 the Carnegies moved out of Dungeness. In 1959 a massive fire swept through the home, and though the structure remains, today it invites visitors to reflect on a bygone era. In 1972 the Park Service acquired the island and today, they interpret the island’s natural history and its remarkable human history.
Historic Dungeness has appeared in various forms, now as ruins and as the legacy of a grand era dominated by the Carneige family.
Island history also includes a period of plantation ownership, and the horses we saw were descendants of the farming era. Cox told us the island also has hogs that can be destructive, and because they are prolific, the park opens the island for a brief period to hog hunters. “Hunters,” said Cox, “take hundreds, but hundreds are still left.”
The ranger’s talk was fascinating and all too soon she left, suggesting that we continue our hike to the beach and then cross back over the sand dunes to where we’ll wind up at a dock near a canopy of live oak.
UPCOMING KAYAK TRIP
Though the southern portion of the island is easy to reach not so the northern. You can backpack to this area, managed as wilderness, or you can kayak, and that is precisely what Janie and I plan to do today. The biggest challenge is coping with the tide, but we’ve talked to rangers who have helped us understand their significance.
Grand Avenue bisects this controversial wilderness park, whose confusing managment plan has resulted in the transfer of park superintendents and the dissolution of long-term friendships.
We plan to kayak from Crooked River State Park across the intra coastal to a wilderness campground known as Brickhill. From there we plan to hike to remnants of an old African settlement and see their church, which is still in good shape and which has the distinction of being the first Baptist Church ever constructed by former slaves. On May 11, 2008, the church was also the setting for the wedding of John Kennedy Jr. To reach it he drove 12 miles down Grand Avenue (above) — through the area designated as wilderness, which raised the hackles of some.
On our three-day kayak trip along the way we also expect to see lots more armadillos, which I’ve discovered are fairly abundant, but which none the less remain fascinating.
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THIS TIME THREE YEARS AGO:
4th ed. Autographed by the Authors
Hiking Shenandoah National Park
Hiking Shenandoah National Park is the 4th edition of a favorite guide book, created by Bert & Janie, a professional husband-wife journalism team. Lots of updates including more waterfall trails, updated descriptions of confusing trail junctions, and new color photographs. New text describes more of the park’s compelling natural history. Often the descriptions are personal as the Gildarts have hiked virtually every single park trail, sometimes repeatedly.
Big Sky Country is beautiful
Montana Icons: 50 Classic Symbols of the Treasure State
Montana Icons is a book for lovers of the western vista. Features photographs of fifty famous landmarks from what many call the “Last Best Place.” The book will make you feel homesick for Montana even if you already live here. Bert Gildart’s varied careers in Montana (Bus driver on an Indian reservation, a teacher, backcountry ranger, as well as a newspaper reporter, and photographer) have given him a special view of Montana, which he shares in this book. Share the view; click here.
$16.95 + Autographed Copy
What makes Glacier, Glacier?
Glacier Icons: 50 Classic Views of the Crown of the Continent
Glacier Icons: What makes Glacier Park so special? In this book you can discover the story behind fifty of this park’s most amazing features. With this entertaining collection of photos, anecdotes and little known facts, Bert Gildart will be your backcountry guide. A former Glacier backcountry ranger turned writer/photographer, his hundreds of stories and images have appeared in literally dozens of periodicals including Time/Life, Smithsonian, and Field & Stream. Take a look at Glacier Icons
$16.95 + Autographed Copy
