Be Prepared

Before you go, make sure to check the weather and flower forecast. The reason you want to check the weather is so you don’t get caught in rain and swept away by a swelling river. You also want to check the flower forecast so you can actually see the flowers. You definitely don’t want to drive a long way only to be disappointed. Last year, we made the mistake of not consulting the flower forecast and ended up driving 2 hours to see a very brown river. It was full of sediment, which also delayed the blooming time. 

Gear and Supplies 

• Quick-dry clothes or swimwear
• Water shoes
• Hiking poles
• Bug spray
• Sunscreen
• Sunhat
• Sunglasses with polarized lenses*
• Life vest for young swimmers
• Water and snacks
• Camera
• Waterproof bag for electronics
• Towel
• Change of clothes

*Polarized lenses cut glare on the water’s surface making it easier to see where you are stepping.

Getting There 

Once you enter the Cahaba NWR, you will drive on a one-lane, unpaved, dusty, gravel road. Watch for other cars and pedestrians. There are multiple spots to park along the road, but the best place for access to the lilies is just past a small beach with a sketchy rope swing. The small beach is on the left and the small parking area is on the right.

Onto the Lilies

To see the lilies, you will be walking through fast-moving water anywhere from ankle-deep to hip-deep; or if you’re short like me, prepare to swim. Under the water’s surface, the terrain is uneven and rocky. Some of the rocks move and others are slippery. Definitely, watch where you step. Not just for your safety, but also so you don’t trample the plants or squish the snails. They are both absolutely everywhere. Take your time and plan on spending at least an hour exploring the river and flowers, more if you plan on swimming or taking LOTS of pictures like Mom. 

These flowers are a must-see for the Alabama outdoor enthusiast. If you want to learn more, visit here. For our family, this is a Mother’s Day tradition. This would also be a great outdoor water activity. So if you want to get outdoors but not hike, this is perfect. I hope you decide to go! 

On Day 1, we hiked 8.4 miles from Sol Duc Trailhead to Lunch Lake. On this day, Miss Shanna joined us on the trail. At the start of the hike, Dad realized he forgot his hat and turned back to the car to get it. He told us to keep going, and he would catch up. He caught up to us when we paused to take pictures at a small bridge crossing a little stream. Afterward, we continued until we got to a bigger bridge crossing the Sol Duc River at 0.2 miles from the trailhead.

This bridge is the best place to view Sol Duc Falls, which is magnificent! The Sol Duc River spills over a rocky precipice where it splits into three waterfalls that rejoin at the next tier of rock before flowing together once again as a single river. It was so loud, I felt like it was going to burst my eardrums. The waterfall misted all over the bridge making a layer of muddy, slippery leaves. Of course, we took photos and selfies before continuing on our way!

We continued along our hike until we got to Deer Lake. Along the way, we looked at fungi and other cool bits of life, and continued to climb higher up the mountain. As we went up, I saw snow on the taller mountains and was ecstatic. There was a chance I would get to play in the snow! After seeing it in the distance, I wished for snow on our hike too. Immediately, Mom, Dad, and Miss Shanna were like, nooooo. We ate lunch at Deer Lake where we saw no deer. Just as we would have no lunch at Lunch Lake because life is just crazy like that PLUS Lunch Lake was still literally miles away. No exaggeration. What we did see at Deer Lake were beautiful fall foliage and tranquil waters. Since it was a bit chilly, I got out my puffy coat to stay warm. Mom shared a Seattle Chocolate bar, which is the BEST chocolate in the world.

Back on the trail and past Deer Lake, we continued to climb a steep incline and were now on the High Divide Trail. Sprinkled along the trail were small alpine pools and lakes and SNOW! Somewhere between Deer and Lunch Lakes, Miss Shanna split off because she is MUCH faster than us and could arrive at Lunch Lake campground faster by herself. We decided to split the group because we needed to secure a good campsite since the weather was turning nasty. As we gained elevation, the temperature dropped drastically. The light sprinkle of rain soon became a light sprinkle of snow, which became heavy snow. At first, I was happy, but as we continued, I felt miserable. We were cold and wet. The snow only fell harder and harder until we could barely see 100 feet in front of us. This really slowed us down. We were looking for a fork in the path. Miss Shanna said earlier to turn left once we saw two trees sandwiching a boulder. When we finally got to the boulder sandwich, I was so elated and more than a little relieved. A short and snow-covered spur trail led to an icy stone staircase that steeply plummeted down to the lakes. It was scary.

At one point, Dad almost slipped on the steps. While we were on the stairs, we saw a round lake and thought it was Lunch Lake. Unfortunately, it was a different lake, called Round Lake, and the one further away was Lunch Lake. When we reached Lunch Lake, we celebrated and took lots of pictures by the lakeshore, then we started looking for Miss Shanna. We looked for a while and couldn’t find her. At that point, we were pretty worried. Just as we started to put down our packs to search more diligently, she found us. We followed her to the campsite, and it was a great one. The trees blocked the strong wind and blowing snow. The ground also didn’t have any rocks, and pine needles cushioned the tent. After we set up our tent and unpacked our sleeping gear, Mom and I huddled together in the tent under our rumpl (not a spelling error) down blankets and my sleeping bag. We were sharing body heat because it was frigid and we were shivering. I would guess it was 20°F or less. While Mom and I huddled in the tent, Dad made dinner. Once it was ready, we hesitantly got out to eat. I didn’t eat much, and as soon as I could, I went to bed. Mom came to bed after me. A magical moment during the night was when Dad came back with water bottles filled with hot water for Mom and me to warm our sleeping bags (see camping tip below). We all went to sleep. That was the end of Day 1.

Camping tip: a sturdy plastic water bottle filled with hot water can keep you warm when you sleep with it in your sleeping bag. Remember when I said you should always check the weather before going on an adventure? Well, this is the moment. If we hadn’t checked the weather, we wouldn’t have had the water bottles to make the magical moment happen.

Hoh Rainforest is one of the few remaining temperate rainforests, and I got to see it! I, of course, loved it. When we arrived, we first went to the Hoh Rainforest Visitor Center. That’s where I got my Junior Ranger activity book. The first hike we did was to the Hall of Mosses Trail. We took forever on this short trail because I was completing the Junior Ranger activity book. Despite looking at an activity book during most of the hike, I saw six banana slugs and moss on what seemed to be ALL of the trees. During this hike, Mom came up with the idea of having a competition. The competition was who could find the first banana slug. Guess what? I found the first banana slug. I WON! The banana slug was long and skinny. I was super proud of myself. I tried to convince Mom to let me get a phone as my prize, but that didn’t work. So we settled on horchata instead. 

After we finished the Hall of Mosses Trail, we did the Spruce Nature Trail. I paid more attention to this trail since I was done with the Junior Ranger activity book. We were faster, but still kinda slow because Mom and I were taking LOTS of pictures. At the beginning of the trail, Mom spotted a Roosevelt elk hiding in the forest! It looked like an everyday normal elk and it had big antlers. I think it was male, but I couldn’t get a good look at it. The elk was too close to the trail, so we went around very carefully. The trail branched off with a spur trail leading to a riverbank and a partially dry riverbed. The riverbed was covered with rocks worn smooth and round over time.

After we finished the Spruce Nature Trail, we started on the Hoh River Trail. We didn’t want to complete it since the trail is about 26.3 miles one-way. It wasn’t as exciting or beautiful as the other trails, but it was still nice. Our turnaround point was one of the many river access points. We spent a little while down by the river to take pictures and then turned back to leave. Sadly, we saw 2 dead banana slugs on the way back. Rest in peace banana slugs! It looked like someone stepped on them. Seeing them like that was quite saddening.

On the way back to our VRBO rental in Forks, we saw a whole herd of Roosevelt elk. It was awesome. After taking pictures, we sent them to my grandma. She somehow thought they were elephants. Huh?!?!? Maybe she thought their butts were ears? Overall, it was quite a relaxing day compared to the day before.

I hope y’all enjoyed reading about the Hoh Rainforest and I’ll try to get the next post out soon! The next post is Lunch Lake and the High Divide Loop. Onward!

The hike up Mt. Storm King is steep, strenuous, and scary, but when you finish, you feel very accomplished.

The trailhead is near Lake Crescent Lodge. You start on the Marymere Falls Trail that was thankfully flat, but once you get to the beginning of Mt. Storm King Trail, the flat ends. For the next 2.5 miles, you just go uphill and uphill some more. Seriously, straight up. a.k.a, a butt-burner. For me, going uphill was not the worst part; it was the combination of the length and elevation change that got me.

On the way up, there are 5 nice lookouts. We stopped at all of them except for one of them because it was crowded. At the first one accessed a quick spur trail, you can see the valley, but not the lake. We spent the most time there because it’s beautiful and difficult to access. Unfortunately, Dad dropped the camera lens cap and it rolled down the hill, but he managed to get it back.

At the next lookout, you can finally see Lake Crescent for the first time on the hike. We didn’t hang around because of all the people there. Plus, our friend, Miss Shanna, told us the one right after it is even nicer. She was right. The view is even better from this lookout, you can see how far down the drop to the lake is. Scary. It made my belly feel wobbly. Yelly Belly was wobbly. So Wobbly Belly?

After about half a mile, we reached the end of the maintained trail. After the ‘End of Maintained Trail’ sign, it’s just steep and full of talas. Before the sign, the trail was just steep. Once we got to the sign, we took a snack break. As we ate, a bunch of birds (we call them beggy birds) surrounded us and tried to eat our snacks. Of course, we didn’t give the birds any food since human food is bad for them.

Once we finished our snacks, we continued to ropes placed by hikers before us. They were very helpful in getting us up the trail, but a little scary. The first rope was tied to a tree and dangled over a super steep part of the trail with lots of talas. Miss Shanna was first on rope since she’s done the trail before, then Mom, then me, and finally, Dad. We continued up ALL the ropes (I think there were about 10 maybe?) and finally got to the end of the ropes. Unfortunately, the scariness didn’t end at the ropes. We still had to climb a steep, steep, STEEP ridge. Once we got to the very top, it was TERRIFYING to be up that high. Thankfully, the view was worth it. From the summit, you can see Lake Crescent, the parking lot, and a lot of mountains. There were also more beggy birds and one even landed on Miss Shanna’s backpack. After enjoying the view and taking a group selfie, we started going back down.

After we got off the scary ridge, we all sat down for a snack again. I ate a pineapple cake and it was delicious. Going back down the ropes was a whole lot easier than going up the ropes. You just walk down backward while leaning back and holding the rope.

Eventually, we left the ropes behind us, for which I was thankful. Somehow, I managed to run down the mountain on the flatter parts. Because of that, I reached the fork of Mt. Storm King and Marymere Falls Trails before everyone else did. Once they all caught up to me, we decided to finish Marymere Falls Trail and see Marymere Falls. Not much happened except I ran some more, and Miss Shanna, Mom, and I made a bunch of puns. Soon afterward, we walked back to the trailhead much to my relief: a nice ending for a steep, strenuous, and scary hike.

Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed this post, and I hope y’all will read the next post about the next day in Olympic National Park when we went to see the Hoh Rainforest. Onward!

Thursday of our trip was a great day. We hiked on a beautiful trail. Not to mention we went on a crazy road. And I mean CRAZY. It’s called Tail of the Dragon (TOTD). It’s full of twists and turns, and the fastest speed you can go is 30 mph. Thankfully, it’s only 11 miles, but there are still 318 curves. Crazy. At the North Carolina end, there was a gift shop and a metal statue of a dragon holding a motorcycle with its tail. Mom bought a bandana that has a map of TOTD from the gift shop. After that, we continued our drive to the Deep Creek trailhead.

I LOVED the hike. Unfortunately, I didn’t want to do it at first, so I didn’t pay much attention to the trail. Though I do remember walking across two waterfalls. I enjoyed playing in the water because it was a hot day. I splashed myself to cool down.

As we continued up Norland Divide trail, we passed something that looked like a moss garden. I think we spent a minute or two taking pictures because the ‘garden’ had many types of moss and lichen, including reindeer moss. My family calls it monge (moss sponge). I honestly wish it existed in Minecraft. After petting the moss, we continued up, and I noticed that ‘Lonesome’ Pine has friends. Maybe the Lonesome Pine isn’t so lonesome.

The short walk to the overlook branches off from the main trail. You just have to look for the sign. Once we got to the lookout, we took a nice, long break and ate. The view was GORGEOUS. What makes it so beautiful are the layer upon layer of mountains as far as the eye can see. As we enjoyed the view, I got to eat the Rainbow Belts we bought earlier in the week. Even better, Dad didn’t fart and I got to listen to my music. I had happy eyes, mouth, nose, and ears. Hmm… Now I need happy hands? So I pat the moss on the way back too. And, of course, we soon took family selfies. When we saw dark clouds roll in, we knew it was time to move. I was sad to go, but I didn’t want to be rained on. I don’t think Mom or Dad wanted to get wet either.

The hike down was a lot faster than going up. That may be because we knew how far it was between the trailhead and the viewpoint, and it was also mostly downhill. After we returned to the car, we once again drove on the treacherous Tail of the Dragon. Only this time, Mom was driving (last time Dad drove). When we got back to the cabin, we all ate dinner and went to bed… again.

Thank you for reading this post, and I hope you enjoyed it. I am going to try my best to post soon. Onward!

Some days during social distancing, I breathe too much indoor air. And it’s melting my brain. I just need to relax outside. Mom says I have CABIN FEVER. To beat it, our family goes straight for the outdoors. This can mean anything from hammocking to hiking to gardening; just as long as it is outside and obeys the rules of social distancing. The good news is that this is easy to achieve when you are in nature.

Normally, when we go hiking, we set a goal to find a certain number of some kind of natural object. This could be flowers, fossils, mushrooms, or weird-shaped rocks. It just depends on the season. So we decided to expand this into a scavenger hunt. And the Yonder Outdoor Scavenger Hunt was born. I like to call it YOSH!

So far, I’ve spotted several items from the list and even got pictures of them. My favorite finds include cedar waxwings (bird), crinoids (fossil), and turkey tails (mushroom).

I’ve also come across deafening waterfalls and serene pools. And the most disturbing item on the list, arthropods. Arthropod is a fancy way of saying an invertebrate with an exoskeleton, segmented body, and paired jointed appendages, or BUGS! Millipedes are one example, which is what we saw just the other day. 

And you don’t want to forget about the flowers. Due to all the rain and warm Spring weather, the trails are surrounded by flourishing flora. An abundance of flowers such as squawroot (cancer root) to trillium to rue anemone are popping up on the forest floor. This is the best part because they are just magnificent.

Want to join me? Alright, all you need to do is print out the YOSH list at the bottom of this post and get outside. Don’t forget to share your finds with #YOSH on Facebook or Instagram. I’ll be doing the same. Onward!

Rain, rain go away!
Come again another day.
Kailani wants to getaway.
Rain, rain go away!

This month, thick and looming clouds casted dark shadows over our region and bombed innocent people with fat raindrops. At times, the rain poured down in torrents. Other times, it fell gently but relentlessly for days… days… and more days. It’s been raining A LOT here in the Southeast. So much so, that we had indoor recess almost all week at school. But these clouds have a silver lining: our waterfalls are bursting.

This weekend we continued our quest to complete the 2020 Alabama Outdoor Adventurer State Parks Challenge and went waterfall hunting. We visited our third park, Oak Mountain State Park, to see the famed Peavine Falls and its seasonal 65-foot foss. Foss is Icelandic and Norwegian for waterfall. And I just like using it because it sounds fancy… f-AWE-ncy.

There are several ways to reach Peavine Falls, we used the Green Trail, the Green-White Connector, and the White Trail. From the parking lot, Green Trail ascended steeply along the ridgeline, followed by a rapid descent down the connector until we reached the White Trail and the creek. From there we crossed the creek and followed the signs to the top and then to the bottom of the falls. The creek crossing was the perfect place to test my new boots and how water impermeable they are, which is a fancy way of saying waterproof. At the top of the falls, we found pretty purple flowers called Bird’s Foot Violet. I know this because I had my wildflower field guide. The trip down to the bottom of the falls can best be described as wet and steep, and kind of slippery. Be careful going down.

Peavine Falls is magnificent and thunderous. When I crossed the pool at the base, I could feel a chilly gust of mist blowing from the cascade. We spent a lot of time taking pictures and exploring the area. If you go, plan on staying by the waterfall for at least 30 minutes so you can enjoy its beauty and a picnic lunch. You can sit on one of the many boulders. I recommend you bring a sweater to stay warm and a butt pad if you have a tender bottom. However, leave the hammock in the car because there are not many trees at the base of the falls.

I learned a new skill during this hike: how to photograph silky smooth waterfalls. When you take a picture of a waterfall, instead of it being more detailed and choppy, you can use a few tricks to make the water look smoother, like cascading silk threads or a bride’s wedding veil. To achieve this effect, you will need a tripod or sturdy surface to support your camera, a camera set to manual mode, and of course moving water. This is not a tutorial and I am not going to dig down deep on this subject. There are lots of great tutorials online. The gist of it is low ISO, small aperture, slow shutter speed… and lots of stabilization.

So, I hope you enjoyed my tips and photographs. Definitely, check out Oak Mountain State Park and Peavine Falls for yourself. It’s absolutely worth the trip, especially after a rainy week. Onward!

Rain, rain don’t delay!
Come and fill the waterway.
Kailani wants to snap away.
Rain, rain don’t delay!

I want to stay here. You guys go ahead without me.

I have accepted the Alabama Outdoor Adventurer 2020 State Parks Challenge to visit and photograph 15 of 19 eligible Alabama State Parks. Remember my New Year’s resolution to hike 100 miles in 2020? Well this will definitely help me get there. A State Parks Challenge means lots of new-to-me hikes, trails, sights, and adventure! Time to see Alabama and get out on the trail! I’M SO EXCITED!!! I’m going to be singing a lot because we’re going into the UNKNOWN… (hehe Frozen 2.)

This weekend we went to TWO of the nineteen eligible parks: Lake Guntersville and Bucks Pocket State Parks.

At Lake Guntersville, the Cutchemine Trail was an aquamarine, teal, and brilliant blue hike along an arm of the lake that ends at Dry Creek. All 5 miles of it out and back were spectacular! Our hike did not start off well: we trekked through 0.5 miles of wilderness on the faint, easy-to-lose Lower Cutchemine Trail from the parking lot to the Cutchemine Trailhead. We stumbled and crashed through the underbrush like hypercharged bowling balls just trying to stay on the trail, “Is the trail here? Is the trail there? Is that the trail? Do you see the road?” I got pricked 500 times and tripped 10 times. Thank goodness, Daddy walked back to get the car, so we didn’t have to hike through that again on the way out.

Once we got onto the Cutchemine Trail, it was an obvious, wide, cleared path. From the bank, we could see flocks of waterfowl. My favorite spot is the towering Y-shaped oak tree. I could sit in the split and read all day. And sing all day. And draw all day. And hang out with my tiger, Stripes, all day. You know what we forgot to bring that would have made this day perfect? OUR HAMMOCK!

Cutchemine ends at Dry Creek, which is an awesome place for a picnic. the rocks make the perfect place to spread out your lunch and rest your legs.

Bucks Pocket was… well, dark. We did a quick drive-by and mad dash down the boardwalk to photograph the famous tree at the end. We made it just in time to see the gradient, fiery, sunset canyon view. This is actually our second visit to Bucks Pocket. The first time we hiked from the bottom of the pocket to the lookout we visited this time. The hiking trails are currently closed for renovations. I’m really excited to see the repaired trails when they reopen.

Who knows what the other 13 Alabama State Parks will be like? I’m hoping that they will be beautiful, with some mountains and valleys, and maybe even a sandy saltwater beach. Into the unknown. And ever, ONWARD!

Gratitude: I was so thankful for everything I had. Fortitude: I needed to use fortitude at Cumberland Island. Attitude: I needed a good attitude to get through this hike.

Last time, I told you about our LONG hike to Brickhill Bluff and all the shark teeth we found. Since that post, guess what? Mom accidentally threw them away! We DO have some shark teeth we found a few years ago on Morris Island that Mom DIDN’T throw away. Morris Island is near Cumberland Island so the teeth are black too.

Back to Cumberland Island, during our “rest” day I had to hike 5 miles round trip to a different beach. On the way, we saw alligators, giant sand dunes, marsh grasses, cool trees covered with Spanish moss, and “monge”.

Monge is what we call a mossy sponge that we saw along the trail to the beach. I touched it! It’s so cool. Well, it’s not really called monge. That’s a made-up name that we thought of when we saw reindeer moss, which is really not a moss either. In fact, it’s a lichen.

Giant sand dunes: They were so big I couldn’t see over them. They were taller than me. The dunes are very important. They protect the island.

Spanish moss: A draping moss, but it is not a moss at all. It is a flowering plant native to Mexico, Central America, South America, the US, and the Caribbean. But don’t hug it. There could be lots of bugs hiding in it.

The beach is HUGE!!!!!  But I couldn’t play in the water because the waves were too big and strong. There weren’t many people. A non-crowded beach!

There was so much to find on the beach. Mom and I found knobbed whelks, giant cockle shells, sand dollars, horseshoe crab skeletons, and angel wings. We couldn’t bring them all home because it was too much weight. We saw something cool, sea foam! It is so spongy. I touched it! Coolest thing! I found the only lightning whelk and mom found what we think is a reverse spiraled lightning whelk. They are all so beautiful! Especially my lightning whelk. It has the colors of the rainbow.

You can tell the difference between a knobbed whelk and a lightning whelk by its spiral. Knobbed whelks have a dextral spiral, which is a fancy word for right-handed spiral. Lightning whelks have a sinistral spiral, which is a fancy word for left-handed spiral. Shell experts guess 1 out of 10,000 lightning whelks spin the wrong way. Here you can see juvenile lightning and knobbed whelks side by side.

When we got back, we set up the hammock. There were so many gnats! So Mom and I rushed into the hammock for shelter. We have a Eno DoubleNest hammock for two people. It was big enough to cover us both and so comfortable.  Mom fell asleep after eating a snack. 20 minutes later, I got out and went exploring with Dad. We found a bunch of fiddler crabs along the shore further away from our campsite. I ran back to tell everyone about it, but Mom was still asleep so I went back to the beach to my dad.  It started to rain while we were there so we had to run back. When we got back, Mom was still asleep, so I had to wake her up. Then she realized it was raining. She had to get out of the hammock and go into the tent. She can move fast if she wants.

Our friends set up a hammock fly so we could cook our dinner in the rain, but we had a problem . . . The gnats were attracted to the light from our headlamps. We hung a lantern in the rain to lure the gnats away. Problem solved! It also helped that we switched our headlamps to red light because they didn’t like it as much as white.

The next day it was time to leave. I was both excited and not excited to leave. I knew I would miss the beach but my left foot was a bit sore. After we ate breakfast, Mom and Dad packed everything and we set off on the trail. When we got back to the main trail, I didn’t want to leave because I would miss the beach. Here’s a cool look at the same spot on the main trail: one at low tide (the day we arrived) and one at high tide (the morning we left.)

At first, my foot didn’t hurt, but then it started hurting later. When cars passed, I was able to rest. Our camping friends offered Tylenol to me, but I said “no.” Soon it was time to move again. Later, we stopped somewhere (I don’t remember where it was.) That’s when I realized I needed the Tylenol. I was lucky that I was able to get some. After a while my foot felt a little better, but still hurt.

When we were close to Stafford Field I made up a game called “Racing Horses. How to play: each person is one horse unless two people want to work together. If you choose to work together one person will pretend to ride a chariot. There will be different rounds. There can be as many rounds as you want. No pushing or shoving and no cheating.We played until we got tired. What surprised me was everyone played along with me. While we were playing, we ran about 2 miles. When we got to the end of the meadow, we saw . . . HORSES!!! Real, live horses!!! I was so excited. We also saw armadillos. Sorry, I didn’t mention it this post.

We took some pictures and found a place to rest. We looked at the map and I was overjoyed to find out that we were more than half way there! Then Dad started to run, and I chased him. We got pretty far ahead of the group, so we stopped and waited for everyone else to catch up.

Soon we had hiked about another 3 miles, but it felt like we were still 100 miles away (even if we were probably less than 2 miles away). I was so tired, but we were trying to get to the ferry (a kind of boat) before it left. Pretty soon we got to a fork. We looked at the map and went right. I knew we were close, but I was hurting so much that I started to cry. I was starting to have a breakdown very near the end. We saw a pickup truck from the nearby Greyfield Inn that they use to transport their guests. Mom got in the middle of the road and flagged down the driver. After she explained how I tired I was, the driver let us hitch a ride in the back. Mom and I got on, but Dad decided to keep on hiking. In the back of the truck, we met some of the guests and started telling them about our adventure. We soon learned that we had already hiked super close to the end and only rode the truck for less than a quarter of a mile. Soon we got to the dock and waited at the entry for Dad. Then he came! We greeted him by hugging him and giving him kisses. The best part about finishing the hike is using the RESTROOM with actual toilets that flush and sinks to wash your hands. CIVILIZATION!!!

One of our friends decided to go on a short hike to a nearby beach while we waited for the ferry. I wanted to go, but Mom wouldn’t let me. It might be because I had already cried about hiking earlier. Instead, Mom and I went to the dock and beneath the dock were more crabs! We watched the crabs for a while. I observed the crabs bumping and fighting each other, and they were really mad at each other. They were CRABBY!!

An hour later it was time to leave and catch the ferry. I was sad to say goodbye to the crabs. And the beach. The whole island.

I hope you enjoyed reading this post. Come back next time for more adventure. Onward!

Nope! This is not my spelling list for the week. (THAT is a lot longer. I have 20 words on that list!) Besides, I like these words. They are like me. Also, these are what I needed to get through the longest hike of my life. So far. For Thanksgiving Break, we went on a two night backcountry hike with friends. I hiked 26 miles! It was so hard and challenging, and my feet hurt so much the last day that I wanted to (but didn’t) quit.

The morning of Thanksgiving, we boarded the ferry to Cumberland Island. While we waited to board the ferry, the park ranger let us pre-load our backpacks. We took the 45-minute ride to Sea Camp Dock. The first animals we saw when we arrived were TURKEYS! They were not stuffed, and there were no mashed potatoes with gravy. In fact, these turkeys were very much alive… and skinny and fast! After a quick restroom break with the last toilets for DAYS, it was time to hike.

We followed the Main Road to Brickhill Bluff through maritime forest. Live oaks, palmettos, Spanish moss, and ferns surrounded us. How beautiful! The road was flat, sandy, and wide for a trail. Every once in a while we would have to move to the side of the road because there were cars driving by. Sometimes the drivers would stop to chat and ask if we knew where we were going. As we hiked, we also came across armadillos that were really cute. Did you know that when startled armadillos JUMP?!? We saw several armadillos foraging. Foraging is a fancy word for searching a wide area for food. You should not touch a wild armadillo because it might carry the bacteria that cause Hansen’s disease, which is a not-fun infection.

Cumberland Island has something really amazing, wild horses! The first time we saw some, they were grazing at Stafford Field. They were so far that we could hardly see them, but their sorrel coats gave them away. We only saw two horses up close. People riding ATVs really fast startled the two black horses, which in turn startled us when they ran across our path. Our friend’s quick thinking kept us from getting trampled. She told us to move to the side of the trail. QUICKLY!

We found a bunch of shark teeth on the road. All the ones we found were black. When we went to the visitor center at the end of our trip, I asked a Ranger why. He said it was because during fossilization the sediment (a fancy word for solids that fall to the bottom of a liquid, like sand in the ocean) around the tooth did not have a lot of oxygen. At home, Mom and I found an interesting website that helped us learn more about shark teeth fossils. You can read it too by following this link.

It took us 6 hours to hike the 10.5 miles to Brickhill Bluff! When we got to the entrance, my feet hurt so much. I felt like crying, luckily there was a sign that said, “BRICKHILL BLUFF TRAIL.” Then I started to lean on the sign. Mom always says, “You should stand on your own,” but even she thought it was okay this time. After a quick break, we started again. It was less than a quarter mile until we got there. I LOVED it because there was a little beach! Right away, Dad set up the tent while Mom and I explored the beach and giant driftwood.

At our campsite, the muddy sand beach had holes in the sand. I didn’t know what they were until I saw the little spheres of sand and tiny tracks surrounding the holes. That’s when I realized that the holes belonged to little shy crabs that ran away if you got too close or made a sound. They were fascinating and gray. I loved watching them because I wanted to learn something about them firsthand. They walk sideways and always bump into each other, and make each other mad and start fighting.

We picked this campsite for a few reasons. One, very few people hiked this far, so we had plenty of space to ourselves. During our two nights there, we only saw two couples. Two, we could get water easily because the water pump was in the campsite. Warning! Important information. The water is non-potable, which means you need to filter, treat, or boil it before drinking or using.  I am now super thankful for civilization. Three, we were right by the beach!

Hey guys! Thank you for reading this post. My next post will be about our trip to the big beach and the way back. See you at the next post. Onward!