Halloween Weekend at Cumberland Island National Seashore! Camping and Improving its Beautiful Trails

Special Update for Confirmees, added Oct 28 at 10:30 PM :  The weather forecast for the trip is still looking fantastic!  Mostly clear skies all weekend in the 70s each day and 60s each night, with virtually no chance of rain or any strong winds. We've recently added new info below, so please reread everything including the Directions and What to Bring!  Note esp. that in St. Marys at 11:00 AM Thursday we LOAD & BOARD the FERRY at the USUAL DOCK by the VISITOR CENTER. -Charlie

WANTED! ...Twenty-five cheerful able-bodied AOC adventurers for an excitingly different Cumberland Island experience!  Our friends in the Georgia Conservancy and the National Park Service have invited us to "give back" to this 10,000-acre crown jewel of Georgia's barrier islands by partnering with them to improve its backcountry trail system.  Our main mission on this unique 4-day 3-night trip will be to work with them to complete about 16 hours of much-needed trail maintenance & construction, new signage, and GPS data collection. See more details below.

There'll also be plenty of leisure hours for relaxation and optional activities.  (We'll actually have almost 75 total hours on the Island counting our EXTRA FREE HOUR of sleep Sunday AM due to the "fall-back" switch from DST to EST!)  Late October is an ideal time for camping, hiking, colorful sunsets, nightly campfires and festive group meals.  Our friendly hosts have arranged for us to camp all 3 nights (Thu, Fri & Sat, at no charge) in the beautiful "Hunt Camp" group site located directly beside the historic Plum Orchard mansion.  Boasting the "best sunset on the Island" it has excellent facilities and is conveniently located near the center of the Island's lovely trail network.  Our hosts are also kindly arranging free transportation for our group - via Ferry between St. Marys, GA and Sea Camp Dock and via Van between Sea Camp Dock and Hunt Camp.
  Be prepared for some amazing photo ops!  including the island's famous wild horses, its unspoiled beaches with their high sea-oat-capped dunes, other gorgeous native flora & fauna and picturesque remnants of its fascinating human history.  Our Halloween festivities will feature an eerie moonlight beach hike and sharing in the carving of a scary Jack-o'-Lantern as our "camp mascot."

HUNT CAMP AMENITIES & SUGGESTED CAMPING STYLE:   Lisa & I and our Island hosts encourage you to bring, as we do, "family-style" camping gear, food, refreshments & supplies (as we would on a "car-camping trip")  including large  iced-down coolers with cold beverages & fresh food - also large or small propane stoves (and/or electric cooking gear), medium-to-large-size covered pots & pans, roomy tents, comfortable sleeping pads, etc.  (Lisa suggests that I actually bring a compact Microwave Oven for the group to use, which I intend to do!)  There's no need to think of this trip as "backpacking" since we never have to walk more than a few yards with our camping gear & supplies,  (On the other hand, if you prefer bringing only lightweight backpacking-style gear, that's OK but "unnecessarily spartan.")  See below a list of suggested Clothing, Gear & Supplies to bring.
  Lisa was there volunteering at Hunt Camp recently and confirms that it indeed has  safe potable running water,  HOT showers, a hot-water dishwashing sink, electric power outlets  flush toilets and even an indoor food-prep area with a large refrigerator and ice machine - but normally NO STOVES.  Hunt Camp has acres of shady level tent space and lots of open- air picnic tables - also we're welcome to enjoy the nearby covered porch of Plum Orchard mansion as a dining or picnicking spot.
  BTW, please help us avoid using an excess of disposable plastic or paper dinnerware, esp. since we can each easily bring a lightweight personal cup, plate, bowl, knife-fork- spoon, etc. and wash & reuse them.

TRAVEL SUGGESTIONS and our ALL-IMPORTANT GROUP FERRY SCHEDULE:  For our ferry trip to the Island our AOC group will gather at 11:00 AM Thursday in St. Marys, GA at the Cumberland Island Visitor Center Ferry Dock" discussed in detail in the Directions below.  After a Nat'l Park Service safety briefing, gear loading, boarding, etc. the ferry will depart promptly at 11:45 AM. (See detailed Directions and What to Bring below.)
  The dock is about a 6-hour 350-mile drive from Atlanta.  We'll facilitate the formation of "custom carpool groups" for the trip down and back.  One option is to depart Atlanta no later than about 4:30 AM Thursday morning (or by ~5:00 AM from our suggested optional I-75/Stockbridge Rd south-side carpool meetup spot).  We also suggest that if your work schedule permits, consider  driving down on Wednesday and spending the night in the St. Marys area.  (Here's a Wed. lodging suggestion:  The Magnolia Inn near St. Marys at our "Kingsland" I-95 Exit #3  has inexpensive rooms available.  Ken Parker and I have booked one of their rooms to share for only $48.28 total including Taxes and free Breakfast - via Expedia.com.  We plan to drive down and back together departing at 2PM Wed from the Park & Ride lot on Atlanta's south side suggested below.)

TWO RETURN FERRY OPTIONS on SUNDAY: 10:15 AM or 2:45 PM:    We'll have Sunday AM van transportation from Hunt Camp back to Sea Camp dock, and expect to be there with all our gear by about 9:30 AM (new Eastern Std. Time, so extra hour of sleep or packing time!).  Esp. if you haven't visited Cumberland Island before we suggest that you plan to take the 2:45 PM ferry.  If so you're welcome to join me (Charlie) on a guided loop hike around  the lovely south end including the ruins of the Carnegie "Dungeness" 1880s mansion, estate & free museum, Sea Camp beach & campground, etc. (Or feel free to do your own thing if you prefer.)  We can safely leave our bulky gear at the Sea Camp visitor center by the dock and can easily be back by about 2:00 PM in time for the 2:45 ferry.   Please let me know (Charlie) by 11:30 AM on Thursday which return ferry you prefer so we can have the Nat'l Park Service make our formal bookings.  (Despite this formality we will in fact be allowed to delay our individual decision until Sun AM. and take either return ferry.)   Both ferries normally take about 45 minutes to reach the St. Marys mainland dock.

FOR ONLINE CUMBERLAND ISLAND INFO & PHOTOS click these links:
Nat'l Park Service Website: http://www.nps.gov/cuis
Wikipedia Article: https:/ /en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cumberland_Island
Nature Conservancy Members' Stories & Photos from past volunteering trips: http://bittersoutherner.com/folklore- project/cumberland-island
Plum Orchard Mansion history: https://en.w ikipedia.org/wiki/Plum_Orchard
Photos, Maps & other Images: http s://www.google.com/#q=cumberland+island+photos

MANY THANKS to our friend LAURA BUCKMASTER, the GA Conservancy's "Cumberland Island Trail Restoration Fellow," for inviting the Atlanta Outdoor Club to participate in this service trip and for overseeing its complex logistics.  Below are more important details and thoughtful suggestions that Laura has kindly provided:

DIRECTIONS to ALL-IMPORTANT 11:00 AM THU FERRY LOCATION in ST. MARYS, GA:  Our AOC group will gather in St. Marys, GA at 11:00 AM Thursday at the Cumberland Island Visitor Center Ferry Dock with all our securely-packed trip gear and supplies. This is usually about a 6- hour 350-mile drive from Atlanta (allowing for a couple of stops en route) so be sure to allow ample time considering the likelihood of a few traffic problems, etc. en route.  For a zoomable Map or Satellite view of our precise meetup spot click the square blue & green "Event Location" icon near the top of this article.

DIRECTIONS from ATLANTA to CUMBERLAND ISLAND VISITOR CENTER FERRY DOCK in ST. MARYS, GA:

1.  From metro Atlanta take I-75 South about 80 miles to the Macon, GA vicinity.  When you see "I-475" signs AVOID it by to bearing Leftward to stay on I-75, and continue about 10 more miles.
2.  Bear leftward at I-75 Exit #165 to get onto I-16 East toward Savannah.
3.  Stay on I-16 East for about 156 miles and look for the I-95 South exit.
4.  Bear Right at I-16 Exit #157A onto I-95 South toward Jacksonville.
5.  Stay on I-95 South for about 95 miles and get off at Exit #3, "GA- 40, St. Marys."
6.  Turn Left onto GA-40 and go 9.3 miles to its end at its junction with St. Marys Street on the waterfront in St. Marys, GA. (Note that GA-40 is also called "Osborne Street" near the waterfront.)
7.  When you reach the waterfront you'll notice the Cumberland Island Visitor Center about 100 yards to your right.  Our AOC group will gather there between about 10:45 and 11:15 AM on Thu.  We'll unload our gear at the Visitor Center's adjoining Ferry Dock and consolidate there all our bulky gear except for valuable small personal items.  Our drivers will park all weekend (at no charge) in the shaded parking lot for Cumberland Island visitors which is about 1 block beyond the Visitor Center - on the Right side of St. Marys Street WEST.
8.  We won't need individual Ferry Tickets, since I'll be checking in for our entire AOC group at the Visitor Center. Between our initial AOC gathering and our 11:45 AM SHARP scheduled ferry departure we'll take the time to introduce one another and help each other load everything onto the ferry (as soon as returning passengers from the island have finished debarking) .  Just before departure we're also all required to attend an 11:30 AM ferry safety briefing on the breezeway below the Visitor Center, hosted by the Nat'l Park Service. During our 45-minute Ferry trip to Sea Camp Dock Lisa and I will ask each of you to complete and sign a GA Conservancy Waiver of Liability form.

GPS and MAPS.GOOGLE.COM USERS:  Feel free to augment the above directions by entering as your destination either of the following:
LAT/LON Coordinates of our 11:00 AM Meetup Spot: 30.72011,-81.54738
Approx. Street Address near Meetup Spot:  111 St. Marys Street East, St. Marys, GA

No charge for this amazing trip!  Just bring your own camping gear, food, refreshments, a cheerful disposition, and vim, vigor & vitality!