APALACHACOLA TRIP, LABOR DAY WEEKEND 1999
Left here at 6 AM Friday, picked up Mimi and we arrived St. George Island State Park 5 PM. It was a mile and a half paddle to the primitive campsite. We got set up just before dark. (Eastern time over there) We decided not to cook as we had had a large late lunch. We turned in early and I lay in my tent reading when I thought I could eat something. I reached out into the vestibule unzipped my mesh bag and took out my lunch bag, pulled out a cliff bar and ate it. I put the bag back into the mesh bag but didn’t zip it up. It had bread, cheese, gorp and cliff bars in it. The next morning it was gone. No sign of anything--no scraps---no prints---no dragging marks, just the whole thing was gone.
After breakfast Darryl and Nancy and Bev Bauer showed up in their canoes. Bev had got there just at park closing and slept in her car at the boat launch. Darryl and Nancy had got there at 2 AM and slept in the van at the gate.
Mimi wanted a tide table and I wanted cheese and bread so we paddled to the car and went to town. We found a little store, got what we needed then toured the island checking out the campground. It is mostly sand with some pine trees. Our primitive campsite was on a point with well spaced pine trees so we had some shade.
After lunch we took a nap, took a walk, read our books and then we had cocktail hour with Darryl serving margaritas. Ken Richards had hiked in on the 2 1/2 mile trail and joined us. After cooking and eating we sat around and had a great bull session. Before going to bed Mimi and I made plans to Kayak to Dog Island the next day--91/2 miles one way.
We started out at 8:45 the next morning. (Central time as we didn’t change our watches) We told the others we would be back by 5:PM. The sun was shining, there was a light breeze and very little wave action. We stopped to rest and swim several times and reached the end of St. George Island at about 12:10. We could see Dog Island, thick with trees a mile and a half away. We decided to eat lunch.
There we were sitting in the sun, wishing for shade with a light breeze in our face as we faced East talking about how nice it would be going back with a little wind behind us. Then suddenly the wind shifted from East to West. We turned around and there was a huge black cloud coming our way. Lightening and thunder started, the wind picked up considerably and we carried our kayaks behind a dune so they wouldn't blow away. We sat there with our backs to the wind as we were pelted with rain drops and blowing sand.
After about twenty minutes the rain slowed and the wind eased a little. Lightening was still flashing and thunder roaring so we walked the beach on the gulf side for a while. Then there was no rain, no lightening but the wind was still at about 25 knots. We started back in three foot waves paddling against that wind. It was fun being in the waves but we were going across an open bay and the going was slow and tiring. After finally crossing the bay we took a break on a beach, looked at the chart and saw there was still three miles to go.
We started out again. The tide was out by this time and we had to walk our kayaks out a long ways to be able to float them. After paddling a few strokes in the shallow water against that strong wind, we got out and walked. We walked the three miles in water from ankle to mid thigh deep finally reaching the campsite at 7:00PM. I was just as tired of walking as I had been of paddling before we started walking.
The campsite was empty, no one was there. Bev’s tent had blown about twenty feet from where it had been and was lying on its side. Both our flies were down. All the other tents were OK. Mimi was happy that someone had closed the fly on her tent as she had left it open. Ken Richards had packed up and hiked out.
About fifteen minutes later we spotted the others walking towards camp pulling their canoes behind them. We found out they had paddled to their cars and gone to the BLUE PARROT where they sat and drank beer and ate hors d’oeuvres all afternoon.
We didn’t feel like cooking so we ate crackers and cheese and went to bed early.
Monday morning after breakfast we packed up and left the campsite at 8:30 heading for home. I got here at 7:30.
It was a great trip.
Hulin Robert