Cumberland Island National Seashore - Day Three

This morning we awoke to a much colder day. The temp inside my hammock was 45 and the outside temp was 38. I really do need to buy a Kestrel so I can get accurate temps throughout the night and entire trip. I don't need to know, but I sure do want to.

I quickly piled on additional layers adding back the thermals I'd replaced the night before and throwing on an additional shirt. I ended up with 3 shirts and a pullover and 2 pairs of thermals under my hiking pants. The insulated gloves I purchased prior to the trip certainly came in handy but they made it difficult to break camp later on.

While I was laying in my hammock not really wanting to get up and face the cold I had a horrible realization. Remember I said I was trying out real camp cooking? Well, I'd planned on and had mentioned several times how I was looking forward to fixing pancakes this morning. Unfortunately I realized that I'd left the syrup behind. I still don't know how. It was sitting right next to the things I'd grabbed for my omelet the day before and I'd just prepped it the night before the trip. The worst part is that I'd decided to pre-mix the batter at the house so it would be well mixed and not clumpy with sub-standard camp fixing. The total weight was about 19 oz and I ended up not fixing them. Talk about a disappointment of epic proportions.

Since I'd decided to skip breakfast other than a cup of coffee I broke camp early so I'd be ready when the others finished. They can tear their tent setups down a lot faster than I can my hammock but for me it's a heck of a lot more comfortable.

We left the site at 9:45 and got to the dock about 10 which was perfect for a 10:15 departure. The ferry was packed with some that had come over with Will and I along with a few others including a large group of Scouts. We actually passed them on our way to Sea Camp on Saturday and were surprised they only stayed the night especially with all of the stuff they brought with them. I hadn't kept my sunglasses out so I just sat on the side of the ferry with my beanie pulled over my eyes and "napped" on the 45 minute ride back.

One of the things I like and try to do on every hike is bring something back for my son. I know that he'd really like to be out hiking with me but until he's older and can do some distance (I know he'll give out quickly at this age) I do what I can to bring a little bit of the hike home. I headed to the gift shop and picked up a toy blue crab. He loves hard animals that he can play with in the tub and I thought it'd be a perfect addition to his growing collection.



I've also wanted for quite some time now to have a little hiking buddy to go with me. I don't know why, I just do. I was thinking about a mini sock monkey but today I came across my new friend, Buddy Bison. So now I'll take Buddy with me on all my outdoor adventures and hopefully encourage some kids to get out and experience the great outdoors themselves. Of course, I need to go back to Georgia since I didn't take Buddy's picture at the Cumberland Island sign. :-O