Backpacking – Cumberland Island Part 2

I’m not gonna lie, our first morning waking up in camp was rough. The fitful bouts of sleep had not been restorative in the slightest. I didn’t want to lay in the tent a moment longer, but I didn’t want to move either. I spent more time than I should have, just laying there being grumpy. I was irritated that the forecast had changed on us. I was annoyed that my bones hurt. Every blast of wind through the well-ventilated tent made me frustrated that we were using an “all season” tent (which I then discovered means all seasons but cold). I was defeated by the mere thought of having to go start the day using the bathroom in the forest. When I finally forced myself up and out, I again became sad that we couldn’t make a campfire and angry that there was so much tree canopy that we couldn’t get the sun. 

While we didn’t speak our feelings much in that moment, Brandon’s face told me he felt similarly. That actually made it slightly better…at least I wasn’t alone in my suffering! We had the same campsite for another night, so we didn’t have to break camp. However, we knew that movement and a change of scenery was the only thing that would help our demeanor. So, I got busy packing up day packs and he got busy making us oatmeal. We had breakfast sitting on our little camp log, and discovered some fragile little mushrooms growing out of one end of the log. That sight made us both laugh about our mushroom adventure and broke the angst we were holding on to. We cleaned up and heading out on a new trail.

We headed west on the Willow Pond trail and quickly came to an enchanting boardwalk over swamps and under many low-hanging branches covered in moss. It was freeing just to wander without the backpacks on and it was nice to warm up some from the sheer act of moving. Our only firm plan for the day was to head to Plum Orchard. My brother Christian told me we should take the tour there, so we were heeding his advice. Brandon wasn’t terribly excited about touring a mansion, but was happy to go along. We knew the beach was too windy, we weren’t sure of how much hiking we could accomplish, and we knew staying around camp wasn’t a good option. On the plus side, we knew Plum Orchard would have real restrooms, potable water, and (hopefully) a little bit of sun.

Our trail ended into the service road, which we promptly decided was the Jurassic Park tour road. It was still beautiful and lush, but with such a wide clearance that it felt a little more mundane than the trails. Just as we thought it was predictable terrain, we turned a corner and crossed over White Branch. This looked like more than just a branch or even a creek in my estimation; it looked more like a small river. It was also interesting how different it was on the two sides of the road. On the east, it seemed still and brackish with moss-covered trees leaning over and into the water. On the west, it seemed to be moving with clearer water and was open and sunny. Although the sun was finally shining on our faces, the open wind countered any sort of warming effect the sun had. So on we went towards our destination.

Soon we turned onto Table Point Road, which was a shell road leading alongside the Brickhill River and up to the beautiful grounds surrounding the Plum Orchard Mansion. It was so bizarre to see this big, ornate mansion in the middle of this wild, natural island. We took in the view and watched some horses go by before getting to the important business of water and restrooms.

Ready for more walking, lol, we set out on the tour with the park service volunteers. The first piece of information was quite disappointing–there are no plums to be found. No one knows why it was called Plum Orchard as there’s no evidence of ever having an orchard, much less plums. Apparently it was named that from the earliest land maps and so the name stuck. I’m bad at recalling details (even when I’m fascinated in the moment), so you should at least read the basics on the NPS site. Basically, we learned a lot about early feminism (as I see it) through stories of the formidable Lucy Carnegie. She enforced her will but was also giving, yet made sure you remembered who buttered your toast (like with her pictures up in the homes she gave to the favorites of her children).

The Carnegies obviously liked to flaunt their wealth in every facet of this mansion. The original burlap wallpaper is still there, with the stamped Gryphon as their symbol of power (yet not a true coat-of-arms…simply a crest they chose and placed on many of their items). The hand-painted linen ceiling tiles are incomprehensibly intricate. The Tiffany lamps are surprisingly bright and beautiful. They flaunted the ability to have indoor plumbing by having all the pipes exposed and displayed. The bathroom even had a special device that would mix your shampoo and water together so you wouldn’t have to make the extra effort. Original menus showed that there was always a cold menu item, to show the wealth in having refrigeration. They had their own bell stamped and inserted into the home to signify the start of fancy parties and exquisite meals. They had an indoor squash court and a huge impractical indoor pool that had to be drained and cleaned by hand frequently. It’s mind-boggling to think how things like indoor plumbing were a luxury while also funny to think about how things we take for granted were once flaunted as a status symbol. It’s downright crazy to think about how much money was spent on some of the most opulent luxuries. As you might say, “they spared no expense.”

One uncomfortable, but interesting, part of the tour was discovering the systems in place for servants (slaves at one point, then as indentured servants, then as paid labor). I couldn’t believe it when we saw that the front section of the house was for family life and entertaining, while the back section (across the entire house) was an elaborate way to keep servants accessible but hidden. There were multiple series of hallways and rooms with hidden doors into much of the house. The secret entrances extended under the house and there was even an elevator (run by water) so no servant would be seen on the grand staircases. Even more bizarre, the side of the house for servants was built differently: bland paint instead of wallpaper, raw wood around the doors instead of ornately carved wood on the other side, and even different doorknobs on each side of the same door. Everything was set to make it clear which side everyone belonged on. The expectation of being waited on in all ways at all hours is so inconceivable. They developed an inter-island phone line so items or services could be called to any of the mansions at a moments notice. They created an intercom of sorts that was staffed 24 hours in case the family suddenly wanted something. Even a French pastry chef was on call in case someone “needed” a macaron at some random time of day. The picture this painted in my mind was a stark reality compared to the world I know. I was so surprised by this way of life, that I didn’t even take pictures of half of what I’m describing. I’m not here to judge how people were in a different era; I just can’t fathom a life like that.

Suffice it to say, this tour was way more interesting that either of us expected. It gave us a lot to think about and discuss for the rest of the day. We got pictures of several Carnegie recipes and meal plans, so we talked about what we would make at a later date. (Brandon owes me some Icebox Cookies.) After the tour, we sought out a sunny spot to have a picnic lunch. We found such a spot, but the wind beat down on us as we wolfed down some delicious bagel sandwiches. After eating, we quickly gave up the spot and looked for somewhere sunny yet protected from the wind. We found our place right on the front steps of the mansion. The Carnegies would’ve been aghast as we pulled off our shoes to stretch ourselves out right there on the steps. Never has concrete been so comfortable. We talked about hiking up the Table Point Trail loop, but doing that (and working our way back) would’ve added 8 miles to our already 3 mile hike back to camp. Ultimately, we decided that sun, a comfortable spot, clean water, and restrooms was our plan for the afternoon. We sat there for a solid two hours: talking to each other, meeting people coming and going from the tours, and watching the horses graze & frolic. It was simple yet glorious. It got up to a whopping 50 degrees, so we never got completely warm, but the sun made for a great reset on the trip.

We finally had to start heading back towards camp, as we didn’t want to run the risk of hiking those trails in the dark. Never wanting to duplicate our walks, we headed out on Duck House Trail. As you may have guessed, we found some more varieties of mushrooms and came across more horses on the trail. We even found the sign pointing to water “near” our camp, despite it’s best efforts at camouflage.

Once we reached the Yankee Paradise Campground (just as deluxe as our campground), we headed south on a new section of the Parallel Trail that would take us back to camp. Although this last trail was only a mile and a half, it was quite challenging. The terrain was still flat, but the trail would “go missing” in spots. The palmettos, ferns, and underbrush were quite thick on this trail and there were many leaning or downed limbs. There were some spots that were hard to navigate just hiking, so once again I was quite thankful not to have the large backpack on during this trek. There were more mushrooms (of course!) and even a tree that looked like it was shedding. We were adjusting to this difficult trail and starting to enjoy the puzzle of finding the trail when suddenly we came to a wall of jumbled, downed trees. We couldn’t figure out if the trail turned or was simply blocked. We worked together, keeping our orientation on the way we came but walking around the jumble (through dense forest)…encountering one obstacle after another for a long five minutes. Brandon finally was able to spot what seemed like the trail further down. We nervously took it and hoped for the best. If it was wrong, we would have to backtrack many miles to take another route. Onward we went, in silence, until we were finally relieved to find our site.

We got back to camp and celebrated our six mile trip with snacks. We sat on our little camp log and marveled at simple things such as the birds in the trees and the ants on the ground. We made a little impromptu D&D game with our natural materials at hand. A whelk shell was our die (it only rolled to three positions, so we called those a 1, 10, or 20). Playing with mostly critical ones or natural twenties leads to a wholly unbalanced adventure, by the way. We fought a stick monster and then a moss monster and won easily. However, we lost to the ant army. Ah, such silliness in the moment that will bring a smile to both of us for a long time. After fooling around awhile, the sun was once again low, we were thoroughly cold again, and it was time to cook dinner. While Brandon was getting down the bear bag, a horse wandered right past our site! It paused a minute (not ten feet away), looked at me, and moved along. It was both scary and mesmerizing, as it didn’t make a noise. If I hadn’t the last bit on video, I might would think I had hallucinated in my tired state. Back to dinner…all blessings to Brandon for taking care of us, but we both agreed our macaroni and spam meal, while technically filling, was not a hit. All good-we had our little portion of Raisinets to end the day before quickly getting into the slightly warmer tent. I had packed cards, so we played cards for as long as we could sit cross-legged and then we climbed into our sleeping bags for long conversations and and even longer night.