Cumberland Island Solo Camping
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I’ve wanted to go camping for years, but the timing has never been quite right. A silver lining of COVID-19 quarantine is I had a great opportunity to take a solo backpacking trip to Cumberland.
I was camping at Hickory Hill, a 5.5 mile hike in from the sea camp dock. I disembarked from the ferry about 12:30 and after checking in with the rangers and making a final indoor plumbing pit stop for the next few days, I set off.
I arrived at Hickory Hill around 3:30. The campsite is informally defined, there are signs off the trails indicating its general area but it’s up to you to find your preferred patch of woods. When I arrived, two other groups were setting up camp and one group appeared to have been there a night already. I was a little thrown off at first, I’d been imagining complete solitude and quickly realized I had 5-6 people within earshot. But through the weekend, I realized we all had different enough schedules that I rarely saw anyone.
I was so proud when I finally got my hang bad up, aside from using a cathole it was the part I was most nervous about on this trip.
Traveling alone is definitely more work, but it’s incredibly rewarding. It’s humbling to realize as you’re setting up and breaking down camp that you can carry everything you need to survive on your back. There’s an increased pressure and an increased feeling of liberation in knowing your decisions, actions, and consequences are entirely your own. If I skip hanging up my food to take a nap and a raccoon eats everything, I have no one to blame but myself. My schedule is also entirely up to me, and it lead me to be in tune with my body and energy levels. I didn’t plan any mindfulness exercises, but when eating, drinking, eliminating, or going to a different location are all time and labor intensive activities you have to be mindful of your current state.
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