I had been speaking the previous day at a party about the assets of my chosen sailing craft, the Sunfish. Simplicity and stability were at the top of the list. In preparing for the sail out to the Northeast Point of Bull Island, I was aware of the long interlude Continue reading
Elkmont revisited
The trail shrunk to a single-width path, one seeing limited foot traffic. The place had a familiar aura, and it seemed that I had walked here many years before. The memory unfolded – it was a solo hike in my days of family camping back in the ’90’s. My friend Jim Smolen and I had set out for a loop hike after erecting our base camp Continue reading
A youthful request
Prior to leaving Garris Landing via ferry for the auto tour on Bull Island during the fourth annual Bulls Bay Nature Festival, I had been alerted by the volunteer coordinator, Jennifer Heisler, about one of the participants I would be guiding. The girl, a pre-teen, had been talking with Jennifer about fiddler crabs Continue reading
In Memory of Jane Wineglass
On April 9 I traveled to the Smokies for a week of camping and hiking. I learned later in the week that the Reverend Jane Green Wineglass passed away on that Sunday at the.age of 89. Jane was the fifth individual whom I interviewed for the Voices of the Santee Delta oral history project. Continue reading
Relentless waters
I took a break from construction, the building of roof trusses, to go for a sail. It was a change in task, environment, Continue reading
Fallen trees
During recent walks around Bull Island and the Washo Reserve at Santee Coastal Reserve I noted fallen trees from Hurricane Matthew. These casualties were quite limited relative to Hurricane Hugo’s effects in the same areas. I found myself peering under the overturned root balls, Continue reading
Thinking about it
The northern gale blew cold, the temperature in the 30’s. Layered up I headed out in the brisk wind, and when turning into the gusty breeze some icy precipitation bounced off my glasses. Continue reading
Adaptation
The day after Christmas broke gray, and more of the same was anticipated. A long interlude, four months, had occurred since my last sail. That warm day sail into Bulls Bay Continue reading
Two views of an island
We approached Cape Island from the sound, motoring up to the pier at Cowpen Point. Dropping off people and gear, we ran northeast to the backside of the island’s northern end for disembarking, and hauling more gear across to our staging point. Continue reading
Forest bathing
The group of twenty-three chugged up the mountain, unleashed from a full day of sitting in educational sessions at the 2016 Southeast Recreational Therapy Symposium. This peloton of participants – a mix of students, young and seasoned practitioners, and educators – climbed Trillium Gap Trail toward the destination of Grotto Falls. Two days before I was on the other side of the mountain, Continue reading
Tale of the two great canoeists
These were no two traditional canoeists – Nathaniel Holmes Bishop and Joshua Slocum. Adventurous voyagers, but cut from different cloth. Here is their story with a Murphy Island connection I wrote for the January/February 2016 issue of South Carolina Wildlife: Tale of the two great canoeists.
Anniversary
Ten years ago, I had my first encounter with the largest alligator on Bull Island, and surely the largest in South Carolina. This huge reptile was awarded a name Continue reading
