{"id":8007,"date":"2019-03-30T15:43:55","date_gmt":"2019-03-30T15:43:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/?p=8007"},"modified":"2019-04-07T23:17:35","modified_gmt":"2019-04-07T23:17:35","slug":"remembering-the-okefenokee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/?p=8007","title":{"rendered":"Remembering the Okefenokee…"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

An \u201calligator mississippiensis<\/a><\/em>,\u201d\u00a0prevalent in the\u00a0Okefenokee Swamp<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 where I kayaked – twice<\/strong>\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

* \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n

\"Okefenokeelocatormap.png\"This May I\u2019ll be making a two-week pilgrimage<\/a> to Jerusalem<\/a>.\u00a0 (As part of a local church group.)\u00a0 <\/em>Which makes this a great time to remember some\u00a0past<\/em><\/strong> pilgrimages.\u00a0 Like my two separate overnight-camping ventures into the Okefenokee Swamp<\/a>.\u00a0 (Shown at left.)<\/em><\/p>\n

I wrote of those Okefenokee trips in several posts:\u00a0 Operation Pogo \u2013 \u201cInto the Okefenokee<\/a>” (11\/7\/15), \u201cInto the Okefenokee\u201d \u2013 Part II<\/a> (11\/15\/15), \u201cInto the Okefenokee\u201d \u2013 Part III<\/a> (11\/24\/15), \u201cThere he goes again\u2026<\/a>” (5\/30\/16), and \u201cThere he goes again\u201d \u2013 Revisited<\/a> (5\/31\/17).<\/p>\n

The original Operation Pogo<\/a>\u00a0noted that my fascination with the Okefenokee started – at age 10 or so, back in the 1960s – when I saw the movie Swamp Water<\/a><\/em><\/strong>, starring Walter Brennan<\/a>:<\/p>\n

The part I remember best was watching Walter Brennan getting bitten in the face by a snake.\u00a0 In the scene, he kneels over and parts the <\/b>bulrushes<\/a> to get a drink. (Of \u00a0\u201cswamp water,\u201d while hiding from John Law<\/a>\u00a0in the\u00a0Okefenokee<\/a>.)\u00a0 As Walter [kneels], the viewer can see a grinning cottonmouth<\/a> off to his right. \u00a0(The viewer\u2019s left.) \u00a0The grinning cottonmouth then proceeds to bite him \u201cright on the cheek.\u201d\u00a0 I\u2019ve been fascinated ever since\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Part of that fascination\u00a0also came from the old\u00a0Pogo<\/a>\u00a0comic strip.\u00a0 (It ran from 1949 to 1975.)\u00a0<\/em> It starred Pogo Possum, was set in the Okefenokee<\/a>, and featured \u201csocial and political satire <\/a>through the adventures of its anthropomorphic<\/a> funny animal<\/a> characters:\u201d<\/p>\n

Pogo<\/i><\/strong> is set in the Georgia<\/a> section of the Okefenokee Swamp;\u00a0 Fort Mudge<\/a> and Waycross<\/a> are occasionally mentioned. \u00a0The characters live, for the most part, in hollow trees amidst lushly rendered backdrops of North American wetlands, bayous, lagoons and backwoods.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Also, note that my original “Pogo” post was very<\/em><\/strong> long.\u00a0 It clocked in at over 1,600 words in the main text, and over 2,000 words including the notes.\u00a0 Since then I’ve cut down on blog-post wordage, mostly because the average reader has the attention span of a gerbil.\u00a0 (You could\u00a0Google<\/a><\/em> “ideal number of words for a blog post.”\u00a0 One site – Forbes<\/a> – said that for one thing, “most people only read between 20% to 28% of a post<\/a>” anyway…)<\/em><\/p>\n

\"1445698042386\"“Revisited<\/a>”\u00a0noted my second<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>fun\u00a0<\/strong>trip into the Okefenokee<\/a>, from the west<\/em> <\/strong>entrance into the Okefenokee<\/a> east of <\/b>Fargo, Georgia<\/a>.\u00a0 (In the “tagalong” combo at right;\u00a0 a kayak with a rubber dinghy trailing behind.)\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>“Among other things I saw some fifty alligators during the first hour of paddling.”\u00a0 After that I stopped counting…<\/p>\n

I camped at the\u00a0CANAL RUN shelter<\/a>, \u201csome nine miles in from the Foster State Park<\/a> launch site.\u201d\u00a0 And … because it was so early in the season the canoe-only trails were much vegetated-over. \u00a0Which meant that many times I had to \u201cbutt-scootch\u201d my kayak over a barely-sunken log, and sometimes had to stick my hand out, grab another log and finish pulling the kayak [over]. \u00a0The last<\/em> <\/strong>time I reached my left hand out I saw a patch of white.\u00a0 It turned out to be yet another gator\u00a0…\u00a0\u201csmiling\u201d nicely at what he no doubt thought was a tasty new snack.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In case I’m being too subtle, that “tasty new snack” would have been my left hand.<\/p>\n

And speaking of “pilgrimages” – and why I do things like camp overnight in the Okefenokee (twice) <\/em>and fly to places like Jerusalem:\u00a0\u00a0I addressed that topic in my companion blog.\u00a0 See for example, On St. James, Steinbeck, and sluts<\/a>.\u00a0 (The “sluts” came from\u00a0Robert Louis Stevenson<\/a>.)<\/em><\/p>\n

That post noted that on a true<\/em><\/strong> pilgrimage \u2013 usually by and through such things as \u201cthe raw experience of hunger, cold, lack of sleep\u201d \u2013 we can quite often “find a sense of our fragility as mere human beings.\u201d\u00a0 (And to that might be added, mosquitoes, snakes and great numbers of alligators.)\u00a0<\/em> The post added that a true<\/em> <\/strong>pilgrimage can be \u201cone of the most chastening, but also one of the most liberating\u201d of personal experiences.<\/p>\n

I certainly felt “chastened” at almost having my left hand chomped by a “smiling” gator.<\/p>\n

\"1445624973384\"And speaking of being chastened:\u00a0 “One thing I learned is that \u2013 in the Okefenokee \u2013 there are precious few places to stop and take a break…\u00a0 The shelters \u2013 for day use or overnight \u2013 are few and far between.\u00a0 As a result, the ol\u2019 keister<\/a><\/em>\u00a0got extremely sore by the end of the second day.\u00a0 (Not to mention blisters on my palms\u2026<\/em>)”\u00a0 That is, in this swamp there are few “shores<\/a>” to speak of.\u00a0 Just\u00a0a “line of reeds that an alligator can mash down.”\u00a0 And where a wandering kayaker – for example – steps off at his own peril, as shown above left.<\/p>\n

Also, one time I was paddling through a very narrow canal when I saw a big bull gator \u2013 who eventually submerged. This was on the canoe trail to Monkey Lake<\/a>.\u00a0 As I paddled over the water where the gator had<\/em><\/strong> been, I could swear he came up and nudged the bottom of my kayak.\u00a0 I figured it was an accident, at least the first time.\u00a0 (But the second time?)<\/em><\/p>\n

That<\/em><\/strong> added some spice to the trip.<\/p>\n

Then there was the time I miscalculated my canoe-speed, and ended up paddling – late in the dark of night – through what seemed like miles of water lilies.\u00a0 (Well after 8:00 p.m., as noted in Okefenokee \u2026 Part III<\/a>.)\u00a0 <\/em>Which led me to think,\u00a0as I paddled through the swamp in the dark:\u00a0 \u201cThat Monet<\/a>\u00a0guy can take his stinkin\u2019\u00a0water lilies<\/a>\u00a0and \u2018stick \u2018em where the sun don\u2019t shine<\/a><\/em><\/strong>.’\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

That is, the canoe only<\/em> trail to the <\/b>Cedar Hammock Shelter<\/a> is – or was – loaded<\/em> with water lilies\u2026<\/p>\n

I discovered a nasty thing about water lilies. \u00a0They\u2019re hard enough to paddle through during the day, when you can see what you\u2019re doing\u2026\u00a0 [But] in a kayak \u2013 in the dark and in a hurry \u2013 your paddle tends to grab great wads of swamp weed. \u00a0Then the paddle tosses the soggy lily-entrails \u2013 wet and cold \u2013 all about your head and shoulders.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But such are the things that make for a great pilgrimage!<\/strong>\u00a0 (At least in hindsight…)<\/em><\/p>\n

* \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n

\"SwampWaterPoster.jpg\"<\/p>\n

Poster for the 1941 film, Swamp Water<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

* \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n

The upper image is courtesy of\u00a0Alligator \u2013 Wikipedia<\/a><\/em>. \u00a0The caption: \u00a0\u201cAmerican alligator<\/a>\u00a0(A. mississippiensis).\u201d\u00a0 For more on the upcoming\u00a0two-week\u00a0pilgrimage<\/a>, see<\/em><\/em>\u00a0\u201cOn to Jerusalem<\/a>!”!”<\/em><\/p>\n

\"PogoRe:\u00a0 “Pogo,” running from 1949 to 1975.\u00a0 Cartoonist<\/a> Walt Kelly<\/a> (1913\u20131973) fell ill in 1972,\u00a0and was unable to continue the strip.\u00a0 The strip continued for a short time with reprints, and cartoons from other artists.\u00a0 But\u00a0Kelly’s widow ultimately decided to discontinue the strip “because newspapers had shrunk the size of strips to the point where people could not easily read it.”\u00a0 Also, one of the reasons I liked the strip was because – in hindsight – it seems rather\u00a0prescient<\/a>, as seen at left.<\/em><\/p>\n

I took the photograph of the alligator basking on the “line of reeds.”\u00a0 (From a safe distance.)<\/em><\/p>\n

The lower image is courtesy of\u00a0Swamp Water \u2013 Wikipedia<\/a>. \u00a0That article noted the 1941\u00a0Jean Renoir<\/a>\u00a0film “starring\u00a0Walter Brennan<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Walter Huston<\/a>, produced at\u00a020th Century Fox<\/a>, and based on the novel by\u00a0Vereen Bell<\/a>. \u00a0The film was shot on location at\u00a0Okefenokee Swamp<\/a>,\u00a0Waycross, Georgia<\/a>, USA. \u00a0This was Renoir\u2019s first\u00a0American<\/a>\u00a0film. \u00a0The movie was remade in 1952 as\u00a0Lure of the Wilderness<\/a>, directed by\u00a0Jean Negulesco<\/a>.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An \u201calligator mississippiensis,\u201d\u00a0prevalent in the\u00a0Okefenokee Swamp\u00a0\u2013 where I kayaked – twice\u2026 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 * This May I\u2019ll be making a two-week pilgrimage to Jerusalem.\u00a0 (As part of a local church group.)\u00a0 Which makes this a great time to remember some\u00a0past pilgrimages.\u00a0 Like my two separate overnight-camping ventures into the Okefenokee Swamp.\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[8,9],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8007"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8007"}],"version-history":[{"count":44,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8007\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8280,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8007\/revisions\/8280"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8007"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8007"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8007"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}