Logo
Prev
Bookmark
Rotate
Print
Next
Contents
All Pages
Related Articles
Browse Issues
Help
Search
Home
'
National Geographic : 1974 Feb
Contents
became "Jackson's folly." Heavily logged until 1926, Okefenokee repaired itself-and continues to do so. Even its periodic fires, during times of drought, help keep open its lakes and cane-grass prairies by burning off dried muck and brush. Our destination, the swamp's western en trance at Stephen C. Foster State Park, was only 18 miles away as the ibis flies, but more than that by winding boat trail. At first the trail was fairly wide-it was the run followed by the park motorboat tours. But soon we turned off the main trail, into a narrow watercourse crowded on either side by hurrah bushes bewhiskered with old man's-beard, a vine with silky gray seed plumes. High above our heads soared the great cypresses, bare of needles at this time of year but draped with long gray tendrils of Spanish moss. A barred owl hooted to our left. Like flagstones in a garden path, broad lily pads paved the boat trail, harbingers of the coming glory of spring and summer, when millions of white and yellow water lilies, yellow-spiked neverwets, and white clusters of floating hearts would transfigure the dark surface of the water. D URING AN HOUR OR SO of leisurely paddling, we passed into Okefenokee Na tional Wildlife Refuge, which includes 377,500 acres of the 435,000-acre swamp. Soon we emerged from the cypress, gum, and bay forest into Sapling Prairie, one of many expanses of open marsh, where the maiden cane swayed like Kansas wheat in the wind. Even among the trees I had found the am bient light bright and welcoming, but now in the open it was almost dazzling. Wherever we looked, birds were on the move. Swallows by the dozen swooped gracefully to pick insects off the water; mallards streaked low over the lily pads in straight, purposeful looking flights. Most spectacular of all were the great wading birds: flocks of white ibis or the even larger wood ibis winging from one cypress stand to another; common egrets and great blue herons; and the huge gray sandhill cranes, which often stood motion less among the canes watching us approach, then took off with loud, guttural cries. Most of the way our trail was an easily dis tinguishable, narrow channel cut through the lilies, but there were spots where any of two or three apparent paths seemed equally ap propriate. Contributing to the confusion is the unpredictable emergence of new "bat teries"-islands of peat that have become detached from the swamp bottom. They have the appearance of dry land, but try to walk across one! Although it may hold your weight, the whole raft wobbles and sways like America's Wilderness: Okefenokee
Links
Archive
1974 Mar
1974 Jan
Navigation
Previous Page
Next Page