A hummock in the swamp
There is no scarcity of palustrine wetlands in southern Virginia Beach - they are a defining feature of the landscape in this part of our state. There are marshes, pocosins and swamps. Although I explore the marshes at any time of the year, I do not venture into the swamps in the warmer months. The vegetation is so thick that it is difficult to see well and, of course, the snakes and angry, biting hordes of insects are distracting. And it’s hot. Ninety degree days trudging through deep mud in waist deep water wearing chest waders is a miserable way to spend a morning. In the winter months, however, I’m all in! The only thing that bites in winter are the greenbriars - my tenacious tape patched up neoprene boot-sock waders are evidence of my battles with nature's version of barbed wire. I might go with canvas waders next time.
It was a cold day in January and the water level in the swamp was lower than normal due to the near drought conditions that hve persisted for several months. It was cold, but wading through shin-deep mud for two hours is exhausting and it did not take long before my sweater, gloves and hat ended up stuffed into my backpack. I was on a mission. Deep in this swamp there is a hummock - an island that rises out of the morass. I have been there twice before. Once with one of my sons. Once with a friend that will not go back. He swears I was trying to kill him. I have asked others to accompany me, but once I explain that to reach the island you must wade a mile through a swamp with no trail in up to waist deep water and knee deep mud, well, all but two have declined. So, I went alone.
The hummock rises six feet out of the swamp, like an oasis and a refuge from the mire. The island is approximately one hundred yards wide and four hundred yards long and there are no signs that anyone has ever been there. Ever. A friend of mine that believes he ended up there once while hunting called it the Devil’s Bedroom because you have to go through hell to get there. The island may be the most tranquil and concealed place that I have ever chanced upon, but I must remember that the way back is the same as the way in.
Schedule your ecotour to explore this environmental wonderland.
