One such natural haven is Bull Island, South Carolina. Part of the larger Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge not far north of Charleston, Bull Island consists of virtually unspoiled maritime forest, tidal marsh, inland ponds, beaches and the very unique "Boneyard Beach". I do use the word "virtually" here however because unlike the rest of the 64,000 acre Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge, Bull Island has not only been explored by humans it has even been inhabited by them (though not in the last seventy years). As a whole, Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge is considered a Class I Wilderness Area meaning that it meets the requirements for this designation under the Clean Air Act--specifically that it is a wilderness area of greater than 5,000 acres.
I am always looking for excuses to explore natural areas so when my brother Jon (who had recently moved to the Charleston area) asked me one day last winter if I would like to join him on a day trip to Bull Island sometime after the weather started warming up, I quickly accepted. We decided on May 14 as our excursion date--hoping that by then the weather would have warmed up enough to be comfortable but not enough to bring bug populations into bothersome numbers.
Bull Island is accessible only by ferry (people only - no cars). During peak months the ferry runs four days per week--two trips out to the island and two trips back. We arrived at the ferry dock, several miles north of Charleston on Highway 17, at around 8:20 AM on Saturday, May 14, 2005 (it is recommended that you arrive at least 30 minutes before the scheduled ferry departure times of 9:00am and 12:30pm). As we walked down the dock toward the ferry we realized that our planning was 50% accurate--the weather was nice and warm but the bugs were out in force. Fortunately we came prepared and quickly took care of the matter by dousing ourselves in heavy duty insect repellent.
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