On Saturday, July 14 2007, I ventured out to my first expedition into a true cypress nature trail in the Pocomoke State Forest (PSF). PSF has two major camping and recreational areas - the more popular Shad landing is on the south side of the Pocomoke River while the more primitive Milburn Landing is on the north side of the River. Being the inexperienced hiker that I am (sarcasm) - I chose to go with camping and exploring the Milburn location.
I began my hike around 11:30am as the temperatures climbed into the low 80s, humidity was moderate and it was partly cloudy with a slight breeze. Unfortunately, as you entered the thick cypress forest you quickly lost what little breeze you had while in the open. I was happy that the folks at protozoic.com had agreed to film my hike and as a result, I had the expert filmographer, Mike Gray documenting my every move. He asked some great probing questions throughout the hike but was sure to stay out of my way.
This past weekend I completed the first of hopefully several projects, which focus around the topic of capturing the atypical challenges of a disability on film. The folks over at protozoic.com heard about my project and offered to help in the filming and technical aspects of the documentary. They currently have the footage and are editing it over the next few weeks.
Project abstract:
I spent 24 hours in the Pocomoke State Forest - Milburn Landing Campsite. Let me start by saying it was a great time and the weather was perfect. While I enjoyed my time camping - I also paid the consequences by developing a few blisters, severely swollen ankles, and some major fatigue. I do not want to reveal any spoilers regarding the project but to give you a 30-word abstract of events. I did setup the tent, cot, air mattress, and sleeping bag independently. Attempted to start a fire with flint and steel and walked a mile long trail through the cypress swamps of the Pocomoke River. You will have to stay tuned for the video to see how I faired under the challenges – there were many.
Okay… I’ve done a bit more work. I took down the temp site and installed Wordpress 2.2. I am going to keep this site in a blog format. I will also get rid of my other blog that I never update, as I am sure I’ll continue to never update it even more if I have two blogs.
