[B52gundog]

Spent a couple nights in a state forest area (Central Florida). It's a hunting area where the Florida Trail (FT) runs through. There's a designated camping area for hikers here. So, I decided to spend a couple nights out in the woods now the temperature has cooled enough to be bearable.

I haven't been in the woods since Spring so I needed to get reacquainted with nature again. Decided to practice fire-making with various natural materials this time. Also, filtered some swamp water. Took some pics.

Figured some of ya might be curious of another's outdoor experience in a Florida environment. Here's a few pics.

Some pics as I find natural tinder hiking to the camping area.


Spanish Moss. Black dead moss on left, live moss on right. The dead Spanish Moss catches a spark nicely, but it's hard to find sometimes.


Some kind of weed. The fluff also catches a spark nicely.


Palm Frawns. Dead palm frawns make excellent tinder (scrapings from the branches). Makes a pretty good tinder prep platform too.


Palm Frawn fibers. Found at the base of the plant. Also takes a spark nicely.


Fungus on an Oak Tree. Takes a spark to form a coal/ ember.


Punky wood from a rotted Pine tree. No fatwood, it's too far rotted.


Another rotten Pine tree. This is were we ate a bunch of termites one time. The Pine bark also makes for a good platform for tinder prep.


Getting my tinder materials ready. Punky wood, palm branches, palm fibers, dead pine needles, dead Spanish Moss, tree fungus.


Fire pit using 3 sticks to make a tripod over the fire to hold my cooking pot (and using a branch to hang from the tripod to dangle the pot over the fire). Only using natural materials to hold the pot over the fire.


Close up of suspended cook pot. Just made a feather stick notch to make a hook for the pot.

(Continued below)

[B52gundog]

Camping area.


Palm fiber shaped like a birds nest with punky (Pine) wood in the middle. Used a Fresnel magnifying lens with the sun to make a coal/ ember in the punky wood.


Palm fiber blown into a flame.


Dead palm branch scrapings. I used a dead palm branch as a platform while scraping the knife blade perpendicular to a piece of dead palm to form thin curly fiber scrapings (shavings).


Close up of shredded palm scrapings. Also catches a spark nicely.


Shredded palm scrapings after catching a spark and adding pine needles as other tinder


Tree fungus with a burning coal (disk shaped thingy below blue multi-tool). All I did was rip the fungus apart to expose the center then put a spark to it. It caught a spark pretty well too.

[B52gundog]

Filtering swamp water


Getting the swamp water. The only nearby water source in the area. There's at least one alligator in there somewhere. I stood on a big trunk of a fallen Oak tree used some 550 paracord and a dry bag (blue) as a bucket to get the water.


Comparing the swamp water (left) with regular bottled water (right)


What I used to filter the water. I cut up another plastic water bottle to make the filter. I used grass, dirt, charcoal, and a bandana (black-blue colored) to filter the water.


A pic after the water was filtered and boiled. Since it's stagnant swamp water there was no way I was gonna drink this water unless I boiled it (Yep, it's still an ugly brown color). I drank it and also used it for cooking. I'm still alive, ha ha.


Toasting a bagel over the fire.

This was a productive trip. I learned a lot. One big lesson was to cover the tinder to use again in the morning. There was some early morning dew and fog that dampened the tinder to where I had trouble starting a fire. Didn't have to fall back on man-made tinder or a lighter. Only used a firesteel and natural tinder.

I wanted to try making a bow drill, but unfortunately there was no suitable material for the fireboard and spindle. All the pine branches were too far rotted to be strong enough. The area I was in has mostly Oak trees and palm frawns so that was another eye-opener for thinkin' I could easily find materials for a bow drill.

A buddy of mine arrived later and camped out the next day. Later that night he noticed something crawling on his chest. It was a scorpion (He doesn't know how it got on him). Anyway, the scorpion crawled around his body and I had to chase it and swipe it off him so he wouldn't get stung. We caught the little guy and my buddy decided to boil him and eat him. Taste like shrimp!


All 3 pics are of the same scorpion. The spoon pic is after he was boiled.

[COWBOYSURVIVAL]

B52, Nice job on the post! Good info. on tender. Not sure how serious a scorpion bite is? I guess it depends on the actual species. That one has me curiousl. I'll have to do a search. Again, great post!

[rslt]

Man, what a top weekend. Thanks for the post and great job with the tinder. Just curious, what did the swamp water taste like?

[snowshoe67]

B52 Thanks for the pics,Looks nice and warm there I'am in Maine. Nice tinder ! Swamp
Water Hmmmm taste o.k ? Thanks Again B52!

[B52gundog]

Originally Posted by COWBOYSURVIVAL

B52, Nice job on the post! Good info. on tender. Not sure how serious a scorpion bite is? I guess it depends on the actual species. That one has me curiousl. I'll have to do a search. Again, great post!

I've tried to guess what species it is. This scorpion looks similar to other scorpion encounters I've had. They all look the same and all were small. I'm guessing they're some kind of bark scorpion.

From what I've read so far, a scorpion sting isn't lethal. Apparently, they're a lot like a wasp sting. Since we're not sure, we (he) didn't wanna find out, ha ha. As the scorpion was crawling around his body, my buddy's yellin' at me, "Grab him!" I said, "I ain't gonna grab him, you crazy!" That's when I just whacked it to the ground.

What did the swamp water taste like?

Believe it or not the water doesn't taste bad. It actually has a slight sweet taste to it. For the most part, it taste like regular water.

In the past, I've also filtered the swamp water through a Katadyn Hiker Pro filter pump. It got too hard to pump after awhile and I had the replace the filter afterward as it got clogged up pretty good. So, I try not to use this filter if I don't have to.

I've used Aquamira purification tablets and also just plain boiled it (after filtering through a bandana). Each time the water's never tasted bad and I've not suffered any ill effects. Even when seeing mosquito larvae swimming around in it one time.

There is a bit of a psychological hurdle to overcome since the water looks bad and I know where it came from. Each time I drink it though, it gets a little easier since I haven't gotten sick or died from it yet, ha ha.

The next time I head out in the woods I plan on just drinking water I find. There's few rivers, creeks, or lakes in the places where I've hiked (that I've seen anyway). Usually just swamp like areas. I'll bring water (as I usually do) as a backup, but wanna see if I can get by with just the water I find out in the woods. Parts of Florida are often in drought-like conditions so good water sources are often hard to come by.

EDIT: Oh, and the water doesn't smell bad either.

[LaRemnant]

Originally Posted by B52gundog

I've tried to guess what species it is. This scorpion looks similar to other scorpion encounters I've had. They all look the same and all were small. I'm guessing they're some kind of bark scorpion.

From what I've read so far, a scorpion sting isn't lethal. Apparently, they're a lot like a wasp sting. Since we're not sure, we (he) didn't wanna find out, ha ha. As the scorpion was crawling around his body, my buddy's yellin' at me, "Grab him!" I said, "I ain't gonna grab him, you crazy!" That's when I just whacked it to the ground.

You got me thinking about scorpions, so I consulted my new Peterson Field Guide for Venomous Animals and Poisonous Plants and on page 42 I quote:

Sculptured Scorpion

Centruroides exilcauda (C. Sculpturatus)
Scorpions look like tiny lobsters, with a long, upcurved tail tipped with a poisonous stinger and a 12 segmented abdomen (5 of these segments are the tail). Members of several genera occur North America. The deadly Sculptured Scorpion, to 2 in., is dark brown to tan, often with a yellowish stripe on the side of the cephalothroax, toothed beneath venom bulb.
Where found: Some species live on or in the ground, others in vegetation, others in bark of dead logs or in human dwellings. Of about 1,500 species worldwide (only 25 with lethal venom), more than 70 species occur in the U.S., some in the South, but especially in the Southwest.
Comments: Centruroides scorpions (Centruroides species of the Buthidae Family, the largest scorpion family and the one to which all species lethal to humans belong) occur in the Southwest. The Sculptured Scorpion of Ariz. is the most poisonous in the U.S.; its sting can be fatal. Venom is primarily neurotoxic. The sting of most U.S. species produce symptoms much like a wasp sting: painful swelling and discoloration. Most do not require medical attention. [end quote]

Hoped that helped. ;)

Originally Posted by B52gundog

In the past, I've also filtered the swamp water through a Katadyn Hiker Pro filter pump. It got too hard to pump after awhile and I had the replace the filter afterward as it got clogged up pretty good. So, I try not to use this filter if I don't have to.

... There is a bit of a psychological hurdle to overcome since the water looks bad and I know where it came from. Each time I drink it though, it gets a little easier since I haven't gotten sick or died from it yet, ha ha.

The next time I head out in the woods I plan on just drinking water I find. There's few rivers, creeks, or lakes in the places where I've hiked (that I've seen anyway). Usually just swamp like areas. I'll bring water (as I usually do) as a backup, but wanna see if I can get by with just the water I find out in the woods. Parts of Florida are often in drought-like conditions so good water sources are often hard to come by.

I have yet to use my Katadyn Pocket, but yeah, I plan to be REAL careful whenever I use it, so as not to clog it up. I would be REAL pissed if malfunctioned and got put out of commission, as they say! I will make sure to filter it with basic means like a primitive method of using fibrous grass and what not first if the water is insanely nasty, and then use the Pocket, and THEN boil it. Shouldn't take too long and would be well worth the wait considering how important it is to take care of your gear so it can take care of you, and above all, water is the liquid of life!

Thanks for the post and pictures. I love it! :)

Oh, as for the psychological affect, in the past, I knew a soldier who right after putting put his tents, would roll around in the dirt and get as gritty/grimy as he could. I kind of thought it was a bit retarded... but in his line of thinking, he said it got him immediately in the frame of mind of doing what it took to get the job done, having the scent of sour balls or not! LOL I guess it was his ritual that got him in the mind frame effectively, so perhaps when it comes to ingesting water, we could do some form of ritual right before or during our camping experience, where we would get in the state of mind of thinking SURVIVAL!!! ;) Just a thought?

EDITED TO ADD:

Where did you camp? Looked like Kissimmee judging by the tree line but they don't allow open fires like that and are REALLY micromanaging with how you go about "primitive" camping...

[River Rat]

Great job B52 those pic's really told the story. "Swamp Water" your the man!

[B52gundog]

Thanks for the scorpion info, LaRemnant. It's beneficial. There's a 50/ 50 chance I'll see a scorpion when I'm out in the woods. All of them I've seen are on trees, in logs, or wood debris. I just called the Ranger Station at a state park where I've seen the scorpions to see if they have any localized info on 'em. I left a voicemail for 'em (at their biology office). Hopefully, they'll call me back with some info. If not, I'll call 'em again later.

Nope, not Kissimmee. I don't wanna give away the location as nobody else seems to use this area but me and my buddy. When I got to the camping area (this past weekend) it looked like it was when we left it last Spring (the leftover pile of firewood we had was still there). The trail leading to the camp was overgrown and almost wasn't discernible.

I can tell ya it is officially documented to the general public, though. I found this area by reading a Florida hiking book at the local library.

When I first researched where to hike and camp I called the State Forest folks. You're right, some areas are sticklers with a ton of rules, you gotta make a reservation (an audit trail so you can be found - in case of emergency or if you abuse the environment so you can be held accountable as well), and some even have a quota system (so the environment isn't overused), but other counties (or wildlife management departments) are more laid back. When I called the officials for this area the guy just told me to have a good time. No rules, no reservation, no checking-in, no need to know who I am, no quota to worry about. I can just go on a whim. So, this place has become a choice location. And, it's easy to get to from a driving standpoint. I just make sure I tell my immediate family where I'm going and how long I'll be.

When I camp out at the state park, there's enough people who primitive camp that it's hard to find firewood because so many others have been there before me.

I'm planning to scout out other locations as well looking for areas where I don't have to drive all day to get to 'em. I have found some places, but the rules were so strict I'd lose interest. There was one primitive camping place just north of Sarasota where they expected me to buy their expensive firewood from the state park if I wanted to have a fire (head-scratcher icon here).

I'm also fortunate enough to have some good friends who own private property (in another hunting area) that I go to as well.