Navigating the Altamaha Swamps

[Horn Dog]

I took my daughter with me on an outing way down in the swamp today. It all looks the same. You must trust your compass. We would be travelling nearly due South at 164 degrees (almost no declination here) from Scrub lake to Oyster Shell, crossing several creeks.

It's jungle out there!

You need a real knife to hack through the thick stuff.

Our first creek to cross:

Yes, this fat old man did it first! Bonnie did well, too.

The old man slashing through the pigmy bamboo.

I had to use the big Dog Father to remove obstacles while balancing on a log. Not easy for a fat old man.

We reached our destination, an old Indian mound.

Using a deliberate offset, I hit every crossing within 25 feet on the way back.

It was a great outing!

 

[WILLIAM.M]

Great Photos!!

Thanks For Posting Bro!!



Dr.Bill

 

[DOC-CANADA]

Thanks for the great pictures.

I've always wondered what a Horn Dog off his medication, would look like.

Doc

 

[lambertiana]

That's certainly a place where compass skills are a necessity!

 

[Tim the Slugman]

Cool pics! I love the south Ga. swamps!

 

[bearthedog]

That looks like a nice place to roam! Thanks.

 

[pict]

That looks like a great trip. Flat dense undergrowth is as bad for navigation as dense fog. I spent some time in north Florida which is the same type of dense, flat jungle-like mess.

I love working with a compass. The GPS generation doesn´t know what they're missing, like trails and campsites. Give me a map and compass anyday. Mac

 

[Brian Andrews]

Great pictures HD.

Compass navigation is fun.

How are the mosquitoes down there this time of year?

 

[mneedham]

Horn Dog,

Great pics, how that Dog Father compare to the FBM in the woods?

 

[Horn Dog]

The mosquitos were swarming all around us making that sound that reminded us of why we used all that DEET! I don't own a GPS device. Using deliberate offset, I was able to hit every crossing within 25 feet on the way back. In Spring and Summer, you can be just a few yards off your trail and not see it. I failed land navigation the first time at Ft. Knox in Armor Officer Basic (the night stuff was hard), so I had "remedial" training. I'd like to think I had twice as much land navigation training as most of my classmates! In any case, my daughter was impressed.

 

[Horn Dog]

Horn Dog,

Great pics, how that Dog Father compare to the FBM in the woods?

The FBM and Dog Father CG are too heavy to swing all day. It's hard to get enough speed to hack through the limber light stuff like small bamboo and vines. A machete works best. The DFLE is only about a pound, flat ground and quick in the hand, a much better all-around swamp knife than the DFCG or the FBM. The old Western Bowies and CS light kukris, and the RTAK all work well. I had to chop some hardwood limbs out of the way on some occasions, and the DFLE was outstanding. I like my heavier choppers, like the FBM and FFBM, but they wear me out in machete mode.