I met up with a friend over on the other side of Florida and we kayaked to a really neat area that he knew about. So we get to this spot and there's supposed to be a spring back in the woods. We find it but the water is cloudy and there's no flow coming out. It was obvious that historically there was plenty of flow out of the spring into the main river. This was a dead spring. So we scouted around it and after like ten minutes we had gotten away from the spring into some thick woods. When we decided to go back we realized the spring was not where we thought it was. Yeah, we got all turned around and lost. This has never happened to either of us. We're experienced woodsman and we don't just get lost like that. So after wandering around for a while we decided we were really lost and to keep moving might mean we were getting more lost. My instincts were telling me that the river was to our right. Keep in mind the sun was directly above us. So I decided we should go that direction through the thick woods until we came across something. Looking at the tree tops ahead of me it appeared that there was a clearing just ahead. We kept going toward it for a while but it seemed to keep moving away from us as we approached it. At last it started to get closer and I got up on a small ridge and through the brush I caught a glimpse of the brown flowing water! I tell my friend that I think I see the river and after a short pause of silence he replies and says, "look! There's our kayaks right there!" Haha, we had gone right back to where we entered the woods and didn't even know it! The rest of the first day was used to build a shelter and fire. Both of which I'm pretty proud of accomplishing even though it was my friend who did most of the fire making. It seems the ticket was the bow drill method with cedar spindle and cedar hearth.
Life vests were used as pillows and seat cushions... not to save lives. lol
We got the fire going just in time so we moved it under the shelter and let the rain come down. We then found some gathered rain water and dipped some up and boiled it. If the water is on the ground we always boil it. Earlier I had smelled up some mint so I harvested some and threw it in the boiled water to flavor it and possibly add some nutritional value. It was some minty mint tea for sure.
As it got dark I dreaded the inevitable onslaught of mosquitoes that I was sure would invade our open shelter. To my surprise and delight very few mosquitoes showed themselves. There were a lot of beauty berry bushes around our shelter and we were burning cedar so those two things could have been factors. This is very good to know.
Day two consisted of boiling more water, some foraging, and looking for meat. My friend spooked a couple pigs but we were unprepared to make such a big kill. Getting protein was what we struggled with most. I admit that I personally slacked in that area. I learned a lot about what goes on in my head. I knew I was leaving the next day back to a land of plentiful food. I started on a fish trap and it was actually looking pretty good but as evening came I lost the drive to finish it as I knew the next morning I would be able to get easy food. In this area I learned a lot and I was glad to learn it. We did end up gathering fresh water mussels (asian clams) and boiled them up. My friend didn't like them so I ate most of them. The trick is to swallow them whole so you don't bite on the gritty inside. After some research I will likely never eat them again as there are some risks associated with the species we ate. Hopefully I got lucky this time. We hopped in the river and found some rock suitable for making spear heads and the like. My friend brought his knapping tools so he cranked out a crude but sharp spear point and mounted it.
We boiled more water and fed the fire as the sun went down. I got more sleep the second night and woke up maybe six times or so to get the fire going again. I kept my feet by the fire as they actually got a little bit cold at night. I have found that the best way to sleep is straight on your back and if you're not used to sleeping like this you should get used to it at home. Most other sleeping positions will result in limbs falling asleep and other discomforts.
The next morning we were pretty well ready to get out of there. We were up with the sun and started actually moving about an hour after light. We anticipate revisiting this area so we left all of our primitive stuff in the shelter plus a pot for boiling water. So if you come across a hut in the woods with a bow and two fishing arrows, a spear, and a pot then you have found our place and you are welcome to stay so long as you maintain the hut and are respectful of the wilderness around you.
