Southerners - How are you doing summer camping?

Eurodriver

Sergeant of the Hide
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Minuteman
Oct 21, 2011
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Growing up in FL the best time to go camping was January. Unless you had an RV - no one went in August. 85 degrees with a 75 degree dew point at midnight. Mosquitos. Roaches. Lizards. Spiders. Snakes. Alligators. Pass.

Any tips to stay comfortable? Keep bugs away? Thermacells are great but kind of cumbersome to carry one around everywhere. The alternative is to lather up in DEET which then gets on your clothes and sleeping bag.

Then there is the profuse sweating all night long that makes for a miserable sleep unless you are somewhere with a strong breeze.

What do you do?
 
When I lived in central Fla (74-93) I always used a hammock w/mosquito netting or rain cover & drink apple cider vinegar w/mother. Was always bug free, and sleep good. Biggest issue was waking up & finding mister no shoulders closer than I would like. I use to make my own snake/rat shot for 357 & 45acp and that would solve that issue, when it would pop up.
 
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When I was a teenager in the mid-late 90s, my family would camp in Daniel Boone National Forest over Memorial Day, July 4th and Labor Day for OHV riding. Granted, southern Kentucky generally doesn't reside in "Devil's Asscrack" temperature/humidity like the deep south does but it ain't exactly Northern Michigan either.

We did it with copious amounts of OFF, minimal covers at night, swimming in a river to cool off and a strong dose of harden the fuck up.

In my 40s now, I would find it MUCH less enjoyable in the summer but battery-powered fans are more available.
 
Florida is different than most places
Summer equals
Extreme heat
Extreme rain
Extreme bugs
Extreme snakes
Extreme Aligators

Don’t sleep on ground the bugs will either eat you there or carry you off

You have to treat Florida like the jungle

Hammock if your packing it in
Roof top tent if you have overland vehicle
Tall rubber snake boots
 
Bug spray and a 5th wheel with ACs in the living area and bedroom. I know... it's not real camping, but I'm so over tent camping. Sometimes you just have to go inside and cool down for 10-15min, every few hours. I wear dry weave shirts and go commando to minimize the chafing. If the humidity is up, it's just no fun.
 
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Florida is different than most places
Summer equals
Extreme heat
Extreme rain
Extreme bugs
Extreme snakes
Extreme Aligators

Don’t sleep on ground the bugs will either eat you there or carry you off

You have to treat Florida like the jungle

Hammock if your packing it in
Roof top tent if you have overland vehicle
Tall rubber snake boots
Mike,
In a pinch Beautyberries can be used as food & a good mosquito repellent down there.




 
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The south is not fit for human habitation.

I grew up in coastal Oregon and loved camping in the summer. 50s at night and maybe 72 during the day with a cool breeze in the afternoon.

Even October camping in Georgia can be in the mid-80s.
 
I love it here. Heat over cold any day. Best move I ever made was leaving California and moving here. I want to change nothing here

As to camping, recently you will need a Jon boat because lots of water Its the rainy season
 
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This is my idea of camping lol

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I’m camping out in my recliner. When I want to watch the wildlife, I’ll have my daughter bring the grandson over to play in the sprinkler. As it was said above…. Camping, summer and the south are not synonymous with a good time…
 
Just light a fire and bring lots of beer or bourbon and a fishing pole. You'll be fine. Bass or inshore fish during the day and get so drunk you'll never even feel the skeeters and bugs at night
 
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Just light a fire and bring lots of beer or bourbon and a fishing pole. You'll be fine. Bass or inshore fish during the day and get so drunk you'll never even feel the skeeters and bugs at night
Did this many a night alongside a canal or fishing hole. Fire almost all night. Catching big ol’ black crappies. Fish in the morning. Maybe even bacon if someone remembered to bring some.

You get to see animal life like you’ve not before.
 
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Mike,
In a pinch Beautyberries can be used as food & a good mosquito repellent down there.




You're confused. You mean poke berries. Yep poke berries make the best bug repellent. Mash them all over your exposed skin especially the face.
 
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Did this many a night alongside a canal or fishing hole. Fire almost all night. Catching big ol’ black crappies. Fish in the morning. Maybe even bacon if someone remembered to bring some.

You get to see animal life like you’ve not before.
Bacon. More like bologna and wonderbread as a back up. Cornmeal and flour and a lot of bud wei ser. Ahh to be young again
 
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I love it here. Heat over cold Sunday. Best move I ever made was leaving California in moving here. I want to change nothing here

As to camping, recently you will need a Jon boat because lots of water Irs the rainy season
"Heat over cold Sunday" WTF does that even mean?

"recently you will need a Jon boat because lots of water" Huh?

"Irs the rainy season" Either you dropped out of school in the 3rd grade or massive amounts of alcohol have recently been ingested... In two sentences you have at least 30 grammatical errors, thats a new world record.
 
"Heat over cold Sunday" WTF does that even mean?

"recently you will need a Jon boat because lots of water" Huh?

"Irs the rainy season" Either you dropped out of school in the 3rd grade or massive amounts of alcohol have recently been ingested... In two sentences you have at least 30 grammatical errors, thats a new world record.
No fat fingers, small keyboard, auto correct and I left my reading glasses off. Sucks to get old but the advantage is you learn not to attack everyone on net for little things. Life’s short
 
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Just light a fire and bring lots of beer or bourbon and a fishing pole. You'll be fine. Bass or inshore fish during the day and get so drunk you'll never even feel the skeeters and bugs at night
I am here for the bass and inshore/backcountry fishing. Flying Bugs don’t bug me much. I just don’t sleep directly on the ground if I can avoid it.
 
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You're confused. You mean poke berries. Yep poke berries make the best bug repellent. Mash them all over your exposed skin especially the face.
You do realize kids & people who just do, instead of thinking or researching, read here?
Poke berry's are a known poison, and posting something like that in Field Craft should never be done. This section is one of the few here you can bank on the advice, and those of us who have had use some of the things talked about here to stay alive on this rock would like it to stay that way.


Same with the poison oak comment.
 
You do realize kids & people who just do, instead of thinking or researching, read here?
Poke berry's are a known poison, and posting something like that in Field Craft should never be done. This section is one of the few here you can bank on the advice, and those of us who have had use some of the things talked about here to stay alive on this rock would like it to stay that way.


Same with the poison oak comment.
You're right. I should have kept the joke to myself.
 
Well, with it hitting 116* at the house yesterday, I’m looking at getting out and heading for a lake about the 6500 foot elevation. Woobie, hammock, bug screen are ready.

Luckily since I’m in the SW the humidity is in the teens to low 20’s.
 
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Well, with it hitting 116* at the house yesterday, I’m looking at getting out and heading for a lake about the 6500 foot elevation. Woobie, hammock, bug screen are ready.

Luckily since I’m in the SW the humidity is in the teens to low 20’s.
I used to love doing field ops in New Mexico’s high country. Gorgeous
 
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Did this many a night alongside a canal or fishing hole. Fire almost all night. Catching big ol’ black crappies. Fish in the morning. Maybe even bacon if someone remembered to bring some.

You get to see animal life like you’ve not before.
I see you are from Central Florida, my friend. I went to Embry-Riddle in Daytona and then into the USAF but I still to this day (50 years or so later) have some good friends down there. One in particular lives down at Ponce Inlet.

So he says to me one time I'm in town, "hey, lets go out tonight with grass shrimp and catch some flat fish under the dock lights".

Yeah, we caught a lot of fish and I don't believe there was a single square inch on my body that didn't have mosquito bites. I'm one of those people that can be used as mosquito repellent by others. Every last one of those fuckers will bite me and leave you alone.

And let's not even talk about screwing on Mount Arayat in the rainy season. The mosquitos there are detectable by air traffic search radars! haha Yeah, the aftermath was ugly. lol

That's when I decided that a Hilton on the beach was my idea of camping! haha

Cheers
 
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This is my idea of camping lol

View attachment 8442089
Exactly. Camping is for poor people and those silly bastards tricked into joining the military*

4 and 5 star hotels is what camping should be.

*was dumb enough and slept in enough mud holes, ditches and sand dunes to never want to again.
 
I see you are from Central Florida, my friend. I went to Embry-Riddle in Daytona and then into the USAF but I still to this day (50 years or so later) have some good friends down there. One in particular lives down at Ponce Inlet.

So he says to me one time I'm in town, "hey, lets go out tonight with grass shrimp and catch some flat fish under the dock lights".

Yeah, we caught a lot of fish and I don't believe there was a single square inch on my body that didn't have mosquito bites. I'm one of those people that can be used as mosquito repellent by others. Every last one of those fuckers will bite me and leave you alone.

And let's not even talk about screwing on Mount Arayat in the rainy season. The mosquitos there are detectable by air traffic search radars! haha Yeah, the aftermath was ugly. lol

That's when I decided that a Hilton on the beach was my idea of camping! haha

Cheers
I didn’t say that I was smart when I was young, just that those are good memories.

Oh, and thanks to you and your similars for attracting the skeeters away from the rest of us. Don’t think we aren’t appreciative of your sacrifice. 😄👍🏻
 
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USAF fighter jet mechanic.

That didn't save me from sitting in a fox hole in 33 degree pouring rain wishing it was a couple degrees colder so it would snow. But being in the rear with the gear ment it had a half ass tin roof and sandbags around it.

But that was part time during drills.

You couldn't preform matinence on the birds loaded with big bada boom.

On the plus side that country had women and booze available.
 
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People can talk shit about the different services but when its you children on the line all that goes away.

My son had graduated H/S and had been working local. He came home one day & said he was Joining the Army, to which I said over my dead body. Well I go Marines then, I said I'll just cut you throat right now. Well that only leaves the Navy & Air Force, yep & you don't swim worth a shit!.
Why the A/F? Because if you want a bankable skill set, and to be treated like a human being plus saluting the older fucks as they go to war, like it should be the A/F is the place. Oh but I want the memories & stories like you, no you fucking don't trust me.
What I learned about all the services is this, and for hrs i told him about my interactions with them all.
Condensed, The Army & marines are but cannon fodder with some real fucked up leadership who are high on their selves and will throw you under the bus for chest candy in the blink of an eye.
The Navy, on shore not all that bad but blue water when that ship goes down it could be an Indy all over again quickly.

The A/F can be huge target for canned sunshine, yes, but they have much better defenses that the other three as well as much better food, billets & you are treated like a human being.

Still not believing all I told him, he went to the A/F recruiter and spent some time then inked the paperwork.

After 2 tours in Korea, & Japan both he was starting to see everything I told him first hand. The defining was after a tour in Iraq & A-stan when he said he was glad I pushed him to the USAF, after seeing how the other services were treated/housed/fed ect. Now retired he still has a bankable skill set (none cannon fodder) for the rest of his life.

In my day Army guys were treated like dog shit, then spit on when back home. I was not going to allow that to happen to my son.

Having war story's to tell is one thing but getting to live thru them w/o pain and all your body parts for the rest of your life is more important than some b/s story's, that get expended upon all the time.
 
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