If you get stuck in a swamp, you should know that it is one of the most inhospitable places where you have to survive.
You will have to confront numerous burdens, among them reminding:
- Rugged terrain,
- Dangerous animals,
- Various midges,
- High humidity,
- Difficulty to dry materials to make a fire,
- Lack of pure water,
- Difficulties in finding something to eat,
- Toxic smokes,
- Impossibility to find a spot to take a break or to stop for a little time.
Therefore, how do you think you are going to solve all the above problems and survive in a swamp?
The bogs (wet, muddy grounds, too soft to support a heavy body) are not so different from swamps. These wetland areas are very swampy, and they don’t have many areas where you can trek safely.
Nevertheless, you’ll have to deal with stressful situations.
Typically, these types of grounds are mixed. It is a vital thing to choose the route of accessible and dry areas, avoiding dangerous terrains. You can determine if there is a dry parcel or not by the presence of trees and the rise of the ground. Willow bushes can grow close to the swamp, but the tall trees, mainly alder, and pine grow on the solid ground.
A marsh is characterized by the almost complete lack of vegetation, sparse clumps, and visible fume. Going through the swamp is necessary to check the ground before you step on it. Make sure in front of you is a reliable parcel and try to jump from tussock to tussock.
In the worst case, if one of your friends fell in the morass, tell him not to fret. Of course, it’s easier to avoid the trap than get out of it. Therefore, try to be vigilant, walk carefully and probe the ground in front of you.
However, if an individual gets stuck in the swamp, tell him to stay calm for 5-10 seconds and try to get him out without delay. If you see a stick or a backpack near you, throw it and tell him to grab it. After, try to pull him out.
It is necessary to take the person up and support him with your arms. Lie down on your chest while you’re trying to pull his arms and legs from the quagmire. It is not a simple technique, but it’s the only option you have to save him.
When passing through the swamp try to halt from time to time. The main idea is to dry and ventilate the shoes up to avoid the trench foot.
In swamps with dangerous animals, you can find:
- Swarms of midges,
- Leeches,
- Venomous snakes.
You will find crocodiles or beavers, only if you provoke them because in this way they’re defending their territory.
Try to control every step, and create more noise to avoid any encounter with a snake.
Check your body periodically, and if you find leeches remove them.
The vast clouds of midges’ help spread the feces of a beaver. You can ward off mosquitoes if you make fire.
In a bog, there are just a few planks of wood. You should be satisfied to find a relatively dry area, and there may be a few trees and some bare branches. Besides, in the wetlands you can find dry peat which is a great fuel to make a fire.
You cannot drink swamp water. You should know that marshes are often bordered by a pure spring, lake or river. You could filter the water to a tissue several times and after that, I recommend you to boil it.
In the marshes, you can find snakes that you can eat, if you can catch and kill them. You will be a lucky person if you find a turtle to replace your meal.
Other options of food could be hunting for small alligators, nutria, muskrats, and beavers.
Also, you will find a lot of fish in the lakes and rivers that border the marshes.
Besides, if you don’t want to starve you can choose to eat:
- Different insects,
- Shellfish,
- Roots,
- Fruits,
- Berries,
- Some wetland plants such as roots of cattail, and sedges.
You can guard of the toxic gasses from the marshes by making a simple bandage that covers your nose and mouth.
If you want to find a reliable place to camp overnight, you should choose it on the hill, where it’s dry soil. If you don’t find such a place, then a great option would be finding a more or less robust, split tree and use it as a shelter. Take care where you sleep. An adequate place should be elevated at least 1 meter and a half above the water.
During the day, you can collect branches to make a fire. It is vital to keep you warm, dry off, help you cook, and at the same time repel mosquitoes and wild animals that are particularly awake at night.
Have you ever thought what you would do in case you have to survive in a swamp? Do you believe you are ready to survive in these unsafe conditions? Share your thoughts in the comments section bellow.
IMHO, if you have the skills and equipment, then a swamp actually has a lot of advantages over other wilderness survival locations.
1. The vast majority of people will not go into a swamp under any circumstances. Thus, you are less likely to have unwelcome visitors.
2. Those without wilderness experience, such as urban gangs looking for people to loot from, are even less likely to come across your camp. If you meet anyone it is more likely to be someone with skills willing to work together than someone without skills who only survives by stealing.
3. A fire is certain to attract visitors if your aren’t in a swamp. Which means that your primary tool puts you in danger.
4. Yes, you may need to filter the water prior to boiling. (In my experience in Florida swamps, there is clear water to be found.) But there is no such thing as a lack of water in a swamp. Any other body of water will be attracting visitors. But you can’t live without water. So, choose a swamp.
5. Living creatures abound in a swamp. Unlike any other wilderness environment I can think of, it will support more human lives than are likely to ever go into it. An open woods full of hunters will become an open woods full of hungry hunters in a week or two. A swamp has more living creatures to eat per acre, big, small, swimming, walking, and flying..
You simply must have bug netting, at least here in the South in the Summer. You need some kind of fishing gear, whether hook, line, and sinker, or spear, bow. BB gun, or net. That and a little ordinary camping gear.
I have no bad experiences with getting stuck to where it is impossible to get out. You will, however, get wet. So simply take the time, when you find your dry-ish camping spot, to build a fire and dry everything out.
Alligators will run from you. Only thing I don’t like is water moccasins, which are mean. But even they will go the other way if given enough time to hear you coming.
I would add: A canoe can go anywhere in a swamp. Paddle or pole where there is even a little water. Pull it across damp grass or bog.