Navigating Swamps - Tips/Advice?

[AvidHunter88]

A little background before my question. I hunt primarily in swamps that consist mostly of thick brush/red dogwood with some cedars/cattails/tamaracks mixed in here and there. Most of my hunting has been on private land however since joining the Beast I've been branching out more and more onto public swamps. Something that has been holding me back however is being able (and confident in my abilities) to navigate in/out of these swamps especially in the dark. On private, my family has always used reflective tacks, orange ribbon, etc. I'm trying to avoid marking my trails on public. To be honest, I got turned around a few times last year and it was a bit overwhelming spinning in a circle where everything looked exactly the same. In a lot of cases there are no fence lines to follow, house lights to guide you, or things like that. I do have a GPS but don't want to rely exclusively on that.

So my question is, how do you guys navigate in situations like this? What tips/trick am I missing? What resources are there for me to learn these skills? Thanks in advance!

[Wlog]

Get a quality compass and learn to trust it. When I was younger I would sometimes trust my internal compass more than the one in my hand. I never did outdo the compass. Also I try to never get so caught up and distracted by what I'm doing to forget which way I'm going. The more time you spend doing it the more confident you will get. I've been scouting with friends many times and I'm so surprised how easily they get turned around and try to convince me we're going the wrong way. It's one of those things you just have to learn by doing it.

If you have a gps carry an extra battery and practice with it so you have a good understanding of its capabilities and limitations. I almost always have my cellphone with me when I'm out. God forbid I fall and break a leg I want to be able to let someone know and get help.

[Boogieman1]

Gps is deff the way to go. I have never got lost to or from stand. But I've blood trailed afew that got me all kinds of turned around. Let your spouse or trustworthy friend know where your at just incase.

[Horizontal Hunter]

Get a quality compass and learn to trust it. When I was younger I would sometimes trust my internal compass more than the one in my hand. I never did outdo the compass. Also I try to never get so caught up and distracted by what I'm doing to forget which way I'm going. The more time you spend doing it the more confident you will get. I've been scouting with friends many times and I'm so surprised how easily they get turned around and try to convince me we're going the wrong way. It's one of those things you just have to learn by doing it.

If you have a gps carry an extra battery and practice with it so you have a good understanding of its capabilities and limitations. I almost always have my cellphone with me when I'm out. God forbid I fall and break a leg I want to be able to let someone know and get help.

This.

An orienteering class wouldn't hurt to learn the fundamentals. My state's Hunter Education division has one and it is terrific.

I carry a GPS, spare battery, and a compass and paper map. A compass and a paper map weigh little and take up little space. It is also nice to have a paper map to mark up with information as well.

Bob

[headgear]

Short answer is the compass or GPS, the long answer is it just takes a little time to get use to it. I have often suspected that deer like the transitions because they use them kind of like our highway system. I find myself more and more not needing a compass in the swamps and woods in the dark because I know the land and know the transition lines. It is good to always have a plan of escape too, know where you are going and how you plan to get out, my exit routes are often different than my entry routes because I know if I walk the swamp a half or quarter mile in one direction I will hit the high ground, then I know if I follow that transition I will eventually hit a ridge or another swamp or trail I can follow. That is just an example of one spot about 1.5 miles back that I hit annual. I also have a back up plan, basically if think go wrong I know I can just head strait east or wherever and hit a road and get out that way. I also pays to pay attention to the sun going down so you at least have an idea of the direction of travel if something happens to your compass or gps. Another good tip is make the most of that first half hour after shooting light, you often have good night vision or just enough light to see for a good 30 minutes after dark, use that time to get to a location you are more familiar with or a location you can easily follow. It can also be much harder early season when all the leaves are up so maybe don't do anywhere you aren't familiar with until later in the year. Give it some time once you get the hang of it you will become far more comfortable.

[stash59]

If your using a headlamp on your way out. Use a red or green lens/light. This way you keep your night vision. On your way in when it's light out. Take some time to stop and look back the way you came once in awhile. Pay attention to what the overhead canopy looks like. It's amazing how the brain will recognized this stuff on the way out in the dark.

If things are really thick. Use natural objects to help mark your way. Lean sticks, rocks, parts of rotten stumps, etc. Against trees or in ways you will recognize. If a trail forks. Place a small stick or log across the trail you don't want. Use a knife to make blaze marks on trees. Just don't mark too many in a way that's easy for others to know what they're for. Lower to the ground is less obvious.

An occasional reflective tack in the toughest spots may still be necessary. Just don't use too many. I'd also not use them close to known travel areas of other hunters.

If you need to mark your trail off of a maintained trail or road. Mark it a known distance before the actual trail you'll use. For instance, place your marker 20 steps before the access point you actually want. Same type of thing if your parking on the side of a road. Instead of a parking area. Mark your spot with surveyors tape and park your vehicle 100 yards or so from your actual access. Which is marked in a less obvious manner.

Good luck and have fun!!!

[elk yinzer]

GPS is the bee's knees. No adequate substitute. Learn to load custom maps on it. Carry extra batteries.

Carry a compass as backup. Don't need to be a world champion orienteerer, just know which direction a road is.

[seazofcheeze]

I'll pretty much echo what ever one else has said. I will also say, I have been lost in the dark on more than one occasion before I followed my own tips below.

1. GPS with spare batteries!!! Don't forget the extra batteries. My GPS eats up alkalines quickly, but lithiums will generally last me 2-3 days. I use lithiums because they do better in cold and last longer. I always carry 2 extra sets in case the first set dies on the way out.
2. A quality compass. ALWAYS know the bearing that will take you to the nearest road and make sure that bearing doesn't take you across impassable terrain, like a giant bog, lake, sheer face bluff, etc.
3. Pay attention on the way in to noticeable landmarks. Weird crooked trunk tree, giant rootball on a deadfall, things that stick out in your brain. Seeing them on the way back in the dark will give you confidence you're still on the right trail.
4. Carry your cellphone. I also carry a small USB battery bank. This allows me to charge my phone on stand to ensure I have a full battery when I'm heading back to the truck.
5. If you do get lost, don't panic. Move slowly and deliberately.

[matt1336]

It's like anything. The more you do it the confidence you'll have. I remember when I started bow hunting public marshes and trying to navigate my way through cattials that are five feet over my head in the dark. Talk about everything looking the same! Don't panic and use your head. You'll be okay.....after the first few time you get lost!;)

[stash59]

I'm old guys. Didn't have GPS's back when I learned how to get around. Even reflective markers hadn't been thought of. I had/have places where I need to step in exact spots. To avoid going deep into muck etc. Actually once a entry or exit is marked. Travelling is faster than using a GPS. No need to constantly look at the unit. To confirm where your going.

Like alot of modern equipment. A GPS removes one from learning woodsmanship skills. That are often more useful in the long run.

With that said they can be a very useful tool to learn new areas. Saving time because finding ones way to cyber scouted spots is easier. Then marking sign, like beds so they can be uploaded to maps/aerials. To further study how to best hunt them.

[Killemquietly]

I echo what Stash said in both his comments. Being 49, we didn't have those tools (crutches) growing up and had to actually pay attention. That said If I'm in unfamiliar territory, I take the compass and check it often. I utilitize my cellphone as GPS, but really kills the heck out of batteries. I really only whip it out when I want to mark a bedding area, rub line etc, to go back and cyberscout the area later and figure things out.

[stash59]

Forgot to mention one thing. Really studying topo maps/aerials. Ahead of time is important. Really getting an intimate picture of an area in your head. Knowing that a road, trail, stream, even a transition like dogwood to cattails, etc. Is in a certain direction. A given distance away. Makes going deep into tough places. Much easier. Less scary. Not being afraid is a big help.

Even if you get turned around. If you hit one of these terrain features. You'll have a better idea where you are.

I also forgot to mention carrying and using a compass.

[AvidHunter88]

Thanks for all the comments guys, I appreciate it. Any specific compass you would recommend?

[headgear]

GPS is the bee's knees. No adequate substitute. Learn to load custom maps on it. Carry extra batteries.

GPS's are nice but they can and do fail, when that happens there is no substitute for woodsmanship and knowing the land. Not picking on you at all elk, they are great tools but if you are 100% dependent on them then you might be asking for trouble.

[elk yinzer]

GPS is the bee's knees. No adequate substitute. Learn to load custom maps on it. Carry extra batteries.

GPS's are nice but they can and do fail, when that happens there is no substitute for woodsmanship and knowing the land. Not picking on you at all elk, they are great tools but if you are 100% dependent on them then you might be asking for trouble.

You didn't quote my whole post! I said carry a compass and know what direction to go to get out safely in a jam.

With GPS I can find my exact tree bushwhacking through whatever obstacles are in my way 5 miles from the truck, and follow an exact route, in the dark, in the rain, in the snow, in the fog, whatever. I could practice orienteering for 100 years and I would never be able to achieve that level of precision.

My compass is always in my pack if my GPS (and phone) die. Just knowing generalities like "235 degrees and stay low on the ridge" are going to get me back to a road alive.

Two entirely different scenarios and uses.


And trust me, I get the woodsmanship arguments too. I am not advocating to blindly trust GPS and put your life in its hands. But it's not like I am building Indian trails into my hunting spots. A lot of these places I've been to maybe once or twice in the offseason and I go in blind in the dark and hunt once, maybe twice a year. Again, only possible to do things like that thanks to my GPS as far as I am concerned.