Bypass the Campgrounds
To me, camping is about experiencing nature. The last thing I want to see is a Class A RV parked next to me with a family trapped inside watching a big screen TV. I want to see the sky and stars, listen to the wind. Hear the gentle tapping of things falling from the trees, listen to the birds and squirrels – that if you listen to carefully you can almost determine which calls mean certain basic things.
This past week I decided to go camping in the Ocala National Forest with two other friends I met in an off-grid camping group. Mike chose to camp in a tent, Paul has a tear-drop “bed on wheels” style camper, and I have my compact Sunray Sport camper. Paul suggested we turn it into a hunting trip for wild boar. Although I’ve hunted before, I’ve never hunted wild boar and knew nothing about it. Intrigued, I accepted. Without actual addresses for reference, we all agreed to meet at specific GPS coordinates relative to one of the forestry roads.
Mike and Paul have a Jeep and a Toyota Tacoma respectively. I was impressed how my AWD Mazda CX-5 did a respectable job dragging my trailer while keeping up with two vehicles clearly better suited to dirt trails and loose soil. When in the national forest you can camp anywhere that is not closer than 100 feet from any streams or water, and not anywhere near a developed site such as a decked trail. We also try to pick a site that is obscured from view or not in a cleared area. Why? It’s a courtesy to others who also want to enjoy nature without seeing your setup in plain view. Additionally, we try to select sites that appear to have already been used, to minimize any further disruption to the forest plant life.
Mike and I were both using Winchester Model 70s with 180-grain .270 rounds. Paul was using his 30-06. Over the entire 2 – 1/2 days we only saw one wild boar, and Paul had the best angle for an effective shot which he executed masterfully. Paul landed a 323-lb male (pictured, left). Paul taught us both how to field dress this stinky beast. More impressively, he did it all with nothing more than a 5-inch Buck knife, a little anatomy skill, and a lot of patience.
It was cool that each of us brought different skills to the party. Mike is an expert trails man, very adept at using a GPS without maps. Paul is an experienced hunter, and we later learned he had other more interesting wilderness talents. I am highly resourceful at dispersed camping and using the resources we have to their fullest and perhaps most creative end. We ended both days around 3:00 pm, then gathered at my camper to cook meals and hang out. My camper has a full outdoor kitchen, fridge, and plenty of protected conversation area (pictured, left). We were also able to charge up our gear, GPS, etc.
Later that moon-less, overcast evening, I set up my old-fashion oil lantern as the only light and we talked over a few shots of brandy. The forest was dead quiet, but you could still hear animals and birds. Paul began teaching us which sounds likely meant certain things. How squirrels can create bird-like sounds to warn other animals of predators, and hunters can use that to their advantage to save themselves or aid in their hunt. We all had a great time. On my drive back I thought of what was the memorable part of this trip. Without a doubt my answer would be that it was the feeling of learning new things that you can only learn by “doing” from other people who were talented mentors.