Kasatchie National Forest: Bunch of buds and I are going camping.

[Grendal]

Five of my friends and I are planning a weekend trip to Kisatchie National Forest in North Central Louisiana for the second week of October. It is a decenct size haedwood forest ranging at 604,000 acres. We are not camping in a designated area. We plan to find a remote site deep in the woods and set up camp. This will allow us to test our gear and our skills. We are going to hunt rabbit and squirrel, fish, and pretty much "rough it."

I was just curios to see if anyone has camped in the forest? If so any advice?

Here is a link for the Kasatchie National Forest home page:

http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/kisatchie/

 

[Bob]

I have never camped in Kisatchie but our scout troop has hiked several of its trails. It has a lot of terrain relief for Louisiana several streams. Although I do not remember any fishing sized ponds / streams i'm sure their there. Seventy to 100 foot pine and hardwood trees, some under growth but the trees minimize it. There is locations that you hear no commerical / man made sounds or see a light unless its from fellow hikers and campers. We started at the Longleaf vista pavillion and it had water and a latrine plus parking. Also Kisatchie has 4Wheeler trails but I believe you have to stay on the trail and not stray. But a last thought deer season will be open during this time frame and Kisatchie gets alot of hunter traffic. I'm not a big fan of it but would consider a hunter safety vest.

 

[deafdave3]

Make sure you bring sidearms.

 

[LACamper]

I've never camped there. I usually headed into Desoto National Forest in MS. Shouldn't be much different though.

Wildlife is going to be harder to come by than you expect, unless you like armadillo.
You're backpacking in, right?
Tell me about your gear and I'll make some suggestions. Our first backpacking trip was a disaster. It took a few trips to get everything squared away....

 

[glimmerman]

Rattlers love sleeping bags this time of the year around here............

 

[MRBULLRED]

Took my atv there a bunch of times.. Definitly dont get off the trail or you will get a ticket for destruciton of national forest.. $125 bucks... Dont ask me how I know.. they have one trail that is 31 miles long and is awesome... It takes about 5 and half hours to do the trail with no breaks but to the restroom and maybe a drink here and there..

 

[highstandard40]

What area exactly are you considering and have you visited this location before.
Much of the Kasatchie Forest is mature pine, not hardwood. The creek bottoms do offer hardwood. I have hunted in the Kasatchie off and on for more than 30 years. Squirrel hunting can be good if you go to the right place. Bugs in mid October will be horrible. Ticks, red bugs, deer flys, and mosquitos. Archery will be open then. Primitive weapons season opens Oct 23 in most of the Forest.
Bring plenty of water.

 

[Grendal]

Thank all of you very much for your responses.

I have never been to Kisatchie Forest, nor have the group going with me. We wll be armed as we will be hunting squirrel and rabbit, and armed for protection.

Questions?

Are there any areas where we can collect water to purify for consumption that will be safe to drink? I am trying to avoid man made hazards as in runoffs from farms and industries.

Any suggestions for which district/areas to camp in that are isolated?

Is the area safe? Meth labs? Squatters? Bears?

MRBULLRED we are hiking in.

glimmerman Yup, rattlers and spiders. Are scorpions or hornets nest known to be common?

LACamper I am looking at a 4 season tent and asleeping bag. A couple of changes of clothes, Stainless steel cookware, and a pot to boil water. Besides the aforementioned items, I will be very basic. I am bringing a couple of Becker Knives (BK9 & BK2) plus a Rat 2. A shotgun and a pistol. Alice pack. Bug spray and med kit. A collapsable fishing pole, folding shovel, flash lights, tarp, rope, paracord 550, trail mix, MRE's, and a couplke of canteens and a bladder with water. I will try to rough it as much as possible but have the items for just in case. Any advise will be appreciated.

highstandard40 Do you suggest I camp in a creek bottom? What district?

deafdave3 Never leave home without a sidearm.

Bob, not a fan of those vest either.

 

[highstandard40]

I only have direct knowledge of the Winn District of the forest. You may want to look at the Saline Bayou corridor. It is a walk-in only area. Check out the Cloud Crossing camp. There has been water available there in the past. Not sure about now. From there you can walk in. The corridor is a couple of miles wide and several miles long. The creek bottom is mostly mature hardwood. As the terrain rises away from the creek itself, the forest changes to mostly pine with mixed hardwood. I would choose to camp close to the transition. Find a slight rise and pitch camp. There is no farming or industry anywhere near that I am aware of. Saline bayou may yield a few fish. This section of bayou was at one time popular for canoe trips but no longer. Too many trees blown down causing multiple portages. I have camped near there for squirrel hunts many times. Killed quite a few deer there over the years. I plan to retire near there in a couple of years if all my plans work out.
I would definitely choose a bayou or creek bottom for your trip. It's the only way you can be assured of hardwood for your squirrel hunting.

 

[herohog]

40 years ago, Big Creek near Pollock had great water for drinking. We had 40 acres there surrounded on 4 sides by that forest. Dad had it tested yearly. Scorpions DO exist in those woods. They are those little tan colored devils and their sting hurts like all get-out! I know this 1st hand! Back then there were a few bear in the area and a fair number of wild pigs. BRING A COMPASS AND/OR A GPS! There are stretched of land that can leave ya lost for a day or two before ya hit civilization!

 

[highstandard40]

BRING A COMPASS AND/OR A GPS! There are stretched of land that can leave ya lost for a day or two before ya hit civilization!

And a good map.

 

[SirIsaacNewton]

Thank all of you very much for your responses.

I have never been to Kisatchie Forest, nor have the group going with me. We wll be armed as we will be hunting squirrel and rabbit, and armed for protection.

Questions?

Are there any areas where we can collect water to purify for consumption that will be safe to drink? I am trying to avoid man made hazards as in runoffs from farms and industries.

Any suggestions for which district/areas to camp in that are isolated?

Is the area safe? Meth labs? Squatters? Bears?

MRBULLRED we are hiking in.

glimmerman Yup, rattlers and spiders. Are scorpions or hornets nest known to be common?

LACamper I am looking at a 4 season tent and asleeping bag. A couple of changes of clothes, Stainless steel cookware, and a pot to boil water. Besides the aforementioned items, I will be very basic. I am bringing a couple of Becker Knives (BK9 & BK2) plus a Rat 2. A shotgun and a pistol. Alice pack. Bug spray and med kit. A collapsable fishing pole, folding shovel, flash lights, tarp, rope, paracord 550, trail mix, MRE's, and a couplke of canteens and a bladder with water. I will try to rough it as much as possible but have the items for just in case. Any advise will be appreciated.

highstandard40 Do you suggest I camp in a creek bottom? What district?

deafdave3 Never leave home without a sidearm.

Bob, not a fan of those vest either.

My 2 cents: You get what you pay for...

- Well the 4 season tent will be overkill (there isn't a place in the south or on the east coast where a 4 season tent would be even close to necessary). I would suggest a 3 season with a ton of mesh so you will have good air circulation.

- For water there are three basic options water purifaction tablets (cheapest), water filters (like Katadyn Hiker), and UV purifiers. I have used all of them. Tablets are cheap and taste bad (I avoid them and only use them as a backup), the UV purifier is great when hiking in the mountains (the streams are clear and not a bunch of debri it just sinks to the bottom and I drink straight and poor out the last bit), around here I would suggest a filter. I used mine in florida a ton with shitty surface water and it works great. Just don't cross contaminate the in and out lines.

- Bring Bug Spray X2

- Bring a map, compass, and gps (if you don't have any orienteering experience i would suggest learning it) and don't let your friends get drunk and wander around. I don't know your experience level but I would not suggest just hiking into the middle of the woods I would suggest strolling down a marked path and going off of the path enough where you get the isolated feel.

- Make a bear bag - bad idea to keep food on you at night, I have woken up and watched a raccoon unlatch a cooler and eat my hershey bars. I have also woken up (due to my brother in law telling me not to dick around and let him go to sleep when I was sleeping on the other side of the tent) and watched a raccoon pull food out of his pockets and escape through the hole he created in the tent. My idiot brother in law had fallen asleep with beef jerky and a half eaten snickers bar in his pocket.
- Bring a couple of flash lights (head lamp and a handheld)
- Rain Gear
- Warm Clothing if the temperature drops (not cotton that if it drops and you get wet I will be reading about you dying due to hypothermia.)

- Basic rule with critters is if you don't bother them they won't bother you. So don't go up and grab them and if you want to be extra precautions cut a couple of stakes out and drive them into the ground and hang your shoes on them upside down (not really necessary but I do it from a bad experience) - If you have a sealed tent you don't have to worry about snakes and/or insects

I am a light weight hiker so I am constantly considering weight. So I would ditch the shovel, two canteens, (bring a water bladder and a normal bottle of water), ditch the stainless steel cook set and bring on pot for boiling water, if you kill any animals you can cook them directly on the fires coals, bring one knife, but it is your back so weight is your issue. I make my pack around 15 pounds (without water and food). While your friends are hiking around their 40 pound packs you can laugh and enjoy yourself.

Learn some bush skills: Rag the hell out of your beckers, due some batoning, try to make a fire using a bow/drill, maybe learn some traps but don't set them up etc.

 

[Grendal]

I read a lot about a bear bag.

It has been a long, long time since I have been camping. Probably 20 years. I barely remember it.

Thank you very much for your responses. Your advice will be looked at by all of us.

If you can add anything else please do so.

 

[11Bravo]

Unless we get a good freeze, I would avoid hunting rabbit. Most rabbits have worms in the meat that don't die until we get a good freeze. I'd hate to have anything go to waste.

 

[themcfarland]

I spend a lot of time out in thick bush and I would add this...

Setup some check in times or be back times with some outsiders.. I know it sounds unmanly but just do it..

I would also leave a general lat and long of where you want to be and where you want to end up with someone outside..

if you have interest in using water from creek or collected.. get some pool shock , non germicidal just pool shock and take it..

rule of thumb if you add a table spoon to a quart, if you shake it.. and lets the bubbles break at the top.. if it smells mildly of bleach after 10 minutes you safe.. if no smell of bleach add more..
if the water spends time in the sun with the bleach, the UV with break down the bleach..

too many things to prep for.. I dont know your level but I suggest the above. at a min..

if you have specific ?? mess me..

 

[SirIsaacNewton]

I spend a lot of time out in thick bush and I would add this...

Setup some check in times or be back times with some outsiders.. I know it sounds unmanly but just do it..

I would also leave a general lat and long of where you want to be and where you want to end up with someone outside..

if you have interest in using water from creek or collected.. get some pool shock , non germicidal just pool shock and take it..

rule of thumb if you add a table spoon to a quart, if you shake it.. and lets the bubbles break at the top.. if it smells mildly of bleach after 10 minutes you safe.. if no smell of bleach add more..
if the water spends time in the sun with the bleach, the UV with break down the bleach..

too many things to prep for.. I dont know your level but I suggest the above. at a min..

if you have specific ?? mess me..

+1

Bleach is a good idea especially in a pinch but generally if you have the option I would recommend an iodinated water purification tablet. Some parasitic cysts are resistant to chlorination (I am sure with the concentrations themcfarland is talking about there would be no issues but if you have to choose between chlorinated/iodinated tablets go with the iodinated). But given the choice I would just use a filter like this one. No bad taste and very portable.[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkhIIvMRYuU"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkhIIvMRYuU[/ame]

 

[glimmerman]

I would go to the Red Dirt Area between Alexandria and Natchitoches (easy access from I-49) There are several camp sites as well as Kisatchie Creek which is real nice. There should be areas to get potable water. Check the Kisatchie Distric office in Pineville for maps and regulations. Deer hunting is pretty limited, not sure about the other seasons. No Bears, but Cougars (not the MILF kind) have been spotted in this part of the state.

 

[Grendal]

Glimmerman, I may look into bringing a milf cougar with me next time

SirIsaacNewton, on scond thought a three season tent will be better.


All good suggestions.

I have learned that boiling water is adequate for killing parasites and microorganisms that may be in the water. I was also going to use purification tablets after I boiled the water. I am looking for a good filter also as an additional backup. I want to be safe than sorry since I will be a few miles into the woods. Overkill?

I have read about the worms in rabbits. A buddy of mine is an avid hunter and I was relying on him. I am big into fishing so I was hoping to find a fishing hole. If the rabbits are cooked thoroughly, will the heat kill the worms/parasites? Am I accurate on this line of thought?

.

Thanks a bunch.

 

[LACamper]

Water filters clog easily. Put a coffee filter on the end of the intake (or over a cup) and draw water through that. In MS I usually filter then treat with iodine (aquapure plus) then add drink mix for taste. I have a MSR filter, two of my friends have General Ecology. (General Ecology is a purifier so you don't have to treat for virii but God help you if you clog it. The MSR is a field maintainable filter. We usually have 2 water filters in a group of 4 to 6, plus tablets.) I'm partial to Nalgene bottles for water carrying. The bladders end up tasting like plastic

A 4 season tent would be miserable. Its not breathable. It would be raining humidity in your tent. A good 3 season is what you need. Walmart tents are tolerable if that's all you can manage. Sierra Designs, North Face, Eureka (my preference), or Mountain Hardware. Check out www.campmor.com.

Overall not bad but it sounds heavy. The E-tool is extremely heavy. Better a plastic garden shovel unless you are planning on putting in trenchworks!

I'd be more worried about packs of feral dogs than bears (over rated) and meth labs. I had a good friend that was attacked by dogs in a state park and had to go through the rabies series. No fun. We did run into a few kids escaped from Camp Shelby's juvenile work program once. It made for a nervous night, though there were two guns in the group (my beretta .22 and a .357 revolver). From the sound of it I think ya'll have that covered.

MRE's are heavy also. I'm assuming you have a camp stove of some type. I like the small propane stoves for warm weather camping (not so good under 20F). They're ultra light weight and take the small cartridges (not the 1lb cannister!). Academy used to carry one for about $25 from Coleman. They work well but tend to be top heavy. (Ask GBundersea about picking grass out of his dinner sometime!) Jambalaya mix w/ canned chicken is much lighter.

I always try to camp near a water supply. Creek bottoms are perfect. Unless its going to rain...
light weight rain gear? Or are ya'll going to scrub the trip if it starts raining? Pick a tent site at the top of a rise.
Map/compass/GPS - YES. Leaving a message w/ someone that knows where ya'll are heading, absolutely. Don't trust USGS topo's. The 1/25000 are notorious for being wrong! We took an 8 mile hike that ended up being 17 once... Oops. Sometimes they leave out details- like creeks, hills, etc.
Rope is always good. A carbiner or two (real ones, not key rings) can be very handy.
+1 on the evils of cotton! Coolmax. Jeans are cotton. Wet jeans stay wet. Wet jeans go from 1 pound to 20 with the addition of water. Thick nylon based hiking socks! Bring extra pairs.

Before you go, load up and take a walk around the neighborhood. Yes, you'll feel like a fool. You'll feel even worse when you have to start whining to your buds that your pack hurts and you have to stop and adjust it. Over and over again! Do it now. Then go home and unload and practice setting up a campsite in your back yard and see what you forgot.
Oh, yeah, one more major thing. Water proof everything in your pack. Everything goes into ziplocks or trash bags including your sleeping bag. Our first backpacking trip it rained. The little creek we had to cross that was usually waist deep was suddenly 20' deep and 40 yards across that we swam. We missed our crossing by 100 yards! That pack would have sank if it hadn't been water proof.

 

[LACamper]

Oh, yeah, one other thing you need to bring. A sleeping pad. They completely change how you sleep outdoors. The self inflating are nice but not necessary. The foam ones work fine. I have a thermarest z-rest that I've used for years...