What We Carry

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We don’t romanticize the woods. Central Florida’s trails, swamps, and back roads don’t forgive carelessness, and the land we walk isn’t groomed for visitors. This list is built for a day hike, not an overnight trip, but even a few hours out here deserves real preparation. This is what we bring with us, and why.

Boots

Real boots, not sneakers. Something with ankle support and a sole that can handle mud, roots, and standing water without falling apart halfway through the walk.

Snake boots or gaiters

For thick brush and tall grass, where you won’t see what’s underfoot until it’s too late to matter. Snake gaiters cover the lower leg where most strikes happen. Worth the extra weight.

If you’re bitten: Stay calm and move slowly. Keep the bite below heart level. Remove tight clothing or jewelry near the site before it swells. Don’t cut it, don’t suck it out, don’t apply ice or a tourniquet. Get to an ER as fast as you safely can. That’s the only treatment that works.

Flashlight

The woods don’t care what time you meant to leave. A dependable flashlight goes with us every time, storm clouds or clear sky. Rechargeable, simple to operate, and bright enough to actually see what’s ahead of you, not just around your feet.

Headlamp

Some spots need both hands, Climbing a fence line, steadying a camera, holding a map that won’t stay still. A headlamp does what a flashlight can’t: it goes where you look, and it leaves your hands free for everything else.

Lamp or lantern

For camp, for the truck, for anywhere you need light that doesn’t strap to your head. Small, reliable, doesn’t need to be fancy.

Multi-tool or knife

A Swiss Army knife or similar multi-tool earns its place. Cutting brush, fixing gear, opening something you didn’t expect to need opened. Simple, but you’ll reach for it more than anything else in the bag.

First aid kit

Cuts, scrapes, blisters, the occasional twisted ankle on uneven ground. Basic supplies, kept dry, kept accessible. Not something to dig for.

Water filter

If a walk goes longer than planned, or the truck’s farther away than it felt an hour ago, this is what stands between you and untreated water. Small, simple, and it doesn’t ask much of you until you need it to work. We carry the Sawyer Squeeze.

Water bottle

Florida heat doesn’t wait for you to notice you’re thirsty. Bring more than you think you’ll need.

Bug spray

Not optional here. The mosquitoes and no-see-ums don’t care about your itinerary.

Sun protection

Hat, sunscreen, both. The Florida sun doesn’t soften just because you’re under tree cover half the time. Burns faster than most people expect, especially near open water.

Tick remover

Small tool, easy to overlook, genuinely useful. Ticks are part of walking through brush and tall grass, and pulling one out clean matters more than people expect.

Dry bag

For anything that can’t get wet, phone, camera, extra layers. Florida weather turns fast, and a sudden downpour doesn’t ask permission.

Snacks or energy source

Something shelf-stable. Protein bars, trail mix, whatever survives heat and a crushed backpack. A longer walk than planned is more common than people admit.

Portable phone charger

Navigation, photos, and emergency communication all drain a phone fast. A dead battery is its own kind of stranded.

Small fire starter

Waterproof matches or a compact firestarter. Not for the campfire photos. For the walk that goes longer, or stranger, than planned.

Whistle

Cheap, small, and one of the only ways to signal for help if cell service disappears, which it does more often than you’d expect out here.

Compass

Old, reliable, doesn’t need a signal or a battery. Worth carrying even alongside a map or GPS, especially somewhere the tree canopy swallows a horizon line fast.

Paper map or offline GPS

Phone service fails in the swamp more often than not. A paper map or a downloaded offline map means you’re not relying on a signal that may not come. This offline GPS is the backup that keeps working when the trail disappears.

Binoculars

For wildlife at a distance, and for spotting what’s ahead before walking into it. Useful for birds, gators sunning at the water’s edge, and getting a read on terrain before committing to it.

GPS communicator

For the places where a whistle and a paper map aren’t enough. A satellite communicator sends your location and calls for help even with zero cell signal, which matters more in places like the Green Swamp than most people realize until they need it. The priciest thing on this list, but the one piece of gear you don’t want to be without when it matters most. Hardware only. The subscription is separate, and it isn’t optional.

Trekking pole

We use it before we use our eyes. A quick tap in the leaf litter or the mud ahead tells us what our next step is walking into. Snakes don’t always announce themselves. Soft ground doesn’t either.

This is what we carry. Not everything, not always. What’s in your bag?