Climbing in Florida

[NorthWoodsDiver]

I will be relocating from Minnesota to Florida in the coming months. I visited the state for two weeks and got home last Tuesday.

I was in Wakulla county (SW of Tallahassee). swamp like in some areas. Nearly all the trees were covered with, what the locals called, Spanish moss. I'm told the moss contains some nasty little critters which burrow under your skin.

Many of the trees were unfamiliar to me, as a resident of MN my entire life. I'm not talking palm trees either, but I do not know their names yet.

Does anyone have experience climbing in that area? are the trees in the wetland areas considered safe to climb if they appear healthy and live? Any tips to avoid unwanted pests from ruining the day?

Keep in mind, I am not a working climber. Thanks for your help.

 

[tophopper]

Why would you give up this oasis to go where blue hairs go to die?

 

[MasterBlaster]

I'm told the moss contains some nasty little critters which burrow under your skin.

It sounds like you're talking about redbugs/chiggers. I've never (but you don't, anyway) seen them in a tree. The only bad thing about Spanish moss is that it can clog up your saw.

Good luck!

 

[vharrison]

Why would you give up this oasis to go where blue hairs go to die?

Hey, I don't have blue hair! Northwoodiver, I live in the southern most part of Florida so I can't offer any advice on the trees way up there Maybe Brian or Brett can offer some advice but even they don't live that far up the state.

 

[SkwerI]

Chiggers aren't a problem if you bathe when you get home. They are like fleas but are easily brushed off.

 

[MasterBlaster]

That's a complete wive's tale, Brian. You can't "brush" redbugs/chiggers away. By the time you're itching, it's too late.

Research it, you'll see. They aren't like fleas at all. A flea is 100 times bigger than a redbug.

 

[SkwerI]

I've been climbing trees here for 25 years. I've had my share of them, they are like a bad mosquito bite that won't go away. A dab of clear nail polish on the welts and they clear right up within a day or two.

http://www.e-bug.net/bug/redbugs.shtml

 

[MasterBlaster]

You're laboring under a delusion, Brian.

 

[SkwerI]

Sorry Butch, you aren't always right.

Whatever. :roll:

 

[MasterBlaster]

It's most definitely true!

ONE of us is WRONG.

 

[Al Smith]

Al the myth buster to the rescue ----http://www.medicinenet.com/chiggers_bites/article.htm

 

[MasterBlaster]

Most of the larvae that cause chigger bites are found on plants that are relatively close to the ground surface

Damn straight.

A common myth about chiggers is that they burrow into and remain inside the skin. This is not true

What was that about fingernail polish?

 

[OTGBOSTON]

my chigger is bigger

 

[MasterBlaster]

I bet you don't even have them up there. Do you?

 

[NorthWoodsDiver]

Why would you give up this oasis to go where blue hairs go to die?

Florida is like the US Mecca of cave diving and that's my real hobby so I plan to move there for the diving. Climbing and cycling are important too, but climbing (rocks) is limited from what I can tell. I also got hypothermia and frost bite a few years ago after doing a 150ft decompression dive under the ice here in Minnesota. Now I can't tolerate the cold at all. Moving to a place that never sees snow sounds beautiful at this point, even if that means more pests and hot weather in the summer.

 

[Al Smith]

I don't think Mass. is exempt from the little pest,Ohio certainly isn't . I haven't got into them since I was a kid myself .The old treatment was bleach or the old standby Fels Naptha soap but that likely just acted as a disenfectant after further knowledge of them .

As I remember the bleach deal was pretty rough but the soap wasn't so bad .That was the same soap my dear mother fed me in my diet to cleanse my filthy mouth but obviously had little efffect or so it seems .

 

[OTGBOSTON]

I bet you don't even have them up there. Do you?

not that I know of. I was teasing you and Brian.

 

[Al Smith]

Well go out and wallow around in the weeds some hot July night with your main squeeze .That'll tell the tale .

 

[MasterBlaster]

I was teasing you and Brian.

Me, too!

 

[Mr. Sir]

Cave diving is some crazy dangerous chit. Be careful. What part of Florida will you be in?

 

[bill22]

Florida is like the US Mecca of cave diving and that's my real hobby so I plan to move there for the diving. Climbing and cycling are important too, but climbing (rocks) is limited from what I can tell. I also got hypothermia and frost bite a few years ago after doing a 150ft decompression dive under the ice here in Minnesota. Now I can't tolerate the cold at all. Moving to a place that never sees snow sounds beautiful at this point, even if that means more pests and hot weather in the summer.

I've been up that way a few times.i have a few buddies up there i go climb for every august, they line up hairy stuff for me to deal with.What trees are you curious about,almost everything thats grows up there can grow statewide if that helps.Oh and just because a tree looks healthy in a swampy area doesn't mean it won't just uproot.

 

[vharrison]

Florida is like the US Mecca of cave diving and that's my real hobby so I plan to move there for the diving.

Have you done any diving on our reefs?

 

[NorthWoodsDiver]

I've been up that way a few times.i have a few buddies up there i go climb for every august, they line up hairy stuff for me to deal with.What trees are you curious about,almost everything thats grows up there can grow statewide if that helps.Oh and just because a tree looks healthy in a swampy area doesn't mean it won't just uproot.

That's what I assumed. I don't know what the trees are called yet, but I didn't really ask anyone while I was there either. Coming down from Alabama there seemed to be some shorter trees with large branches and wide trunks in peoples front yards which reminded me of our hardwoods in Minnesota. In Wakulla county there was a variety of conifers and some very tall lanky trees with what the locals called "knees" sticking out of the ground.

I just found this site which might be helpful but the tree list is crazy long.

Have you done any diving on our reefs?

Not yet, the reefs really don't interest me much compared to the caves and some wreck diving. I don't mind them but generally salt water diving doesn't interest me much. The reef is a nice place to spend your decompression though, something that gets rather boring in a cave.

Cave diving is some crazy dangerous chit. Be careful. What part of Florida will you be in?

That really is not so true. It's far more dangerous driving to the dive site than to dive in caves. The movies and media add a lot of hype to something that has become very mainstream. Cave diving used to be very dangerous, back when there was no training and no standards and less reliable equipment. Things have really changed on all 3 fronts. Rebreather technology has brought a new level of safety and efficiency to exploration level diving as well. As an example, the first cave penetrations were done via "bottom walking" with the diver on umbilical so penetration was limited to a few hundred feet at the very most. During my cave TRAINING we seldom did dives of less than 3000ft of penetration and spent 2-4hrs under water per dive.

To anyone who is untrained and/or ill equipped in cave penetration then it is very very dangerous.

here is one of my favorite video clips online, diving starts around minute 3: http://vimeo.com/3528068

 

[SkwerI]

The wide, spreading oaks with thick bark are live oaks. One of the strongest trees around.
The light barked trees with tiny needles and 'knees' are cypress trees. The knees help the root system breathe in very wet areas. Strong and easy to climb but smaller limbs (less than 2"-3") can snap under excessive weight. Keep your weight near the trunk when stepping on smaller limbs.

 

[bill22]

The conifers with "knees" are bald cypress,they can be really interesting to work in because a lot of hawks and osprey nest in them.The short broad oaks are more than likely live oaks [quercus virginianna] although i've seen some laurel oaks [quercus laurafolia] grow like that. if you can,go to the local forestry board and they usually give out a small pocket book of all the native trees in the state. I had one but gave it to a friend who wanted it for his I.S.A exam.