Swamp Buggies
A DIFFERENT KIND OF OFF-ROAD VEHICLE -If you were to compile a list of the heartiest, most reliable off-road vehicles, without regard to availability, I'm sure swamp buggies would be at the top of the list. These vehicles however are custom made and not readily available to the general public. They are usually designed and built by the owners. These vehicles will take you to the most remote, hard to reach places you could imagine. They are used primarily to get around in swamps and bogs and other places where any other vehicle would bog down and stall. In general they are built to be high off the ground for clearance and a better view, especially when traveling through tall saw grass ponds. There is usually a strong metal rail built around the upper deck for safety. Most use tractor type tires, some as tall as six feet, for traction, although there are some that use treads. A wench on the front will help get you out of trouble in case you do bog down in a soft area.
Most hunters like to use swamp buggies or ATV's in the Florida Everglades National Park to get them in and around in this vast wilderness. However, these vehicles are not allowed on the streets, so in order to be able to use them, they have to be hauled in by trailer to a place where they can be unloaded and driven into the swamp from there. Buggy owners have always been in search of a place to store their vehicles to avoid this chore.
Several years ago, Miami started construction on a new airport in the Everglades several miles from town. After completing a tower and two runways, construction was halted when it was decided a proposed bullet train to transport passengers would be harmful to the everglades. The Jetport is now used only for touch and goes training for pilots. Many of the buggy owners now park their buggies inside the Jetport property, thus eliminating the need to trailer in. We parked our two buggies there.
Our hunting camp was about ten miles deep into the swamp. There was a firebreak that started at the Jetport and went deep into the swamp. The firebreak had been created by a bulldozer and was called the "dozer" trail. We could follow in this firebreak for a good distance before we had to turn off to head for the camp. The trail was always filled with water and very uneven in depth. At times, the bedrock was near the surface of the water and sometimes three feet or more deep. It was slow going because of the deep holes in spots, so the ride was a little rough at times.
We passed through several heads (some people say hammocks, but we called them heads, but I don't know why) on the way and could notice a change in the temperature when we passed through the heavily wooded ones. The temperature, it seemed, would drop at least ten degrees in the middle and warm up again as we exited. We had headlights on the buggy for night guidance purposes, but you are not allowed to shine other lights (called fire-lighting) into the woods. It is illegal to hunt deer with lights. When the headlights happened to shine on a deer his eyes looked like he had headlights in his head because they were so bright green, almost florescent. When this happened, the dogs would catch the scent and act crazily wanting to get off the buggy. Luckily we kept them on a short leash.
There were usually six to eight people in the group that went regularly. Sometimes other friends would be invited to join us. We had strict rules about gun safety and alcohol. You were not allowed to climb up on the buggy with a cartridge in the chamber of your gun. You are required to ensure no cartridge is in the chamber and then hand the weapon up to someone already on board and then climb up. As for alcohol, you could drink all the beer or liquor you wanted as long as it was after the day's hunt was over, but you were not allowed to take any with you on the hunt. A violation of these rules would see you barred from future hunts. No one ever argued about or disagreed with these rules. We never had an accident.
Swamp buggies are typically very reliable when properly cared for. You can't find very many mechanics deep in the swamp, so it's a good idea to keep your buggy in the best possible condition. It's a long walk out of there.
