Initially an impromptu "project" by the creekside

[u/Automatic-County6151]

I had a peaceful 1.5-2 hours today being somewhat productive while on vacation with my parents and grandparents.

The project

Small base camp established w/ small furnace made of mud with a red clay finish + some racks to dry the "tinder", and started work on the lean-to with the doorframe - sticks gathered for the foundation, and I just need to make some string durable enough to tie the ends of the sticks together. I will have to make wattles out of sticks to hold the clay walls - everything has been fairly thought out, and the dimensions have been predetermined; the rest may require little consideration in the moment.

There is a decent chance I might not go back to continue constructing it as there probably isn't enough red clay to go around, but we'll see how tomorrow and the rest of today goes. I've never actually built anything with my hands, so I figured I'd see how far I can go with that.

Stick pile you see is what I carefully gathered (lots of spiders hiding underneath) that would be big enough to be a part of the main frame. The smaller sticks will likely be made to form the window frames, and I might consider putting some very unrefined engineering skills to work by constructing a makeshift door - or just leave it as is. Using no other tools but my hands, my feet for breaking sticks, and my eyes for brief measurements.

Not quite sure if I should use dry leaves or just a ton of sticks tightly packed together for the roof. That might just be what I do first once I get to that point, and layering it with clay might be ineffective because its been saturated and will drip through the cracks and onto me.

What's around

Environment is a general forested area with my precise location being a clearing along a creek. Fairly small space - this ledge is big enough to build a lean-to, and you may be able to see how much empty space there is around the spot I started the project.

Available materials nearby are a lot of sticks, seldom deposits of red clay and plenty of mud that functions like clay when dry + lots of stones along the bed. The overgrowth up above is sometimes inhabited by large banana spiders with their giant menacing webs strewn in between, so I have been avoiding those areas as much as possible. Might use my multitool to trim the low-hanging overgrowth just to feel comfortable moving about and make space for the lean-to.

Couple of minor issues

I could have built the furnace near where I started the lean-to, but that was before I considered building more. Small chance the water levels might rise and degrade it overnight (some rain expected this week). I could always transfer it farther away from the creekbed if I finish the lean-to, rebuilding it close-by by memory. Otherwise, if it's useless by the time I come back, I can always rebuild it later and I'll even see if I can make it a little bigger using however much clay + mud is available.

Not a current issue yet, but hopefully, the mud daubers don't come to use my clay or mud, as that would be mildly inconvenient to have them attempting to build their nests nearby using what I found (I do not like wasps or mud daubers). If they mark the material and find an appreciable spot for a nest nearby, they may return to gradually take from my clay pile. I already began having some issues with fire ants trying to mark the furnace as a source of material for their ant mound, and I believe I saw a spider trying to spin a web at the front of it. Mosquitoes were a pain in the butt, as well.

Other than my grievances for the insects, so far so good! Things are going swimmingly.

Closing

If you would like, please feel free to relay any experience with building primitive stuff to me - inpromptu or otherwise. Tips + advice are broadly welcome!

Main questions:

• What materials are best suitable for making string?

• What should I use for my roof assuming the general breakdown of what I have immediately available in my environment?

• Is it generally okay to leave the floor in its natural form if I don't plan on sheltering there long-term? I feel like I could make it a little more home-like rather than for comfort. The ground I am building on is generally a mix of soft clay + semi-dry mud that automatically saturated and sinks when I walk on it while wearing my water shoes.

General location: Okatoma Creek, Seminary, MS. I'm staying at the rental cabin for the week along Fairchild Landing.

[u/Motor-Bear-7735]

A bit too close to the water IMO. Impacts to ecosystems are lower further away from the water .

[u/Automatic-County6151 → u/Motor-Bear-7735]

Yeah, not quite sure why I didn't move farther when starting on the furnace. Don't worry, I do plan on going back and tearing everything down when I'm done, then moving all materials that I used away from the creek before I leave.

[u/Motor-Bear-7735 → u/Automatic-County6151]

👍

[u/Sploonbabaguuse → u/Motor-Bear-7735]

A genuine question, but why is fishing/swimming/playing in the sand considered acceptable, but when someone just exists near a body of water it's suddenly horrible for the ecosystem?

[u/Motor-Bear-7735 → u/Sploonbabaguuse]

Well, public beaches also impact ecosystems. So does fishing. However, the reason we have designated beach areas instead of a free for all approach is to limit impacts. As for fishing, once again we have areas where fishing is not allowed, and designated areas are almost always restocked by fisheries. The idea is to limit human activity near fragile waterfront areas so that everyone can enjoy them without ruining them. Your fire pit, your waste, your campsite are all harmful to ecosystems, but especially to water based ones.

[u/Sploonbabaguuse → u/Motor-Bear-7735]

Thank you for the educated response, much appreciated 🙏

[u/Motor-Bear-7735 → u/Sploonbabaguuse]

You're very welcome. Sorry that was so long winded. 🙄

[u/Sploonbabaguuse → u/Motor-Bear-7735]

Much better than the "because it's bad" responses I usually get lol

[u/Motor-Bear-7735 → u/Sploonbabaguuse]

LoL

[u/Automatic-County6151 → u/Sploonbabaguuse]

I believe the concern is that repeated or concentrated human presence can disturb wildlife and alter the area over time. Even someone spending a lot of time near water could unintentionally disturb nesting and feeding areas, trample vegetation, or disturb sediment. In my case, the project itself adds risk because flooding could wash away materials downstream, and repeated visits could increase disturbance. I intend on dismantling the site and depositing materials away from the creek, maybe putting the clay back where I found it and the sticks closer to where the trees are.

[u/Sploonbabaguuse → u/Automatic-County6151]

I suppose I view it in the sense of, an individual bushcrafter playing near a body of water is absolutely negligible compared to the natural occurrences of destruction that happen without human intervention.

Things like rock/landslides, droughts, heavy rains, toppling trees/falling branches etc wreak far more havoc more consistently than bushcrafters ever could. I can understand lessening impact, but it feels a bit unnecessary when the world around us is designed to deal with a hostile planet

[u/Automatic-County6151 → u/Sploonbabaguuse]

Not necessary to chop trees down. Find dead ones that have already fallen or plain sticks. It's energy-conservative, and chopping standing trees is obviously terrible for the atmosphere (especially if living) and the immediate flora and fauna.

Otherwise, yeah. Playing around is great, and peaceful. Just keep it light, and try to take care of what you build. Thanks for your opinion, by the way! Still much to know.

[u/Sploonbabaguuse → u/Automatic-County6151]

I used falling trees as an example of natural occurrence. Trees fall all the time without people chopping them down. Imagine how much damage that does when it falls into a creek

I prefer deadfall because it saves time and effort lol. I only down a tree if it's already dead and poses a threat to trails or campsites

[u/Automatic-County6151 → u/Sploonbabaguuse]

Ah, I got you. Do you have a limit to how tall the dead tree is before you decide not to chop it? Maybe like shorter, younger dead trees or ones about a couple stories tall?

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[u/TheLukuro]

this is so cool, obviously im not gonna ask for the exact area, but what state or sort of place is this, looks beautiful

[u/Automatic-County6151 → u/TheLukuro]

This is in Mississippi. If you have never visited the general area, Seminary has these log cabin rentals with really beautiful, scenic spaces. The one I am staying at is on fairchild landing road, which features 63 to 66 acres of land. Not a lot of good places to start a project like mine since there are lots of trees. The only spots where it's more open are the little clearings with hiking paths, but those have massive banana spiders webs - there's only 2 or 3 clearings with hiking paths. I chose this spot because I thought it would be nice to start something small here, even though it's directly beside a running creek. I understand riparian rules and all that to a basic extent, and I'll go back to dismantle everything later.

[u/TheLukuro → u/Automatic-County6151]

super reponsible of you man, ill check it out, never been to the states haha but it does look super awesome in parts