River Camp Build - Bogue Chitto River

Have built on Pilings, once it’s built, you may find it may sway back and forth, bracing it will be a must. IDK what you are planning to use for Pilings, but use more than you think, and sink them further than you think you need

Yes - came up about 3' - 4' up the poles. Definitely not in the camp.

The current poles are about 10' in the ground and 10' in the air and my plan is to build at the same height for my addition.

i built a camp for a guy several urs ago. he didn’t want pillings for astetic reasons - whatever, he’s the customer and paying for it. i used 12”x12” timbers varying from 18’ - 24’. property was on a slope. cost 2x what driven piles would have cost. probably 10x that now with cost of lumber

You ever roll down a hill when you're drunk? If the flood chance is not very likely, stilts are way cheaper option, and you get to use the space under the camp as porch, covered storage, or outdoor kitchen. Can't do that with dirt. It would take a massive amount of dirt to build that pad up 10' for a camp that size. You would either need enough property with good enough soil to dig a huge hole for the dirt, or purchase the dirt and haul it in. It will also settle, so you'll have to wait a long time before you can actually build, or add several more feet of dirt as overburden to speed the process up and cut it down later. That much fill is not cost effective for a "camp".