I made a mistake yesterday. I was walking through a marshy area and walked safely over a soft spot. I was able to get over because someone had left a folding chair flat on the ground to step on to get over the soft spot. On the way back I stepped with my left foot on soft soil about 6-8 inches ahead of the chair. My leg went into muck up to my knee. I was able to get my right foot onto the chair. I spent the next 15 minutes trying to pull my left leg out of the muck. I couldn't do it.
I managed to brace my Gitzo 1220 reporter tripod from the chair to a small stump to give me leverage but was still unable to pull out of the muck. (I was very thankful that I had a sturdy tripod to use as a beam - even if it is very heavy to carry around).
I was never able to get free by pulling. However, by using the tripod, I was able to pull myself forward some so that the left leg was more at an angle. At that point, i could use my hand as a shovel and dig muck away from behind my leg down to the bottom of the boot. The muck was so thick that it didn't flow in.
Finally I was able to pull my leg and boot free and continue on.
Further on there was also a small oozy area that I had crossed over by a couple of wobbly logs.
I suddenly realized how dangerous this mucky area was and was very relieved to get over it without falling in.
This really made me think hard about walking around in mucky swamp areas. A couple of inches of terrain made the difference from being on firm ground to being in a sink. If I had gone in with both legs or didn't have the tripod to help provide a lift point, I might still be there.
Walking in mucky areas is really dangerous. In the future, I won't cross over soft areas without a pole to probe the muck depth and I won't gamble on crossing over on logs.
This has make me rethink what I'm doing.
LG
Posted by Bill Chambers on August 19, 2006 at 9:24 PM
Glad you made it out! I too got stuck once in that type of situation, but not as badly as you. I managed to get my foot out of my shoe and then I came out easily, then had to dig my shoe out. I also had a buddy there to help pull me out! The spot I stepped in didn't even look soft - I was standing on pretty firm ground one second, up to my knee the next. Be careful out there.
Posted by David Weber on August 19, 2006 at 11:20 PM
Glad you got out safely! I had to pull one of our Jack Russells out of the muck a few years ago. Poor pup was stuck up to his belly.
Posted by Kent Staubus on August 20, 2006 at 2:44 AM
Plenty of that around here. I call it boot-sucking-heart-attack mud. Run into it often during duck season. In Missouri we called it gumbo. The way I usually end up having to get out of it is to lie down flat on my back and work my leg out. One place I got stuck in had about 8 inches of water in it and I couldn't lie down. That one was pretty tough. I ended up taking about an hour to get free and came out barefoot, and coated with smelly slough mud. One trick I've learned is that if you go past your ankle in mud without hitting anything solid, immediately pull back out.
Kent in SD
Posted by Kelly Rowe on August 20, 2006 at 7:42 AM
As a kid I had the good fortune of attending the Ocala Youth Conservation Camp several years during my summer vacation. One of the highlights of the camp experience was the "mud hike". We intentionally set off to hike through deep, sticky, smelly mud. Most of us returned minus one or two sneakers, There were places where us kids would sink up to our wastes and we pretty much tossed our clothes when we got back to the camp. Great fun!
David... A jack sunk to its belly is only an inch in the mud.
Posted by Barb Hansen on August 20, 2006 at 8:34 AM
Really glad you made it out OK LG......that had to be very unsettling. Thanks for sharing your story, reminds me to make sure and take my walking stick into unknown places.
Glad you made it out ok. That's not a good feeling, realizing you might be there for awhile.
I worked in Northern B.C. with a fisheries consulting crew. I had the honor of testing the ground in front of the rest of the guys in the peat bogs we worked in. Being the heaviest, if I made it the rest could follow. Spent a few too many times up to my waist with buddies yanking on my arms to get me out. Never fun, but then I didn't have to carry the packs.
Yup. It can be nasty stuff. The muddy tide flats of Turnagain Arm in Cook Inlet near Anchorage have claimed the unwary for years. Worse yet, along with being mired, there's the 30-foot rise of the tide. Several years ago there was a heart stopping experience where rescuers held the victim's head above the rising water as long as they could, but eventually lost the battle. Now the Anchorage fire department maintains a helicopter with a high pressure water pump specifically to free these folks, if they can reach them in time. Using the water as a "knife" to cut away the mud is the only way they've found to free mired victims quickly.
If possible (and if the tide isn't rising) sometimes the only solution is to throw yourself flat in order to stop the sinking, then work your leg free.
Gee Gail, Glad you're OK. It must have been scary. I was always trained not to ever go in to the "wilderness" alone. Probelm is, local marhses are not considered wilderness by most. I hope you carry a cell phone to be used inly in emergencies?
Thanks Ed, It was a little scary. I was at High Tor near Naples. I've recently started looking at swampy areas trying to find "wilderness" type landscapes. I don't have experience in swamps and just was unaware of the dangers. I vaguely remember reading tales of the "Limberlost' and the danger of the dark swamp! Now I realize what the book was talking about!
I did have my cell phone in my pack and I think it would have worked. Even in central NY, phones working can be hit or miss.
I stopped at a sport access boat launch and there was trail out to a point. I was never more than 1/4 mile from my car. Still, if sucked down into muck with no one around, I could have been there for a long time.
There are cars on the road but they go by at high speeds and no would hear me calling. Although, putting a whistle in my backpack in on my ToDo list.
I really didn't think of myself as doing anything risky. When I crossed the logs, I thought a spill would just be a stinky messy crawl out of the goo. I didn't think about not being able to move and slowly sinking. Now, I think it could really be dangerous.
I think I will restrict my Swamp exploring to controlled nature areas with boardwalks. Restricts Photo ops but is sure safer. Other than occational photo shoots with the Rochester Outdoor Photography Club, I usually photograph alone. In general I think photography is a solitary sport.
Discussion
9 repliesI managed to brace my Gitzo 1220 reporter tripod from the chair to a small stump to give me leverage but was still unable to pull out of the muck. (I was very thankful that I had a sturdy tripod to use as a beam - even if it is very heavy to carry around).
I was never able to get free by pulling. However, by using the tripod, I was able to pull myself forward some so that the left leg was more at an angle. At that point, i could use my hand as a shovel and dig muck away from behind my leg down to the bottom of the boot. The muck was so thick that it didn't flow in.
Finally I was able to pull my leg and boot free and continue on.
Further on there was also a small oozy area that I had crossed over by a couple of wobbly logs.
I suddenly realized how dangerous this mucky area was and was very relieved to get over it without falling in.
This really made me think hard about walking around in mucky swamp areas. A couple of inches of terrain made the difference from being on firm ground to being in a sink. If I had gone in with both legs or didn't have the tripod to help provide a lift point, I might still be there.
Walking in mucky areas is really dangerous. In the future, I won't cross over soft areas without a pole to probe the muck depth and I won't gamble on crossing over on logs.
This has make me rethink what I'm doing.
LG
Kent in SD
David... A jack sunk to its belly is only an inch in the mud.
Glad you made it out ok. That's not a good feeling, realizing you might be there for awhile.
I worked in Northern B.C. with a fisheries consulting crew. I had the honor of testing the ground in front of the rest of the guys in the peat bogs we worked in. Being the heaviest, if I made it the rest could follow. Spent a few too many times up to my waist with buddies yanking on my arms to get me out. Never fun, but then I didn't have to carry the packs.
Cheers,
Alex
If possible (and if the tide isn't rising) sometimes the only solution is to throw yourself flat in order to stop the sinking, then work your leg free.
I did have my cell phone in my pack and I think it would have worked. Even in central NY, phones working can be hit or miss.
I stopped at a sport access boat launch and there was trail out to a point. I was never more than 1/4 mile from my car. Still, if sucked down into muck with no one around, I could have been there for a long time.
There are cars on the road but they go by at high speeds and no would hear me calling. Although, putting a whistle in my backpack in on my ToDo list.
I really didn't think of myself as doing anything risky. When I crossed the logs, I thought a spill would just be a stinky messy crawl out of the goo. I didn't think about not being able to move and slowly sinking. Now, I think it could really be dangerous.
I think I will restrict my Swamp exploring to controlled nature areas with boardwalks. Restricts Photo ops but is sure safer. Other than occational photo shoots with the Rochester Outdoor Photography Club, I usually photograph alone. In general I think photography is a solitary sport.
Regards,
LG (aka - Gail )