Getting out to a sandbar!!!

So a local lake in NC was drained, Beaver Lake in Asheville, NC. This has attracted many shorebirds that don't normally come up to the mountains. My professor, also a photographer, and myself attempted to get out to these birds to photograph them...I've got a 100-400L and he's got a 300L with 1.4 tele.

The birds are small...Killdeer, Blue Winged Teals, Sandpipers, Snipe, etc. They are far out on a flat in the center of the lake and we thought we'd be able to trudge out there to them in our rubber boots.

Well....when I got up to my hips in mud I decided it wasn't going to work! There really isn't any other way out there but on this muddy nastiness. There is a nice flat of DRY sand out in the center of the lake...it's just getting there that's the problem. I really need a canoe to go by water, but this lake requires special permits to boat on and I don't have a canoe anyway.

What can I do to get out to these shorebirds?? I was thinking of using some old boogie boards I have in the attic as a snowshoe type of contraption and putting my camera in a ziploc in a backpack until I get out to the dry ground. What do you think? Any other ideas?

Oh...and this silt is so nasty that I almost got stuck in it....no way can I just trudge out there in hip-waders or something to that nature. I don't wanna drown in mud!

Thanks!!

Monkey crawl! it spread's out your weight so you wont sink so deep in the mud
but seriously snowshoes or just annything that spreads the weight should work.

Wim.

Reyns knows his stuff. The Dutch are the expert mudwalkers of the planet. See here:

http://outside.away.com/magazine/200006/200006dest4.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypCVWtps-zA&NR=1

Forget the birds... I want to see the photos of you in snowshoes walking through the mud. I used to dig clams back in NY as a kid and spent many days in the mud.... So....get a tire tube for a float, put a basket in the middle. Put your gear/ extra clothes, etc. in waterproof containers such as a Pelican Case or watertight dry bags and put them in the basket. Tie a rope to the tube and to your waist so you can pull the whole thing along. Wear a swimsuit and maybe a kayaking vest or waterski vest, and then some zip on diving boots and just go for it. Don't forget to put your cell phone in a ziplock bag so you can still call 911 from the middle of the lake. Have you made out your Will yet?

Mud like that can be very dangerous. The problem is if you get stuck you are a candidate for hypothermia. My little low profile duckboat would be perfect for you, but you would need the OK. That OK might be easier to get than you might think now that the water is drained and it's sort of not a lake any more. Throw the name of the professor around and make it sound like some kind of science study.


Kent in SD

Charlie,,,,great stuff!!!!!!!

Ok....I have chest waders for fishing...I think they may be the ticket for keeping myself dry on the way over. Not that it really matters but it'll be easier to take off a pair of waders than clothes when I get back to my truck.

I'll def. put my gear in dry bags AKA huge ziploc bags in order to get them across the mud. I'm thinking that if I go from the side of the lake that the river doesn't flow in from I may be better off as the silt shouldn't be as deep. We'll see though. I'm going to scope it out some more tomorrow when I go out to break in my macro lens at my local botanical gardens. I found a Pileated there making a nest as well! I won't be using the macro for that though.

Thanks for the insight, I'm just nervous as to just how deep this mud will get. I was up to my hips last time and was only 10 yards from the shore. I had 40 more to go!! We'll see what happens though.

Anything else anyone would like to add?

I could have swore someone on here would have had to do this before for a shot?!?!?

Is there water on top of the mud? If not, one thing I did once was use two long 1x12 boards as a walk way, pulling up the one behind me and then putting it in front. You might need to cut 2 ft. wide strips of 3/4 plywood. Particle board won't work. Drill holes in each end of the boards and put a rope through it so you can pull them up easier. Have your cell phone, and tell someone where you are going. If you get really stuck, you will have to lie down in the muck and spread your weight out. Bring a camo tarp to lie under on the sandbar, such as what us duckhunters use.


Kent in SD

There is no water on top of the mud.....it actually looks fine, a little dry and cracked.

It's when you step on it that the magic happens and into the abyss your foot goes!!

Here is Kyle in one week: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oAoKynCYVs&feature=related Isn't this how they do it down there?

Haha....yeah we've got "mudders" down here. And I do have a Toyota!!!

BUT you won't see my Tacoma in mud like that!!

I have used a bellyboat from time to time. In low wind, they work pretty well.

If you go with the chest wadders, you better be sure it is not more then chest deep mud. If the wadders fill up , your done! I've spent a lot of time in the swamps of Florida. My theroy, forget the wadders, forget the boots, I would even go barefoot. If this mud is anything like I am used to, you won't be comming out with any shoes or boots anyway. If there is no water on top of the mud, the belly crawl, or the cut sections of plywood ideas sound the best. I might go with 1/4 plywood instead of 3/4, just to save some weight. You just have to be able to dance across it, it will not have to support much.

Good luck!