The critters in the swamp don’t frighten Heather Blake. I found her, sauntering about the swamp in a silver bikini, yesterday. I took the photo on the left just before she wandered off into the mud. Of course, I shot video of everything I could. Eventually, she crossed a deep sluice of mud and disappeared into the tall grass.
It’s unfortunate that I didn’t get any video of me, dragging my boat through the deep mud. The tide was really low and I took my kayak deep into the swamp. I didn’t set out to do any mudding on my own, but I was up to my chest in it, just pulling my boat off the bank. I think getting sucked into the mud while doing something unrelated is sexier than diving in for fun. I love it when I’m pulling on my boat and pulling myself deeper at the same time. It feels more authentic when it’s a real struggle.
Once I got my boat out of the shallow canal, I was a mess and my gear was strewn about the boat; including the cockpit. So, rather than climb over my gear, all covered with mud, I tied the bow rope around my waist and I swam, towing the boat behind me, upstream to the place where I could clean up and repack my gear. I was already worn down from dragging my boat through the thick mud, so the swim was exhausting. Let’s not even mention the alligators that were eying me like a choice cut of beef. Alas, I got to my cleanup spot, washed the boat as well as I could, repacked my gear, and paddled safely home. I went to bed early, and I slept well last night.
I’ve said it a hundred times over the years, but one day, I’m going to make a video about the making of a mud video. I usually get just as much or more exercise off camera as I do while I’m actually playing in the mud.