I managed to get muddy up to the top of my thighs, while exploring, today. However, my trip turned out to be a 5 mile paddle, with very little mud. I was late getting to the swamp, and the low tide was mediocre, at best. There was a stiff wind, creating a wind tide. Also, since I arrived late, the tide was coming back in by the time I could get set up.
That’s the bad news. The good news is that it was a really nice day, and I had a nice paddle. I really needed some exercise, so I ventured out, even though I knew I was running late. I might try again on Sunday (tomorrow). I’m anxious to get back into the mud, and it won’t be long before the cooler weather and shorter days will make swamp trips a lot less frequent. This summer seems to have zipped by. In another week, summer will be officially over. The days are definitely getting shorter. On the bright side, I have done a lot of mudding this summer, and the weather hasn’t been that bad. We haven’t even had a tropical storm yet this year. That may be about to change, but it’s nice that we made it through summer without getting hammered by crazy weather.
For the curious among you, the image on the left is from today. I explored a spot that I have ignored in the past because there is a lot of timber in the mud. I decided to take a walk in it to see how far it went and what it might have to offer in terms of depth and consistency. There was one spot where I sank up to my crotch and I might have been able to sink deeper, but the mud was really thick. I suppose I might have gotten in up to my navel, had I worked at it long enough, but it wasn’t worth it to me. The mud seemed to contain a lot of clay; it was thick and sticky. It may make an interesting “stuck” video, but total immersion is probably out.
On a side note, I walked out into the creek from the mouth of this tributary, in order to wash my jeans off before I jumped back into my boat. The bottom of the creek was nothing but quicksand. The further out I walked to find deeper water, the deeper I sank in the quicksand. I finally climbed onto my boat, sidesaddle, and rinsed the clay and quicksand off my jeans as best I could until I could paddle to a place with a more suitable bottom. The really fun stuff is often under water.
I’ll check in again, tomorrow, if I venture out in search of mud. Until then, happy mudding!
A very nice commentary…always enjoy reading your accounts of the adventures you have. I’m thinking of a trip out to the coastal marsh near here, but during the early, early monring when the low tides are really low. It is still warm enough at night for some nice wallowing, even though my knee still isn’t back to normal after the arthroscopic surgery a few months back. Still, wallowing around in the marsh mud won’t put at stress or strain on the knee…and it will feel sooo, soo good.
Keep the commentaries coming…always a joy to read.
Thanks, Dolphin. I sure hope I get to sink, tomorrow.