I’ve wanted to explore this low, swampy part of the forest for a long time. I’ve put if off until now because there is no good place to clean up, and it’s a longer drive than I usually take to go mudding. However, it is further inland, so it won’t be impacted as much by tide levels. Also, it is a huge, swampy lowland. If I find even one great place to sink, it would be worth the effort; especially if I can sink there when all my other spots are flooded under tide water.

I had a good hike, and I enjoyed it, even though my boots were soaked and my pants were pretty muddy before I got out of the woods. I took the time to record video of a brief part of my hike which I have posted below. Be sure to watch it to the end.

p.s. I used to actually go mudding in the winter time. I think I’m getting old because my enthusiasm for taking a swim in ice cold water on a cool, winter day is just not what it used to be. I’m currently looking forward to warmer weather.

I released the clip I shot on November 27. The clip opens as I traverse the marsh in jeans and a camo top. Of course, I’m also wearing my traditional hat and sunglasses, but who’s counting?

I crawl under a fallen tree, slog through some shallow water, walk out of the water across some shallow mud, until I discover that I cannot free my feet. I proceed to struggle to free my feet, slowly sinking deeper into the thick muck. The clip was supposed to end with me, up to my crotch in the mud and unable to free myself, but I had another bit I shot on the same trip that I tacked onto the end of this video. In that bit, I slog through another muddy spot, sinking up to my waist and struggling until I extract myself to reveal my mud-caked jeans.

Here is the link to the new clip: The Swamp Always Wins, Stuck in Jeans 2020-11-27

The low tide returned just before sunset, so I took a paddle and spent about 30 minutes slogging around before I had to pack up and get out of the swamp. The light near sunset is generally very nice for shooting video. I had no real problems with light, except that things in direct sun were overexposed. The problem with shooting late in the day in late November is that it starts getting cold before the sun even sets. Therefore, I wasn’t very brave about getting completely immersed. I stuck to the struggling and slogging stuff.

In the spirit of the holidays, I put together a short clip of outtakes from my video. The still images are from the video, and the outtakes video is just stuff I couldn’t use. I’ll be releasing the video in early December. I’m not in any hurry, because it’s unlikely I’ll have anything new to release for a while. We are well past the end of the season. It’s pretty unlikely that I’ll be doing much sinking in the next few months.

Don’t forget you can download the videos I post here.