NovemBRRR 29, 2009

[nachtjaeger]

Good thinking- where the mud is spring-fed (read: quicksand) those places will be the last to freeze. So, find the springs, cache-mark them, and come back when the weather is better.

Excuse me for revieving this old thread, but i made an interesting discovery recently.

So Santa Claus provided me with a little GPS-receiver and as i didn't want to wait until spring to test it, i decided to make an exploratory visit to my favorite area. Although the temperatures have risen above 0°C for some days now the bogs of the Ardennes are still mostly frozen and i didn't expect any sinking action. So i walked through thawing, but still calf deep snow, most of the time looking on that little device in my hand.
As i expected, the more obvious boggy patches with areas of open water or peat were rock solid frozen, but not the more nasty and deceptive ones. I just found out that i was standing on top of one of these quaking areas when i literally fell through the snow into some almost waistdeep mud that was obviously hidden below a thin layer of moss. Luckily i was only stuck with one leg and a had a long stick with me. Crossing this area required careful probing just like in autumn.
So, scientifically spoken, the layer of snow works as an insulation for the moss, that layer of plants works as an insulation for the mud and peat below it.
Well, i think i will return with appropiate sinking-gear and give it a try.

[jack c]

I still like the comment " The fetish is strong with this one." Feel the mud Luke - I am your Father! You seem to be a liquid person in an environment that is frozen an inordinate amount of the year in your climate. It is winter in SE Pennsylvania where I live, as well. I hope you can enjoy spring when it comes in your locale. Happy New Year.

[Nessie]

Well, i think i will return with appropiate sinking-gear and give it a try.

I read your post and felt a wave of shock.

Whoahhhhh! A possible convert!

I can't seem to get people to believe that cold-weather sinking is any fun at all. In fact, it can be. But yes, you do need to have the proper gear, and exercise a lot more caution than you would the middle of summer. No flying leaps at the mudpit. No handstands either. Don't sink past the protective wear. Enter and exit the sinkhole carefully.

Good luck. Be safe. And despite all the precautions, there is a certain victorious thrill in successfully conquering the season.

Nessie

[bart1997]

.

[sirnetwork]

So, what would "the proper gear" consist of? Color me intrigued...

[Nessie]

i'm just too annoyed by all those stinging and biting insects living in these areas.

I would like to go into mud deeper than my cold-weather gear allows but I agree about the bugs. You wouldn't believe the cans of DEET I go through in mid-summer. And in some areas I still get dive-bombed.

Then fall comes and they die off. It can be such a relief that it (almost) compensates for having to stop sinking at my chest.

Nessie

[joedeep130535]

Get a 5 mm wetsuit with a hood & you can sink as deep & for as long as you are tough enough to bear. I am not as desperate as I used to be so my season now stops when I start to need neoprene gloves!!!