Total Frustration

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klib21
Posts: 271
Joined: Thu Apr 16, 2009 5:50 am

Total Frustration

Postby klib21 » Tue Aug 22, 2017 9:43 am

I had to make this post just to rant. I managed to find the time and freedom to attempt a private search for quicksand, and I had found an absolutely PERFECT location on Google maps. I'm attaching screenshots of this location, you tell me if it looks like a guaranteed win or not. The timing was perfect, no surprises or complications for once, and the hike was easy, and I quickly found the mud pool. Well, I'm head over heels with nervous excitement, because this will surely be the first time I can submerge in a bottomless mud pit. It looks perfect in person.

Well, I take my first step, and it doesn't even go over the top of my foot. This is actually great, because it means I can walk out to the center of the pit... Turns out, the entire pit is just dense sand with a little mud. It's all just packed sand.

No submersion, not even decent sinking. I managed to get crotch deep in the softest spot after a few minutes of struggling. It's just so frustrating.

End rant.
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drnooom
Posts: 46
Joined: Wed Apr 15, 2009 1:09 pm
Location: Sydney Australia
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Re: Total Frustration

Postby drnooom » Tue Aug 22, 2017 10:51 am

Bugger :(

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bogbud
Posts: 724
Joined: Sat May 30, 2015 6:43 am
Location: Stuck and sinking

Re: Total Frustration

Postby bogbud » Tue Aug 22, 2017 5:11 pm

It's just trial and error until you find the perfect spot.
Have done this too, with a couple of peat bog and old peat extraction sites that did look just like vast areas of pure mud in the photo. When i did visit them it was more or less some pool of murky water that was good for swimming but not much more.

Just don't give up and search on. At least you have been out and did visit a place not so much other people would do.
I'm already chindeep in this mudbog and every desperate attempt to move my stuck legs only drives me deeper in. The thick mud slowly swamps my waders and my arms have nothing to hold onto.
I'm feeling home.

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PM2K
Always Remembered
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Joined: Wed Apr 15, 2009 6:14 pm
Location: Eastern Ontario

Re: Total Frustration

Postby PM2K » Tue Aug 22, 2017 5:35 pm

We've all been there... so don't lose heart. It took me years and a lot of false starts to find a suitable place to sink... and then a few years to whip it into shape. This is why once we find a place, we tend to guard it carefully...

Good luck and good hunting.

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stevensh12
Posts: 339
Joined: Mon Mar 30, 2015 9:56 pm
Location: A TARDIS

Re: Total Frustration

Postby stevensh12 » Tue Aug 22, 2017 5:56 pm

yh searching for a good pit is hard i mean the best thing i've found so far is tidal mud but if i did use that it has to be in the dead of night to save embarrassment
as shown below its near some houses thankfully they are asleep whenever i go there
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i'm just an idiot with a box and a screwdriver

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Boggy Man
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Joined: Thu Apr 16, 2009 6:13 am
Location: The Sunny Okanagan Valley, BC, Canada

Re: Total Frustration

Postby Boggy Man » Wed Aug 23, 2017 8:05 am

It took me a lot of trial and error to find the places I have. I have been limited to playing in mud only a few feet deep, before finding one place, and then another place, and then another place, with deeper mud. You also have to check back on certain spots later in the season, in case dropping water levels expose stuff that was underwater the last time you were there. Even that area you went to could change. One year, they might dig out all the sand, restoring the reservoirs, and then start putting sediment back into it again, turning it into a place with really deep quicksand! Or perhaps some of those other ponds might start getting filled with sediment, creating new areas of deep quicksand! Keep searching around, and you will eventually succeed! 8-)
I sink, therefore I WAM!!!!

(((ioi)))

-The Boggy Man

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kerri zhong
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Joined: Tue Aug 22, 2017 6:38 am

Re: Total Frustration

Postby kerri zhong » Thu Aug 24, 2017 4:49 am

:(

joedeep130535
Posts: 261
Joined: Wed Apr 15, 2009 9:27 pm

Re: Total Frustration

Postby joedeep130535 » Sat Aug 26, 2017 5:37 pm

@klib21-If I had seen that map I would have been in there like a shot-so no blame to you Just one of the many frustrations we experience in our quest for decent mud

mud_dreamer
Posts: 134
Joined: Sat Jul 29, 2017 2:11 pm

Re: Total Frustration

Postby mud_dreamer » Sun Aug 27, 2017 4:08 am

klib21,
That location does look good from the air. I have found locations which look good from just 20 feet above, only to find out that it is packed sand with a little silt on top. I enjoy the hunt as much as the find. I know that I will rack up a lot of finds as long as I keep hunting. One thing that I have started to do is to look online for geologic surveys for clay in the states/counties of interest. They typically name the town or county and the type and amount of clay. Sometimes there will even be names of the clay pits and the type of clay. Some clay mining businesses list their clay pits too. I then look for state land nearby. I am prospecting one location which is a river near a several active and historic clay pits. At the moment the water level is too high to go exploring. I have been close only to find knee/hip deep clay but very private. I can monitor the water level online and since this location is 3 hours away I can avoid a wasted trip. I plan to kayak to the location when the water level is what I have determined to be worth a visit.

I would be glad to assist in any "prospecting" research however I doubt that I am able to receive PM's through this forum yet. Not sure what will give me that right. Anyone know?

I have been looking at Wyoming lately as I will be passing through there at some point in the near future. Very promising IMO. Do a search for "Wyoming clay deposits". I google earth'ed the locations and some look remote and amazing. I am not sure what a bentonite slurry would be like to wade into but I would like to find out.

I am currently more interested in kaolin rich clay locations as kaolin is not as dense as bentonite and I have located several public locations near me.

klib21
Posts: 271
Joined: Thu Apr 16, 2009 5:50 am

Re: Total Frustration

Postby klib21 » Mon Aug 28, 2017 5:44 am

Thanks everyone for the reply. I'll of course keep looking, I haven't given up total hope. However, I think I may just find an area where I can dig my own pit. Somewhere private and near water. Has anyone done anything similar?

mud_dreamer wrote:One thing that I have started to do is to look online for geologic surveys for clay in the states/counties of interest. They typically name the town or county and the type and amount of clay. Sometimes there will even be names of the clay pits and the type of clay. Some clay mining businesses list their clay pits too. I then look for state land nearby. I am prospecting one location which is a river near a several active and historic clay pits. At the moment the water level is too high to go exploring. I have been close only to find knee/hip deep clay but very private. I can monitor the water level online and since this location is 3 hours away I can avoid a wasted trip. I plan to kayak to the location when the water level is what I have determined to be worth a visit.


Interesting, I didn't know this was a thing. I've been to a couple sites, but couldn't find any info like that. Mind giving an example?


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