Quicksand Fans

Well, inspired by that "Mud Season"-story posted by MoTu recently, i did start my Deep-Sinking-Season with a really, really deep sink!
That bog i have here has finally thawed up and as it has been dry for over a week, the mud-conditions are just perfect. Bottomless and thick as we all love it!
I'm all geared up with chest-waders, two layers of waterproof clothes and long gloves to keep the cold mud out and finally want to really try out that snorkel i have bought last year.
My favorite spot has turned into a hungry and ruthless mudpit that just pulls me deeper down with every move i try. When i'm chindeep, i put on that snorkel and use a headband to keep it upright. With help of my arms i'm able to sink deeper and deeper, i close my eyes and sink down and finally well above my head with ease. Wiggling my feet just drives me deeper until there is about one foot of thick and sticky bog between the top of my head and the surface. One arm is stuck right next to my body, the other i keep upright to at least keep contact with the surface and to check that at least the top of the snorkel stays above the surface.
Adrenaline is rushing and my heart is pumping like crazy because of all that pressure around me! I have never been that deep before but it not only feels so exciting but also strangely comfortable, too.
When i try to move up again i notice that something is wrong. That area consists of about 4-5 feet of thick peat and deeper down below it does get softer and a bit more watery. This is the old lakebed apparently. So my feet do find no bottom to push against and the thick mud does hold me in place. There is no way to just pop up back again like in the videos of the producers.

As i have made it out obviously:
I know that bog and its risks from a lot of former sinks, although i have never been this deep. So before going deep i have had carefully placed a log of some tree right in front of me and am able to grab it with my free hand. It takes a lot of effort to finally pull my other, buried arm out of the bog and grab the log with both hands. I pull and pull and pull, very slowly making progress.

Only when my head is above the surface again and i'm finally able to breathe freely again, i realize what kind of dangerous adventure this has been . Had i used both arms to drag me deeper in or did i not place that log to grab before, there would have been NO WAY to rescue myself.

Questions: What would you have done and what kind of safety protocols do you follow? Do you have any plan B??

When I sink under, I don't wear much, if anything at all. So, nothing that holds a lot of mud to hold me down, or create suction to make it difficult or impossible to escape. Because I sink "light", I find that I don't need anything to help me escape. When I pull myself under, if the mud is thick, I just work my feet up a little bit, bending my legs and pushing my arms/hands down, and then work/wiggle my body straight, pushing my arms/hands down and my head up higher through the mud. I then repeat until I reach the surface. Once I am able to wiggle myself up to waist level, I sit back and work my legs to the surface and then crawl to solid ground. If the mud is really loose, I use my arms and legs to make climbing motions to the surface, and either swim or walk through the deep loose mud, using my arms to help me move forward until I reach solid ground.

I also tend to limit my depth to whatever I feel comfortable with for that depth, and it also depends on whether I am using something to breathe through or not. When I find it too uncomfortable breathing through a tube or hose, I work myself up slightly higher until I feel more comfortable, and then linger beneath the surface. When I don't use anything and only rely on holding my breath, I find that I can make a deeper round trip on a lungful of air in really loose mud due to me being able to move faster through it. For thicker stuff, I have to limit those submergences to shallower and shallower amounts because it takes longer for my underbog round trip. But, if the peat is extremely thick, I can go under a fair ways before it closes over me, and then can work myself back up just a little bit to make it open back up again.

Like Boggy Man I tend to sink "light" so as he says escape is usually fairly straightforward & I do not take any precautions. I can see that in a mire like Bogbud's getting up to breathing depth could be far more difficult & some sort of "backup" plan would be essential The nearest I have been to that scenario was in a "hole" in a mudflat Every time I touched a (firmish) bottom & tried to stand on it--it just gave way into soft mud. I admit to playing in that to my neck before getting serious & starting to try for real As I remember I had to lie back & "swim" out using my arms only If I had been right under using a snorkel I might have been in trouble

Thanks for the advice!

Going without my gear is not possible for me, because those clothes are an integral part of my fetish. You are both right of course about getting stuck and about a much more difficult escape. But to each it's own , for me it's unthinkable to do it the way like you do (it's messy! it's cold!, there are so many bugs and worms and whatever else!) .

I'm thinking about using some slim rope (maybe the type climbers do use) and keep it attached to one arm. I would only use it to resurface in a case of emergency. Right now no idea where to attach the other end of it .

Someone has any experience with ropes?

Regarding climbing a rope: If the rope is more horizontal than vertical, above the point your applying force to it, it will be pretty much useless for climbing. I speak from having done a very limited amount of rope climbing as a cave explorer.

bogbud wrote:Thanks for the advice!

Going without my gear is not possible for me, because those clothes are an integral part of my fetish. You are both right of course about getting stuck and about a much more difficult escape. But to each it's own , for me it's unthinkable to do it the way like you do (it's messy! it's cold!, there are so many bugs and worms and whatever else!) .

I'm thinking about using some slim rope (maybe the type climbers do use) and keep it attached to one arm. I would only use it to resurface in a case of emergency. Right now no idea where to attach the other end of it .

Someone has any experience with ropes?

my god a full sink under in chest waders - by a guy! the hly grail for me,. please tell me theres some sort of video

gamwam wrote:my god a full sink under in chest waders - by a guy! the hly grail for me,. please tell me theres some sort of video

This is not going to happen, as you know from previous posts I sink only in the dark and even in plain daylight you would only see the back of my jacket. And also the pictures--and homevideo-sections of this forum are pretty much dead with so little responses.
You want a video, follow Freds advice or ask for a custom.

I'm a bigger guy and the clay pit I sink in is really thick, so it's actually harder for me to go under than to get back up. Never had an issue with getting my head (or at least my mouth) free in time to breath. However I've never sunk wearing a lot of clothes or waders, so your milage may vary.

bogbud wrote:

gamwam wrote:my god a full sink under in chest waders - by a guy! the hly grail for me,. please tell me theres some sort of video

This is not going to happen, as you know from previous posts I sink only in the dark and even in plain daylight you would only see the back of my jacket. And also the pictures--and homevideo-sections of this forum are pretty much dead with so little responses.
You want a video, follow Freds advice or ask for a custom.

well thats me told

btw im unsure how freds advice would help me to get a video of a male sink as he was promoting a book