Quicksand Fans

So there is a pit I visit, pretty sure its bottomless, but I've been having a hard time getting to that area of the pit. There is a large area that is fairly walkable, if you are slow and easy with your footsteps, but eventually your foot will just get pulled in and then the other foot, and you in. The issue is that the deeper part is a little further in, so I use a lot of my energy just getting to the spot I want to sink in.

I did a very quick brain storm and figured if I can increase my surface area I will reduce the chances of me prematurely sinking. So I came up with the simple idea of attaching wood board to the bottom of my sinking shoes, like a 1 1/2 foot by 1 1/2 foot board on each foot, secured by maybe zip ties or U bolts. This would be great for getting farther in, and would be easy to take off when I want to plunge in. They would also make a good leverage point for when I want to get out.

But I found a big issue with it, if a board goes under when I don't want it to, pulling my leg back out would be nearly impossible since I would then be pulling all the mud around it up too. Now where I go sinking it is fairly easy to get out, but with a board, I'm not sure it would be so easy, and quite possibly could be very dangerous

What are some thoughts on this idea?
Good idea with some safety measures?
Or bad and do not touch with a 10ft pole?

use a large sheet of wood or plastic - big enough to stand on and distirbut your weight. use two as steping stones to get to the deep area you want. Maybe 3 feet by 3.

What about styrofoam (of course it would have to be reinforced to keep it from breaking)?

One option is to use something like the bog shoes described here: https://www.travelyourself.ca/cailins-b ... n-estonia/

Another easy way to increase your surface area is to crawl rather than walk

marcl wrote:Another easy way to increase your surface area is to crawl rather than walk

Crawling has worked for me many times. As long as the mud is thick enough to support your weight dispersed over a larger area, it will get you where you need to go!

One other option, especially if the mud is not able to support you crawling, is to roll over there! Yeah, it looks stupid but it spreads your weight out more. The only place that doesn't work for me is when the mud is mostly peat. But if it's peat, and not deep, it's usually easy to walk in as it doesn't stick to anything!

Unless its a very long way to go, why even consider attaching the "snowshoes" to the feet. Just pick up and replace them as you go.

Anything you put on your feet to increase surface area is also going to increase suction, so you'll probably end up wearing yourself out even faster. I'm with Fred, crawling is your best bet.

Mynock wrote:Anything you put on your feet to increase surface area is also going to increase suction, so you'll probably end up wearing yourself out even faster. I'm with Fred, crawling is your best bet.

While I agree that crawling is the best option, it was Mr Mudster and Marcl who suggested it, not me.

BogDog wrote:6089477900_b7fceff016_k.jpg

LOL ROFLMAO

Think about what would happen if you actually tried a contraption like this, on water as is suggested. You would have no traction at all. It would be like standing up in a canoe and trying to jump off to the side. You'd end up flat on your face.