Tidal Mudflats Before I Adventure

[Rickington]

We have all the muck and goo one could wish for, but I do not trust any of it.https://www.123rf.com/photo_115322862_t ... -moun.html

So check the history of your area if you can. The more rural and away from towns and such, the better.

It sucks that industrial and environmental pollution is yet another obstacle in the quest to find good mud to sink in. I walked around some salt flats in the south bay area and it had some good looking mud, but I didn't sink, for a variety of reasons.

I live in PA and unfortunately our rivers have had their share of industrial pollution too. I have a small lake I go that's fed by a small stream, so the risk of pollutants is lower, but it's not nearly as private as I'd like. (Wish I could just buy this little park, sigh)

Being in western PA makes any tidal areas pretty far from me, ~6-7hrs, but I would like to get to experience them. I tend to drive ~45-60 mins to where I go. Having a sinking buddy would make this all safer and more affordable, shame that we're all so far apart.

Ah. I'm on the opposite side of the state. Just outside of Philadelphia so I can access tidal mud in DE and NJ without much issue. Well, there's this area in New Jersey I found last year that I will never go to again after being eaten alive by horseflies that seem to ignore DEET.

[Sinkman61]

Tidal mud flats are the most dangerous places to sink because they involve TIDES. And they tend to have mud that’s far stickier than that in most other locations. That’s because of the salt that’s in the water. Somehow salt manages to “supercharge” the mud, making it far stickier than normal mud. That in turn, allows the tidal mud to create a nearly perfect seal around your body and clothes. That sealing effect drastically increases the amount of suction that’s created. Thus, tidal mud is often far harder to escape from as opposed to normal mud. Thus, you should be in really good shape before you attempt to sink in tidal mud flats. But with increased effort comes increased rewards. Tidal mud is especially soft and silky smooth against the skin. Simply put, it feels like no other. It grabs on to your limbs and core and simply doesn’t want to let go. It’s the ultimate in muddy bondage if there is such a thing. Escaping it can be quite challenging. Sinking in Tidal Mud often results in you sinking much deeper than you thought possible. That’s because the downward force created by the stickiness of the mud is often considerably stronger than the upward force created by your body’s own buoyancy. Thus, people accidentally trapped in tidal mud are often found to be stuck in a much deeper depth than those stuck in regular mud. It’s not uncommon for people that have panicked to be found chest or neck deep in the stuff. Thrashing about will cause you to sink down deeper and deeper until you get to the point that the trashing about has become nearly impossible. And yet, the mud isn’t the dangerous part. It’s the tide. Because if you can’t gather up your wits and enough strength to escape, the tide will simply come in over your head and drown you. Generally though, you needn’t worry about dying from the effect of the sun beating down on you while you’re stuck, because the tide will cool you down as you drown. There are areas here though that you can get trapped neck deep in tidal mud where the sun can become a real concern. That’s because the mud bank in this particular area happens to be at around the same level as the water is at high tide. So unless your face (mouth/nose) is even with the surface, you probably won’t drown in this location...the sun will roast you instead. I’ve literally had to dig myself completely free from this area. I highly recommend that you leave the heavy rubber boots at home when exploring tidal mud flats, as they can create more suction in this type of mud than you may be prepared to deal with. You don’t want to be neck deep on an incoming tide when you suddenly realize that you can’t seem to budge your feet upward even the slightest bit upward. I’ve actually been in just that position, but the tide wasn’t due to come in for another three hours. Good thing too, because it took nearly an hour just to get to the point that I could start moving my feet again. Had I not planned that sinking around the tides, I’d probably still be there to this day, my body probably completely covered over by the mud by now while my name would’ve been on the local Sheriff’s missing list.

[Rickington]

Tidal mud flats are the most dangerous places to sink because they involve TIDES. And they tend to have mud that’s far stickier than that in most other locations. That’s because of the salt that’s in the water. Somehow salt manages to “supercharge” the mud, making it far stickier than normal mud. That in turn, allows the tidal mud to create a nearly perfect seal around your body and clothes. That sealing effect drastically increases the amount of suction that’s created. Thus, tidal mud is often far harder to escape from as opposed to normal mud. Thus, you should be in really good shape before you attempt to sink in tidal mud flats. But with increased effort comes increased rewards. Tidal mud is especially soft and silky smooth against the skin. Simply put, it feels like no other. It grabs on to your limbs and core and simply doesn’t want to let go. It’s the ultimate in muddy bondage if there is such a thing. Escaping it can be quite challenging. Sinking in Tidal Mud often results in you sinking much deeper than you thought possible. That’s because the downward force created by the stickiness of the mud is often considerably stronger than the upward force created by your body’s own buoyancy. Thus, people accidentally trapped in tidal mud are often found to be stuck in a much deeper depth than those stuck in regular mud. It’s not uncommon for people that have panicked to be found chest or neck deep in the stuff. Thrashing about will cause you to sink down deeper and deeper until you get to the point that the trashing about has become nearly impossible. And yet, the mud isn’t the dangerous part. It’s the tide. Because if you can’t gather up your wits and enough strength to escape, the tide will simply come in over your head and drown you. Generally though, you needn’t worry about dying from the effect of the sun beating down on you while you’re stuck, because the tide will cool you down as you drown. There are areas here though that you can get trapped neck deep in tidal mud where the sun can become a real concern. That’s because the mud bank in this particular area happens to be at around the same level as the water is at high tide. So unless your face (mouth/nose) is even with the surface, you probably won’t drown in this location...the sun will roast you instead. I’ve literally had to dig myself completely free from this area. I highly recommend that you leave the heavy rubber boots at home when exploring tidal mud flats, as they can create more suction in this type of mud than you may be prepared to deal with. You don’t want to be neck deep on an incoming tide when you suddenly realize that you can’t seem to budge your feet upward even the slightest bit upward. I’ve actually been in just that position, but the tide wasn’t due to come in for another three hours. Good thing too, because it took nearly an hour just to get to the point that I could start moving my feet again. Had I not planned that sinking around the tides, I’d probably still be there to this day, my body probably completely covered over by the mud by now while my name would’ve been on the local Sheriff’s missing list.

Fully in agreement there, sinkman. I only wear water shoes and no other clothing. Also use a large piece of wood for leverage to get out. And I make sure my kayak is within arms reach via a 20ft retired piece of climbing rope

[Sinkman61]

It’s the danger created by the tidal mud flats that led to my argument last year with the moderators of the need to include safety aspects of sinking. While it’s certainly true that most sinking locations’ only real danger is either getting caught while you’re a bit more than ankle deep or you happen to piss off some poor snake and got yourself bitten, such places generally don’t have to deal with the sudden change in the water level that’s surrounding your mud bank. But...those inland sinking spots generally consists of organic mud which just isn’t nearly as good as that found in tidal estuaries. Organic mud simply isn’t very sticky, so while you extract yourself the mud just falls right off your clothes and your skin. Anyone that’s gone sinking in tidal mud knows that that’s NOT THE CASE with this stuff. You can expect to weigh about 50 pounds MORE after you’ve extracted yourself from tidal mud. That extra weight makes escaping much, MUCH harder, because it also tends to pull you back down once you’re out and laying on the surface. But oh, WHAT A FEELING!!! It’s just a blast to sink down into, and the soft silky smoothness of the mud is really hard to beat. The closest thing to it is clay type of mud that’s often found in quarries. There’s plenty of such videos on YouTube. Unfortunately, quarries often have mud that’s either too thick or simply too thin. There’s one particular video where a couple of guys are exploring an area around a pond that has a large area of really awesome looking white mud that appears to be of the right consistency and extremely deep. The guys doing the exploring are evidently chicken, because other than getting a bit of the mud on their shoes, they never bothered to adventure in further. As for myself, I would’ve removed the shoes and clothing that I really wanted to spare from the mud and then I would’ve gone exploring well out onto the mudbank. Sadly, many quarries these days have video cameras and NO TRESPASSING signs posted. Maybe they’re worried that someone will be found stuck and drowned in their quarry mud. Truth is, they could make extra money while they’re not quarrying by selling passes to access their mud banks. I’d certainly be hopeful for such a place.

[Rickington]

It’s the danger created by the tidal mud flats that led to my argument last year with the moderators of the need to include safety aspects of sinking. While it’s certainly true that most sinking locations’ only real danger is either getting caught while you’re a bit more than ankle deep or you happen to piss off some poor snake and got yourself bitten, such places generally don’t have to deal with the sudden change in the water level that’s surrounding your mud bank. But...those inland sinking spots generally consists of organic mud which just isn’t nearly as good as that found in tidal estuaries. Organic mud simply isn’t very sticky, so while you extract yourself the mud just falls right off your clothes and your skin. Anyone that’s gone sinking in tidal mud knows that that’s NOT THE CASE with this stuff. You can expect to weigh about 50 pounds MORE after you’ve extracted yourself from tidal mud. That extra weight makes escaping much, MUCH harder, because it also tends to pull you back down once you’re out and laying on the surface. But oh, WHAT A FEELING!!! It’s just a blast to sink down into, and the soft silky smoothness of the mud is really hard to beat. The closest thing to it is clay type of mud that’s often found in quarries. There’s plenty of such videos on YouTube. Unfortunately, quarries often have mud that’s either too thick or simply too thin. There’s one particular video where a couple of guys are exploring an area around a pond that has a large area of really awesome looking white mud that appears to be of the right consistency and extremely deep. The guys doing the exploring are evidently chicken, because other than getting a bit of the mud on their shoes, they never bothered to adventure in further. As for myself, I would’ve removed the shoes and clothing that I really wanted to spare from the mud and then I would’ve gone exploring well out onto the mudbank. Sadly, many quarries these days have video cameras and NO TRESPASSING signs posted. Maybe they’re worried that someone will be found stuck and drowned in their quarry mud. Truth is, they could make extra money while they’re not quarrying by selling passes to access their mud banks. I’d certainly be hopeful for such a place.

One issue with the quarry thing is massive liability.

[Sinkman61]

I can see where that could become a liability, especially for the company that owns the property. In this day and age of everyone wanting to get rich quick by suing others, I definitely see why a company wouldn’t want us out on their property sinking in their mud pits. They’ve certainly got the right to keep us out. And more and more of these places are installing cameras, although I doubt that they’re watching the mud pits, at least, not until someone has obviously been out sinking in one, as the slide and walking marks as well as all the spots where we go playing aren’t going to suddenly disappear before the next work day arrives unless there’s a major downpour between our playing in their mud and their noticing the be shoveled mess we created in what was a smooth, flat surface. IF ONLY THEY HAD TIDES...

Tides may add an element of danger, but they also renew the surface by erasing the evidence of our presence the day before.

[enerj29]

I can see where that could become a liability, especially for the company that owns the property. In this day and age of everyone wanting to get rich quick by suing others, I definitely see why a company wouldn’t want us out on their property sinking in their mud pits. They’ve certainly got the right to keep us out. And more and more of these places are installing cameras, although I doubt that they’re watching the mud pits, at least, not until someone has obviously been out sinking in one, as the slide and walking marks as well as all the spots where we go playing aren’t going to suddenly disappear before the next work day arrives unless there’s a major downpour between our playing in their mud and their noticing the be shoveled mess we created in what was a smooth, flat surface. IF ONLY THEY HAD TIDES...

Tides may add an element of danger, but they also renew the surface by erasing the evidence of our presence the day before.

So I guess my question becomes, are there tidal areas to sink which don’t get covered by the water, or maybe only a cm or 2? Would that be enough to keep the mud a good consistency? I’d love to try sinking in tidal mud, but safely of course. And what do you mean about being by the sun? Is it just that it will get super hot for the hours that you’re in the mud?

[One Stuck Fox]

There's plenty of websites which will let you view tides charts for various locations. I usually just google "tides <name of suburb>". Be prepared to wait a number of weeks, or even months, for the best tides. What "best" means will depend on your area though. You might find areas which are covered during only the highest of high tides, but otherwise remain "dry" for a week at a time.

As for the sun, yes it will get hot. Dehydration and exhaustion are definitely threats if you become stuck.

[Sinkman61]

Actually, there are. There’s an area about 4 miles south of me that has mud that can be sunk into during high tide. That mud is a bit thicker, but I’ve still managed to sink down to my neck in it. I had to dig myself out in order the escape. It’s certainly not my favorite area, but it’ll do in a pinch. Obviously that’s because I have Guana Estuary about 15 miles to the north. I would have to consider Guana to be the “GOLD STANDARD” around here for which every other location is compared. Guyana Estuary is a huge area that runs between Saint Augustine and Jacksonville, with parking at both ends, numerous bike trails, and areas for hunting during hunting seasons. There’s also areas where agriculture and scientific research studies are conducted. For you sinkers out there, please stay out of those areas (they’re well marked). And don’t leave anything behind other than your foot prints, even in those secluded areas. Nobody wants to see any trash in our Estuary.

[Sinkman61]

There's plenty of websites which will let you view tides charts for various locations. I usually just google "tides <name of suburb>". Be prepared to wait a number of weeks, or even months, for the best tides. What "best" means will depend on your area though. You might find areas which are covered during only the highest of high tides, but otherwise remain "dry" for a week at a time.

As for the sun, yes it will get hot. Dehydration and exhaustion are definitely threats if you become stuck.

The sun is the second most dangerous part of sinking in tidal mudflats. That’s because the ability to actually get stuck beyond your abilities to free yourself is very real. You really need to know how to dig yourself back out. I’ve actually had to do this on several occasions. Obviously the most dangerous situation you can find yourself in is an incoming tide that’ll cover over you. That’s a very serious issue if you find that you’re stuck and can’t free yourself. I’ve never had to wait weeks to get a good tide. There’s two low tides every single day. That means that at some point during nearly every week, the conditions will be perfect to go sinking.