Controlled Sinking

[Nessie]

I was really, really hoping to finally ditch the protective wardrobe but I awoke Saturday to PUTRID weather, and I do mean that Mother Nature was being truly disgusting to me.

I was looking forward to this all week. But I honestly don't think we cracked sixty degrees all day and gadzooks, it was raining too. Yesterday was the first time I ever brought an umbrella to a mudpit.

I didn't get many pictures yesterday and I'm not sure it was worth it to be risking even the "Old Sir Tripod"...methinks the poor old overworked soul might still be drying out. (Anyway, I lost the stupid cord so I can't get yesterday's pictures off of it for you right now, not that there was much to see.)

Today it at least didn't rain. I returned.

Here's what broke my heart. I did get to the mudpit and I shot a clip today. With the New Sir Tripod (he's a bit better than the old one.)

And I'm gonna slip, PSSSSSST, that at THIS location, which is a lot more user-friendly to the camera than the last location....not today nor yesterday did my feet EVER touch bottom in this pit [EDIT: Actually, you can hook on just a bit with your feet at the edge. But in the middle? Nope. It drops off fast.].

I dunno how deep it is. I won't know that until I find the bottom.

Ain't that lousy? I'm in this bog, and I can't find the bottom, and it's too freakin' COLD outside to ditch the waders or sink in past them. It was thick enough that I could do a controlled sinking anyway and getting out consists of a combination of swimmer's kicks plus hanging off the edge plus grabbing saplings, and there is one, but only one, lonely handy dandy branch under there (it doesn't constitute bottom but you can step on it).

Don't worry about me, though. It's not so cold that it's truly dangerous. What it's cold enough to be is aggravating. But I'd make it back to my car and if my car didn't start, there's a gas station about a quarter mile down the road.

Maybe NEXT WEEK I can finally get a wardrobe!

I don't want control! I wanna lose control! I'm sick and tired of control! It's June! Sinking shouldn't need to be controlled in June!

Nessie

[Boggy Man]

Thanks for your latest video, Nessie! That looks like a nice location! One of the things you should do is mush up the entire area to get rid of the surface vegetation so it doesn't get a chance to form an impenetrable mat. Hope the weather and your bogs warm up soon!

[stevensenechal]

I tried jumping into one of my favorite spots this weekend and I nearly broke my ankle on solid ice a foot below the surface! It's June in Alberta and it drops to 0'C at night ( I hate Canada! ). I may just have to get my passport and head to Arizona for the summer....

[efs1845]

very nice love your vids

[joedeep130535]

UK beats USA! well just,I've had several deep, warm (ish) sinks in May & early June Was going on Saturday but guess what? It rained!!

[Nessie]

Thanks for your latest video, Nessie! That looks like a nice location! One of the things you should do is mush up the entire area to get rid of the surface vegetation so it doesn't get a chance to form an impenetrable mat. Hope the weather and your bogs warm up soon!

Ya know, somehow I'm not surprised that you know ways to keep your mud from going away when you're not visiting it!

I did crawl around it pretty good. It should be kinda mushed. But next time I'll be sure to go over THE WHOLE BOG. That's a good idea and I didn't think of it!

Nessie

[Nessie]

I tried jumping into one of my favorite spots this weekend and I nearly broke my ankle on solid ice a foot below the surface! It's June in Alberta and it drops to 0'C at night ( I hate Canada! ). I may just have to get my passport and head to Arizona for the summer....

OWWWWW!

That is why I do not jump into bogs, though. I was encountering ice shelves as recently as a month ago. I call them "ice shelves" because they show up a couple feet below the surface, like a shelf under the water, and if they're thin, they break under you and you slip into more mud underneath.

Not a problem if you already know how deep your bog is but if you DON'T, it's lousy, because you can either bust through and go down...how deep? Well, you don't know. And, seeing as it's cold enough for an ice shelf...yeah, it's cold down there!

Or, you can be careful and retreat to iceless mud warmed by the sun, or back out to dry land.

If I don't know my bog, I'll always retreat, because I know it won't be there in July...but I do get whiny about it.

Nessie

[Nessie]

very nice love your vids

Yours was cool too.

Nessie

[Nessie]

UK beats USA! well just,I've had several deep, warm (ish) sinks in May & early June Was going on Saturday but guess what? It rained!!

(JEALOUSY)

I can deal with rain, actually, if it's not too much...I mean I can deal with anything above freezing...it's just...

Can it pleeeease warm up enough this weekend so I can at least upgrade to a wetsuit?

Nessie

[jack c]

It's nice and warm and muggy in southeast Pennsylvania this week, very wet, showers two days out of three. Only there is a real scarcity of local geography here. I grew up in CT and south RI - let me tell you that Rhode Island is an interesting place. Here, you really need to drive 2 - 3 hours to south NJ or DE or MD eastern shore. I am going to try the one possibly promising nearby location this weekend - have a unique break from the routine.

Wow - if that pit is really over your head, it does have good consistency. Nice video - you get a lot out of one camera, one director, and one "actress." Thanks for posting.