It's ALIVE!

[Nessie]

Well, I screwed up this clip so I guess I'm not going to post the whole moving version.

However, a fuzzy vidcap from yesterday proves that last year's deepest mudpit, the one I never touched bottom in...where "Bikini Mud" was filmed...is still alive!

The ground is soggier than ever. There might even be some new sinkholes in the area due to the soaking (goodie, goodie!)

When the water recedes a bit, this'll be great. Right now, it still is pretty good but my camera work wasn't.

Nessie

[nachtjaeger]

Sigh. . . Haven't been near mine yet this year- still frosty at night. Maybe I'll get a pair of neoprene chest waders for Father's Day. Maybe this summer I can take a "Dad weekend" and visit my fave QS pit in the western Adirondacks.

[Scarol]

Well, there is a big forest a few miles from my home. Maybe when it's raining hard there would be mud, but i'm scared if i going try to sink that other people will spot me. Then they will surely call the police, and there is a sign reading: Don't enter the forest BEFORE dawn and do NOT enter the forest after dusk.

[Nessie]

Sigh. . . Haven't been near mine yet this year- still frosty at night. Maybe I'll get a pair of neoprene chest waders for Father's Day. Maybe this summer I can take a "Dad weekend" and visit my fave QS pit in the western Adirondacks.

I totally recommend the waders. They don't work for people who require submersion to be satisfied, but if you're not an over-the-head-sinker, they're nice.

My season has literally been extended to "thaw to freeze" instead of "it's got to be 80 degrees for me to even stand it". It's a difference of sinking from, oh, March or April all the way to November as opposed to June to very early September...and I'm in a northern state!

My biggest gripe about them is that I personally do not think they're attractive. It takes a bit of mental gymnastics to get over this if you're hung up on being goodlooking in mud, and I admit that it took me awhile to get there.

But if you concentrate only on the sensation, and that alone, you're good up to your chest.

Nessie

[Nessie]

Well, there is a big forest a few miles from my home. Maybe when it's raining hard there would be mud, but i'm scared if i going try to sink that other people will spot me. Then they will surely call the police, and there is a sign reading: Don't enter the forest BEFORE dawn and do NOT enter the forest after dusk.

Hmmm...

Other people ARE a problem. Yes, indeedy. They can be.

And yeah, I agree with you about not breaking laws. I too won't enter a forest after dark...IF the sign tells me that I can't. (On the other hand, if a park has a sign saying that it's open 'til ten p.m., it's open 'til ten p.m., no matter where the sun is!)

And before I check out a place, I make SURE that it's not on private property.

I don't know what your forest is like. But I started out slow, by walking in shallow mud and over time it just got deeper. I got less worried about what people thought and more comfortable over time.

If you have any cover, like marsh grass or cattails around the mudpit, then it is very unlikely that you will be bothered while sinking. Getting in and out, though...that's the hard part. I generally visit an area a couple times without sinking first, to get a feel for where things are and where people tend to be. I hang out, listening and watching for people and walking around the surrounding area, especially trails...taking note of how visible the sinking spot is...after I study the place, I can make a decision about whether it's a good idea to try it, or whether it's best to move on!

Nessie

[jack c]

Looks a little cold, still, but you can wear layers under the waders, right? I don't look as hard as you do, but I haven't found a location that nice yet - looks good.

[PM2K]

Thanks for the picture, Nessie.

I did view it with mixed feelings... first, it is nice to see that time of year is coming again... the sinking season... but at the same time, it does remind me I have a few more months to go yet...

But the hope is nice to see, Keeps me warm.

Thanks again.

[Nessie]

Oh, yes, Jack, you can wear layers under the waders. Although by now I'm down to only one layer under the waders. And short sleeves! Woohoo!

Forgot my belt, though...so I haven't got a waistline in the pics. However, the focus is on right. At last.

This is a soft spot slightly farther from the shore of the lake than the last picture and it was much thicker. The entire springy area survived winter nicely and it is in good shape. Maybe even better. Since this is a mud spot in that area that wasn't muddy last year, I've now got two sinkin' holes there.

I hope this one can be deepened because it's farther away from the poison sumac than the last one!

Nessie

[Nessie]

but at the same time, it does remind me I have a few more months to go yet...

But the hope is nice to see, Keeps me warm.

Warmth will come to you. It will.

It really isn't that warm here yet either, just, I have trouble waiting, hence, the waders.

Nessie

[jack c]

Nessie,

You mentioned that you hoped you could deepen this mud location. How do you go about deepening a particular bog - just by working it, or is there some outside action that you take? Just a question from an inexperienced sinker in Pennsylvania.

- Jack