My July 30'th, 2021 Adventure, Part 2, The Conclusion (Click Here For The Beginning With More Pix)!I then took a close-up photo of the frog on my bog, and posting it in the smaller 1600 x 1200 resolution:
2021 07 30 3F Crescent.jpg
Now that I had finished taken photos of the bog with the frog, after getting out my breathing hose in case I wanted to have an extended "stay" beneath the surface later on, it was time for me to start working on mounting my Gorillapod to my makeshift head mount. I first took out my old white Speedo latex swim cap to put on my head, but once again, it was stuck to itself, and I had to work at peeling it apart, noticing that one corner, for some reason was partially melted into a goo.
It had a slight tear from before, which had me worried about it failing. So, I was all prepared, and had bought a new Speedo swim cap (white with a green spotted pattern outside and green inside) the day before, this time not latex. After getting my old latex swim cap completely unstuck, I tried slipping it over my head, and sure enough, it tore apart. So, now it looked like I would be using my new swim cap from now on.
While snacking on a couple of Pizza Pops for lunch, using a couple of shoe laces, I worked on securing the Gorillapod's knobby "tentacles" to the head mount (one tentacle was intact, another had a few knobs broken off the end, and the third had most broken off, leaving a short stub of only a few knobs), with the longer two tied to the belt that goes around my head, and the shorter one tied to the red strap that fit over top of my head from front to back. I had set the picture format to 16:9 for the video. When I screwed the camera onto the Gorillapod, it felt quite solid, but the camera was sticking out too far from my head, which was not good.
So, I had to take it apart and turn the Gorillapod around, re-securing it with just one longer shoelace this time. When I screwed the camera back onto the Gorillapod, it felt solid, and sat rather snugly against the center of my face, against my nose. I had the wrist strap removed from the camera so it would not be in the way or get wet or muddy. I then took some pieces of plastic wrap from one wad I had with me, and proceeded to wrap up the tentacles and the rest of the Gorillapod. I then took another piece of plastic wrap from another wad that I was keeping extra clean in a freezer bag, and carefully wrapped it around my camera, making certain that no part of the camera was exposed to the mud. I stretched it over the lens of the camera, making certain there were no creases, and that everything was covered. But, it tore on one side, forcing me to remove it and replace it with another clean piece of plastic wrap. I went over it all very thoroughly, stretching it over the lens to make it appear invisible, making adjustments to parts covering the Gorillapod as well, and then finally, I felt it was all complete!
I would never attempt this without a waterproof camera!
I first decided to do a test recording to make certain that the image quality wouldn't be compromised by the plastic wrap, so just holding onto the camera with the head mount, I pressed record and walked over to the south side and then the north side of my sinking spot, and moved the camera around 360˚, and then stopped the recording. I returned to my things where it was shaded, and played the recording. I was surprised to see that there was no glare whatsoever when it was facing southward, in the direction of the sun!
The image was crisp as well, with no smudging, frosting, or smearing!
So, the video of a sink from my perspective was a go!
I had my junk shorts on, but wasn't certain if the new swim cap would handle the pressure of putting the head mount over top. So, I decided to just go without the swim cap, since I just had a haircut, and my hair was so short that it would dry out quickly in this heat. Since the camera would be against my face, I couldn't put my swim goggles on either. So, my eyes would be going under the mud unprotected (except for closing my eyelids).
Back at my things, I was all excited, and making certain everything was perfect. I was concerned about the wind that would occasionally come up, since it could interfere with all the sounds I wanted the camera to pick up, especially the bog's farts! So, I had to make certain that the wind had died down first. Since it was from the south, I decided that perhaps facing northward would help shelter it from the wind. I also decided to try and perhaps face slightly eastward, to try and avoid noticeable shadows from the sun, which would highlight my camera and its mount. With everything planned out and the wind having died down again, I pressed the record button on the camera to start the recording, put the head mount on my head, and made certain the camera was positioned properly. It was too bad I couldn't make out anything on the screen with it so close to my face, since it would have helped to get instant feedback! But, I just had to go on the faith that I had everything set up properly, and that it would all work out!
With the upside-down camera mounted on my head and recording what I was seeing, I headed through the grass over to the south side of my bog. After a brief pause, I then took a leap in a northeastward direction right into the middle of the patch of sucking quagmire, landing up to my chest in the farting morass! The mire turned out to be thicker than I had anticipated, meaning things were progressing faster than I had thought!
I looked around, and then began struggling, pushing my arms down, breaking through the surface, and churning the mud around me, exposing its rusty brown interior. It heaved and quaked and farted around me, as I continued to mush it up around me. I looked at the doughy surface as it was rising up my right shoulder. I continued struggling as I slowly got sucked down deeper and deeper. As it rose up my face, I had to raise my head up to keep being able to breathe. With my head upturned, I found the suffocating ooze kept on trying to cover my mouth before it got over my eyes! I struggled some more before, finally taking a deep breath and then pulling myself down the rest of the way, the camera sucked under with me! Then, I quickly resurfaced, and took in precious lungfuls of air! I wiped the mud from my head and camera, and worked myself up higher, the mud still farting a bit around me as I worked myself higher and pushed more mud off me. I then slowly worked my way through the thick, batterlike ooze towards the north end, where I finally dragged myself up out of the muck onto the grass, and wiped the mud from my body back into the bog. I removed the headmount, and pressed what I hoped was the record button to stop the recording, but was uncertain. I tried several times to make sure. Then, I headed into the water to quickly swish the mud off the camera and head mount and returned it to my things, pressing the record button once again, to then see that I accidentally started another recording, which I then quickly stopped.
I headed into the water to clean off, the yellow waterlily rhizomes providing a nice solid foundation to stand/sit/kneel on, although I could stand in the soft bottom as well to clean off. I had to swish away sediment to keep the water clear for immersing my head. I cleaned my head completely, and my front and shoulders and kinda my back. But to better clean my back, I had to go onto the floating vegetation at the edge of the pond and lay down on my back, with my weight forcing it underwater, and then rubbed my back side to side against the green vegetation (tiny rushes and perhaps some grass). I then returned to the water, where I splashed clean water onto my back, and then stood up and continued to clean myself lower down, until I was all clean. I also washed my junk shorts and hung them on a dead alder.
All clean, I returned to my things, and carefully unwrapped my camera and unscrewed it from the Gorillapod. There were a few drops of muddy water on it, which I quickly removed with my t-shirt. I was then all ready to check out the results of all my work!
All excited to see my latest creation, I sat down in the shade with the camera, and played the video, having to turn the camera upside down, since the video was taken upside down. But then, came an extremely huge disappointment!
The camera was pointing too high, with the entire video consisting of the sounds of my heavy breathing, sinking, struggling and the mire farting, but with a view of only the surrounding grass, with only brief glimpses of the edge of the mud and sometimes my muddy hands/arms!
Then, the view of the surrounding grass turned to the view of the blue sky (with some footage of a fly flying overhead), and then the sun with a bright vertical line, before the mud finally closes over, with some crackling sounds. Then it is black and silent, and then you can hear my breathing again as I resurface, and then the blackness disappears as I wipe the mud away from the camera, with you able to see things again between fragments of mud, with more view of the grass at the edge of the bog as I slowly wipe mud away from me, and slowly work my way to shore. Once in the grass, the video ended, so I did stop the recording right away.
So, that was a major letdown!
What I had hoped to be a perfectly executed first sinking video was ruined by a bad camera angle!
That was the same thing that happened years ago when I tried doing a first-person video in that same bog (back when it was small, before I had enlarged it) using a different camera. I wished that I had done a test video with the camera mounted on my head to make certain that the camera was looking in the same directions I was! Then, perhaps I might have then figured out something that would have worked better!
I grabbed the camera, changed the format back to the regular 4 x 3, and then took a photo of the patch of mire that had swallowed me and my camera:
2021 07 30 3G Crescent.jpg
Anyways, it was time for a personal sink. I was naked, and put on my swim goggles this time, so my eyes wouldn't get mud in them this time. Not too long ago, I purchased a bottle of a fog protection spray, and subsequently cleaned my swim goggles at home with soap, and then applied the spray, so I could avoid having the goggles fog up. I just hoped it would work.
I then walked northward through the grass, away from my bog first, and then turned around, imagining the following fantasy scenario:
I had heard about a patch of mud that was so treacherous and deadly, that it regularly swallows animals, and sometimes people, and sucks them down so deep, their bodies are completely unrecoverable, lost forever in the muck!
I knew that it was somewhere in this area, and heard that it had just recently sucked down some large animal, so all I had to do was walk around, looking for a patch of mud that had an obvious disturbed patch in it, where that animal had vanished was now lost forever! Then, I came across a break in the grass, and in the muddy ground, was a patch of churned-up mud that looked like it had indeed swallowed something big!
Being adventurous, I walked over to the west side, and facing east, I carefully extended my feet out into the center of the undisturbed part, and then stood up, sinking down to my chest, and slowly getting sucked deeper, the mire farting around me! As I struggled in the doughy ooze, imagining that if I didn't get out of this suffocating mire soon, that I would soon be lost to the sucking muck forever as well, my stimulation quickly exploded!
After the release, it quickly felt as though my body temperature had suddenly dropped, as I went from feeling warm to chilled. I lingered there a bit, and struggled some more, before working myself up and then crawling over top of the mire, mushing the surface, and just enjoying the upper warmer layer of cushiony softness embracing me.
Each time I stood up, I could feel the colder mud deeper down, but higher up, it was being warmed nicely by the sun. I mushed up the surface around me, and layed on my stomach, struggling a bit more, and enjoyed playing in the mire for a little longer, before finally getting out. I washed my hands before taking off my goggles, which were getting fogged after all!
Perhaps I didn't clean them enough before applying that fog prevention coating.
I would have to redo it at home before the next outing. I cleaned the a little bit of mud off the strap of the goggles and hung it on the same dead alder that held my junk shorts.
I then got back into the mire again, facing east, and sunk slightly deeper, enjoying myself some more, before dragging myself out again. Finally, I stepped back in one more time, and this time, I was holding onto the breathing hose, and slowly sunk myself lower and lower into the hungry mire, turning my head upward as the mire rose towards my mouth. As the suffocating ooze was getting close to covering my mouth, I bit onto the end of the hose, and slowly struggled myself down deeper, the hungry quagmire sucking shut over my head, my hose then being my only source of air. I inhaled through the hose, and exhaled through my nose, the air escaping to the surface. As I struggled myself down deeper, the air I exhaled was starting to phlup, phlup, phlup to the surface. I occasionally felt the flat surface of the mire above my head with my hands, loving the feel of being totally devoured by the suffocating ooze!
I struggled and worked myself deeper, the mud deeper down stiffer, but still giving way beneath my feet! I wished I had my goggles on, since I was concerned about mud getting into my eyes, even though they were tightly closed. Looking from the top, you would find it hard to believe that the "innocent-looking"
patch of mud had sucked down a 6' 2" man beneath the surface, except for the presence of a hose that was slowly getting sucked into the mud, two hands sticking up out of the doughy surface, and bubbles continuously farting at the surface, from the bog passing gas from my escaping breath!
Finally, I decided that it was time to get out, working myself up through the doughy, suffocating muck by working my feet up and bending my knees, then wiggling my upper body up through the thick mire as I straighten my legs, and then repeating the process. But, I noticed that I was bent over a bit backwards, and the more I worked myself up, the further back I was getting! So, I had to stop working myself up towards the surface, and instead had to wiggle my upper body forward through the thick batterlike mire into a more vertical position, a movement that I was really concerned about, since pressure against the front of my head could bring back my neck pain, which hasn't been persistently bothering me in years, just briefly!
But, I had to get vertical before finally working myself back up all the way to the surface again, and dragging myself onto the grass on the west side, where I had entered from, pushing the mud from my body back into the bog.
I then returned to the water to clean myself off completely again, once again using part of the floating vegetation mat at the water's edge to scrub my back to loosen the mud before returning to the pond to splash water over my back to clean it off. It was nice to have the water fairly warm on top, which made immersing my head more comfortable. After cleaning myself off, I air-dried, with my short, recently cut hair drying off fast in the warm air, without giving me any chills, the reason I didn't need the swim cap this time.
I noticed that the sky, which had been so clear and blue, had been getting increasingly milky from more smoke as the late afternoon progressed, with the sun starting to get a bit obscured. I noticed that the sun was also a bit further down in the western sky than I had anticipated (where did all the time go). But, it was still quite warm, and comfortable. In fact, I warmed up so quickly, and the air felt so nice, that even though it was around a quarter to 6 PM, and I knew that I should call it quits and start setting up my wall of sticks around the bog, put my things away, get dressed and leave, the alluring look of the doughy, quivering, sucking muck was just too much for me to resist!
So, against my better judgement, this time with my glasses on, I took one final plunge into the soft, gulping mire, sinking back down to my chest, where I struggled and pretended I was going to be sucked under, although I wasn't going to get my head muddy this time. I lingered and struggled, loving the feel. In fact, each time I had sunk back into the mud, the colder mud deeper down was getting progressively warmer from absorbing my body heat from the last time I sunk into that particular spot!
That it made it just that much more difficult to leave! I lingered and struggled, but while the feel was intoxicating, I was no longer able to get full stimulation.
So, after some more lingering and struggling, I finally made my way to the edge and dragged myself out, pushing the mud off my body back into the bog to try and not lose too much of it.
I then, once again, for the final time, returned to the water to clean myself back up again, and then had to do some other cleanup, such as my head mount, and the Gorillapod. I started to put a few sticks back into place, when I remembered that I had forgotten to take a photo of the quivering, churned-up bog! So, I grabbed my camera, and took a photo of the mesmerizing muck (I am posting the full size 4320 x 3240):
2021 07 30 3H Crescent.jpg
I then proceeded to put the rest of the sticks back into place around the bog, including in front of more of the fragile vegetation south of the main bog, since it too was getting potentially hazardous for heavier animals. I had it done in 10 minutes, and took another full-sized (4320 x 3240) photo:
2021 07 30 3I Crescent.jpg
By the time I had organized my things, including putting my breathing hose back in its hiding spot, putting the wrist strap back on my camera and switching memory cards in my camera, it was already after 7 pm, more than an hour later than I should normally be heading back!
I returned to my bike, put everything back in my saddlebags, walked my bike back through the side trail over some fallen trees back to the sideroad, and back to Crescent Road, and I was on my way back down the road to the valley!
I noticed how the smoke had thickened up higher in the sky, but at the level I was, the haze wasn't too bad. Once I got far enough into the valley, I was able to get cell service, and contacted my dad, who was on his way. When I biked out of the bush and onto pavement, the thick smoke in the valley really hit me, and I could really smell and feel it! My dad picked me up at roughly the same area he had picked me up before, since the timing of my dad leaving after my call when I got cell service was roughly the same as before. Since it was still light out when he picked me up, I felt that I had made the most use of the warm day.
Then, the mood of the evening suddenly took a frighteningly guilty downturn, when I found out that my late departure and phone call resulted in my parents being worried sick about me, thinking that something bad had happened to me!!!!
My dad had spent the evening trying to figure out how to locate me or how to alert the authorities if I had never returned to contact him!
He wasn't certain where to tell Search And Rescue to go if I never returned! He also wondered about how he could find me if he had to drive back up into the mountains after dark, where there was no cell service, so no communications!!!
When we got home, there were maps laying on the kitchen table, and my dad wanted more information about the areas I hiked in, so he would know where to go if I ever failed to return! He also wanted me to mark whatever trail I was on with a ribbon to find me easier, something he suggested that morning when he dropped me off. He also seemed more determined than ever that this would be my final bikeride, because he felt that I went on enough bikerides this year (3)!
But, I mentioned that I still wanted to enjoy the back country a few more times this summer, which he wasn't pleased about.
I
***KNEW*** that I should have called it quits around 5:45 pm, and started to put the sticks around the bog, instead of having that one last chest-deep sink!!!!
I can't believe that I let it suck me back in again, in a luring way, like a moth to a flame!
I just thought that since the days were still fairly long, as long as my dad picked me up before it got dark, everything would be okay, but he was getting used to picking me up around supper time, since my previous bikerides this year ended earlier, due to me not having anything more to do at the time, or not enough time to do more.
Now, however, I have lots of sinking to do, making me want to stay there longer. Sometimes, I wished that I could camp out there to spend as much time as possible there, but due to soreness, I need a long break before my next day of sinking. I have been planning on waiting a couple of weeks before my next outing, which should give him a lot of time to cool off.
I later realized that I if I had rotated the head mount slightly (and slid the chin strap around accordingly) to position the camera over my left eye, then it would have pointed down further, and I could have captured all the action!
Just one simple thing I failed to think about! But something to do for next time, and I will first do a trail run with it on my head to make certain it captures the correct view! If I could have had a do-over of the day, I would have done that, as well as skipped that last sink, to prevent my parents from being worried about me!
But still, it was a very nice day, with warm weather keeping me from feeling chilled, nice thick bottomless farting mud to sink into (heard some gurgling sounds before some farts, and felt the mire pass some gas from deeper down along my body before farting against me at the surface), and two submergence sinks - one brief with the camera and one longer with the breathing hose. I didn't have the Gorillapod cleaned yet, and would have had to also set things up for a camera video of that sink, and I just wanted to go for it right away. So, no footage of that session. The south side, where I mount the stick that holds the Gorillapod and camera, has been getting less stable as the grass mat there thins, making it more awkward for setting up the camera there, as well. But, at least I have a couple of videos to post - one a test video, and the other, the bungled main video. Last time, I had to use bug repellent a lot more to fend off bloodthirsty insects, but this time, I didn't have to use it as much, with hardly any mosquitoes, but still encountered the odd horsefly and deerfly.
For some reason, this year, I haven't encountered any leeches yet, something I always encountered. I hope that I continue to not see any latch onto me this season.
I had been concerned about neck pain showing up, but that evening, my neck still felt fine, feeling like I had dodged a bullet.
The day after my bikeride, my neck also felt fine, making me even more confident about dodging the bullet!
But then, on the
second day after my bikeride, my neck started to click and grind, sometimes sounding like crackling knuckles!
That evening, just as I was ready to go to bed, I moved my head, and it made a louder crack, and this time I felt it slightly!
I had forgotten about that crunching and cracking, which had plagued me several years ago in 2017, when my neck problems first started!
I also had soreness in my shoulders, abdominal muscles and in my calves from some leg cramps, as well as some irritation in my eyes from exposure to mud. Most of the soreness and irritation vanished quickly, although it took almost a week for the soreness in my calves to vanish. But still, a week later, the cracking and crunching in my neck remains unchanged, and some days I get a twinge of pain!
I am getting concerned about this, because I
***REALLY*** want to return two weeks from this outing, and with less than a week to go, the neck crunching and sensitivity is the only holdout, along with some feeling of neck strain.
Then, there are even newer complications!
The nearby White Rock Lake wildfire to the west is the largest wildfire in BC, and has been getting larger, burning down the community of Monte Lake, located between Vernon and Kamloops!
It has been getting closer to my brother's produce farm, and they are on evacuation alert, and even here, around Vernon, we were very briefly on evacuation alert as an overabundance of caution!
Fortunately, it was quickly dropped here, but my brother's farm is still on evacuation alert, and it could turn into an evacuation order any day now!
If that happens, then my brother and his family would have to come and live with us until it is safe for them to go back, if they have anything to go back to!
That might affect my ability to make future postings of any adventures and videos, unless they go to bed early, something they do at home. But, having to move in with us might change that.
We all just keep out fingers crossed, in hopes that they won't have to leave their farm, and they can continue to sell produce, and things are business as usual. There was some cooler weather with some rain showers this past weekend which helped stall the fire, but hot dry conditions are returning again, which could make the fire worse (the best conditions for my sinking adventures are the worst conditions for the wildfire situation).
We will just have to wait and see.
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with things going dark for a brief moment. But, I was a bit out of breath, so I just submerged for only a brief moment before popping back up again, into the light. Then, I began to work myself back up higher and higher, wiping mud away from my head and camera, and continuing to work myself up even higher. Then, I made it to shore, pulling myself out onto the grass, wiping mud from my body back into the bog to conserve it, before heading back to my things, pressing record on the camera to stop the video on the way. The video was done! 
I mushed the mud around me, and then progressed clockwise around the bog, having to get out and back in at different spots because the mud was too thick to move through, struggling in the mire and mushing up all stuff that was not mushed up yet, also trying to do some smoothing out of the surface as well. It was softer in the center, but thicker around the sides, since my exits pulled mud away from the center and over to the sides over the course of the season. Once I had it all mushed up and enjoyed my sinking a bit more, I exited the mire, and went through my cleanup routine again, this time not needing to clean my head. I dried out more quickly, since it was warmer than earlier, and warmed up more quickly too, because my head stayed dry.