First Sink of the Year!

[whoknowswhat]

Rock on, it looks like you have a rockin' sink spot!

I went sinking in my home made pit quite a bit too early this year... March 15th... There was still ice in it a few feet down, not to mention I was in my birthday suit. But it was worth it, extremely cold, but worth it.

My home made pit is just fine now, but I need to auger it up a bit because it is extremely thick at bottom..

I also went for a night sink at a lake a couple weeks back, new spot, neck deep, wreaked of methane, but still fun, except I ruined my shoes lol..

Happy sinking to all for 2010!!

[Boggy Man]

That sounds like a great spot you have there! The best stuff is the stuff that is so thick and sticky that it is a challenge to get out of! Perhaps you could take pix of your bog to show us?

I now have two places that I have been working on, the Edwin Lakes area pond sinking spot which requires lots of working each spring and early summer to loosen it, and now the Crescent Road pond sinking spot, which doesn't need loosening, only building up to be exposed earlier in the season and also reshaped/widened to make solid ground even more out of reach when you are in the middle! When it is thick, it is really fun to try and escape from!

But first, I have to get a chance to get out there! Believe it or not, I am still waiting for my first chance to sink! This has been one of my most frustrating seasons in a long time! Normally, I begin sinking in early April! While we were consistently warmer than normal from January to the end of March thanks to El Nino, with things looking quite promising, things turned around at the beginning of April (El Nino was dying out), with the weather being consistently cooler than normal, and cloudier, and unsettled! We did get the odd break to warmer weather, but each time it looked like things were looking up, we would get strong gusty winds, rain, and then colder weather again!

The warm breaks, when we did get them, seemed out of sync with my ability to take advantage of them for sinking. For the first one in late April, I couldn't take advantage of the heat because I had snapped a tendon in the end joint in my baby finger (fdp avulsion) in my right hand in late January removing a clump of dead brown leaves from a dormant crown of Lovage (large, celery-like herb) while cleaning up our raspberry patch, and had to wait 12 weeks after the surgery for it to heal completely before I could do unlimited activity. Naturally, the week of heat ended just when my limitations were eliminated! So, it was back to waiting for the cool unsettled weather to end. Then, in May, we had another warm break in the weather, but I got sick with the flu (probably picked it up in a restaurant on Mother's Day, but at least there was no nausea, only suffered from diarrhea, aches, soreness and weakness)! After I recovered, there was one warm day, but it fell on a Saturday, and I wasn't quite in shape for biking into the higher elevations (my dad wasn't available to give me a lift into the mountains that day), and I felt Harris Creek was a bit riskier, since people would be out motorbiking and atv'ing, and all they would have to do is leave the road, go across the adjacent small clearing to the clifftop, look down and to the right, and see me in the distance, doing my thing in the debris field! After more cool unsettled weather, just as another break was coming up, I got sick with a cold (might have picked it up at the hospital when I had a follow-up appointment with my surgeon)! After that, but still with a cough, another break came, but I was in the middle of a gardening emergency. I was propagating waterlilies in bathtubs outside, and the soil had expanded to the water surface, pushing some crowns up out of the water, threatening to dry them out in the heat. Once I had that fixed (removed the waterlilies, removed the water and half the muck, added clay soil to the remaining muck to make it heavier, loving working with the warm muck, re-added the water, and replanted the waterlilies), it became windy again, then cooler, and then more showers, and cool and unsettled.

So, I am still waiting (still coughing a bit 18 days after first coming down with the cold), and I have a feeling that this may be the first year with no spring sinks, since summer is only a few days away. But then, it could have been worse. To the east of the Rockies, the prairies have been hit with torrential rains again and again, which is bringing flooding that farmers haven't seen in decades! At least the rain we have here has been not too long lasting, not as heavy, and mostly only occasional showers. Our lack of snow over the winter months thanks to El Nino means that the water levels in the mountains are low to begin with, hopefully meaning more mud exposed this year!

[whoknowswhat]

Sorry for a late response Boggy Man!!

I only had one chance this year so far to make it to a natural location... The mud was not exposed, and there was about 8 inches of water above it, but that was still fun..

My man made bog has been quite fun this year, and I do have a couple pics of the bog in use... PG rated lol..





It is made from a secret mix of Fibric, Hemic, and Sapric peats, The outer edge on top is formulated to be a moisture barrier, and the inside formulated to be extremely sticky and sinkable... The pics are from 2 stages of development, but inner consistency is the same in both pics.... Top pic is finished product, bottom pic is older...

My next big project, hopefully this winter, is to build an indoor pit, something bug free and year round...

I hope since summer started you have had better luck!!!!!

Now if my fiancée and I could just find a good local spot, at least our luck will improve! lol

~ Whoknowswhat

[PM2K]

That looks awesome! Congrats on the pit.

[lonesinker]

Interesting spot you have found
I have a favourite mudpit that Im using and the weather has been very hot and dry thus thickening the mud, Im hoping for some rain to moisten the earth.
Last weekend I went to my spot and usually go very early in the morning because the pit is close to a trail system and Im always concerned someone will walk by and notice me, I like my privacy. This mudpit has dried out on one side very soft on the other and Ive gone in as deep as my torso, this mud is sooo thick, its very difficult extricating yourself once youve settled in, after awhile you can manage to unglue yourself but its quite a workout crawling out and your left with at least an inch of mud coated to yourself, the clean up can be a problem. Also if someone was at shoulder depth and alone I can,t imagine a person pulling themselves out if they were alone, I think you would need a plan.

[whoknowswhat]

Interesting spot you have found
I have a favourite mudpit that Im using and the weather has been very hot and dry thus thickening the mud, Im hoping for some rain to moisten the earth.
Last weekend I went to my spot and usually go very early in the morning because the pit is close to a trail system and Im always concerned someone will walk by and notice me, I like my privacy. This mudpit has dried out on one side very soft on the other and Ive gone in as deep as my torso, this mud is sooo thick, its very difficult extricating yourself once youve settled in, after awhile you can manage to unglue yourself but its quite a workout crawling out and your left with at least an inch of mud coated to yourself, the clean up can be a problem. Also if someone was at shoulder depth and alone I can,t imagine a person pulling themselves out if they were alone, I think you would need a plan.

I built that pit, it is about 5.6' deep... 5'x5' wide.....

So it is nice and private, and I put walls of camouflage tarp around it since it is in the woods, to ensure it is private....

[Boggy Man]

Also if someone was at shoulder depth and alone I can,t imagine a person pulling themselves out if they were alone, I think you would need a plan.

I would have no problem getting out on my own, and would love every second of the self-extraction, possibly sinking back down purposely to re-do that part of the extraction, just for the fight against the mire!

[whoknowswhat]

Also if someone was at shoulder depth and alone I can,t imagine a person pulling themselves out if they were alone, I think you would need a plan.

I would have no problem getting out on my own, and would love every second of the self-extraction, possibly sinking back down purposely to re-do that part of the extraction, just for the fight against the mire!

I agree with Boggy Man!!!