going out today!

[kwiksand1]

For the first time of the season! 80 degrees, sunny, and an epic low tide this afternoon are too good to turn down! Can't wait to get on the water with the kayak to see what I find.

[nachtjaeger]

Awesome! A bit cool and chilly here in Upstate NY at the moment.

For the first time of the season! 80 degrees, sunny, and an epic low tide this afternoon are too good to turn down! Can't wait to get on the water with the kayak to see what I find.

[bart1997]

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[Boggy Man]

I hope you had great success in your outing, and I wish you the best of luck in future excursions!

Unfortunately for me, I have been fighting various injuries (knee pain and Golfer's Elbow) which delayed last year's sinks until July 19'th, and this year, the knee problems seem worse, and now have Tennis Elbow (at least my Golfer's Elbow is healed)! I am still waiting for my knees to settle down before I go, and we have been getting warm weather here (with some breaks to cooler unsettled weather) for 2 months now. Perhaps I might have to use an ATV this summer instead of a bicycle. It looks like it might be a hot, dry summer here this year due to a developing El Niño, which will expose all kinds of mud! If only I can get to it!

[PM2K]

I wish you the best of luck kwiksand1, and hope you'll let us all know how it went.

Sorry to hear about your knees and such, Boggy... Hopefully they'll be in fighting shape when you can use them to your best adbvantage.

I haven't been able to go sinking for two years now... due to happenstance. In 2012, it was hot and dry, but twice I was thwarted by having others park in my spot by the highway close to my sinking spot! Then I try a third time and my mud pit was baked to uselessness.. as in gumbo... and when I returned later in the season a fourth time, it was under two feet of water... So i took the hint...

Last year, my car wasn't at 100 per cent and gas was insane, so I couldn't get out at all... Plus, my legs never really recovered from a nasty attack of hogweed from 2011... the skin on my shins remains tender and tends to slough off in chunks if I whack them on something hard, like a table leg or my car door... and it takes a couple of weeks to heal fully. But I am determined to return this year!

[kwiksand1]

I certainly wish you all the best on your health issues! I know what that's like, I only managed to get out once last season due to issues of my own. Fortunately, my health has recovered enough to allow me to be active again!

Saturday was great, about 80 or so. The wind was blowing the tide out even lower than usual, exposing vast expanses of thick tidal muck. I paddled up a tidal creek, fighting the wind and current to get far enough away from the boat ramp and the general public in the area. About 10 minutes of paddling, there was quiet all around me, the only sounds coming from my paddles hitting the water and the occasional bird squawking overhead.

Further up the creek, the water levels really dropped off a lot, and the smell of tidal muck was thick in the air. I was so excited, I couldn't paddle fast enough to get to the top of the creek, where the water meets the land!

When I finally got to where I wanted to be, I ran the kayak into the exposed muck, and it quivered like a giant bowl of jello. I slipped off my life vest and shirt. I took off my shoes, and proceeded to step out of the kayak and into the muck. ...

It immediately took me down to my waist in one fast, smooth motion, as the smell of swamp gasses rose up to my nose. The sound it made was nothing less than pornographic! It made me so excited, I just wanted to finish myself off right then! But instead, I started to struggle, thrashing around and loosening the surrounding muck, until I was in a huge slurry all around me. I sank deeper, the heavy muck covering my belly and inching up my chest. I was having a hard time moving my legs as the muck had compressed them tightly. I was able to reach out in front of me to some surface water and divert the flow into the place I was sinking in. The water helped to loosen the mixture a little, which freed my legs a bit but made me sink even deeper into the stinky mire..

At this point, I was about shoulder deep and incredibly excited! I decided that I needed a release, and within a few minutes, I was totally exhausted and breathless. I stayed there, suspended in the thick slop, no longer sinking. I knew I was going to have a hard time getting out of the muck that I had so enjoyed getting into. I started the long process of breaking free of the mire's grip. After several minutes of some real hard work, I was free of the sucking mire.

I proceeded to clean up in the deeper waters a few yards away from the deep pit that I was just not much more than a head above the surface in. I climbed back into the kayak and slowly paddled back to civilization. .

Can't wait to get back into the kayak for another adventure!

[Boggy Man]

Sounds like you really hit the jackpot finding that perfect spot, and had a really great time! Looks like your sinking season is off to a great start!

[bart1997]

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[joedeep130535]

I went to explore a new mudflat yesterday--A disaster! nothing even knee deep & full of gritty bits Oh well back to my usual spot I suppose!!!

[PM2K]

Congrats kwiksand1 on your successful expedition! And thanks for the report and image.