Brad confessed: Boy, was that ever a big mistake. > Willapa Bay mud is real gooey, sucking mud. You put your foot >in, and it doesn't want to come out. It pulls the Teva sandals right >off your feet. In a matter of minutes, you and everything you own get > caked in thick, rich , black, smelly, slimey gunk. And that's just >in the first few minutes. Pulling a kayak across mud is work. And >dangerous too. There's no guarantee you will ever get out of that >morass. > I suppose it took an hour or more to cross that mud flat. And George said: I can't believe that you didn't get mired so deep that it would become the lead on the local news. Willapa Bay has mud flats like none I've seen. In some places they're fine for digging shellfiss, but they're potentially dangerous! The bay is great when it has lots of water in it, but when it's empty it can really suck! (Couldn't pass up that pun!) And Brad footnoted: The kayak was used as a "mud pontoon". The only way I could lift my feet out of the primordial ooze and take a step was to lean on the kayak and purchase some leverage. Without the boat, I would have joined the slime world forever. And missed dinner. ********************************************************************** Bradford R. Crain E-mail: brad_at_mth.pdx.edu Dept. of Mathematics Phone: (503) 725-3127 Portland State Univ. FAX: (503) 725-3661 P.O. Box 751 Portland, Or. 97207 ********************************************************************** *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
> What lessons did I learn and relearn? Paddle with your group. > There's safety in numbers. Bring a chart-always. It's hard to see > when your're standing 3 feet tall in a mud flat. Be aware of your > surroundings. Go home before the tide drops. And I hope you enjoyed > that, Clyde. Mud? I thought the west coast was all sandy beaches and rain forests. But wasn't that much more interesting than a dreary old trip with water all over the place? You got a nice workout AND you got to entertain your buds. You didn't fall down though so that invalidates much of the agony. I'm heading out for a 4 day paddling weekend in Maine on Thursday. If I don't get to my island at a reasonable time, I'm gonna run into (sink into) about 100+ feet of ankle deep ooze. I, however, have a plan. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
At 07:52 AM 5/26/98 +0000, you wrote: Boy, was that ever a big mistake. > Willapa Bay mud is real gooey, sucking mud. You put your foot >in, and it doesn't want to come out. It pulls the Teva sandals right >off your feet. In a matter of minutes, you and everything you own get >caked in thick, rich , black, smelly, slimey gunk. And that's just in >the first few minutes. Pulling a kayak across mud is work. And >dangerous too. There's no guarantee you will ever get out of that >morass. > I suppose it took an hour or more to cross that mud flat. Yo! Professor. . . Locally we have a lake were they "pull the plug" and run the water level down about 25 feet so the residents can repair docks. When I was nine --about 40 years ago-- a friend of mine and I decided that hiking across the mud flats of the lake would be much faster than hiking around the perimeter. The short story is that the local fire department had to bring out a ladder and ropes to pull me out of a hip deep suck-hole that I got myself snared in for well over two hours. Of course The Oregonian had an article: "Mud Snares Second Boy." I took some consolation in not being the only victim of getting "sucked in" with the idea of crossing the mud flats. I can't believe that you didn't get mired so deep that it would become the lead on the local news. Willapa Bay has mud flats like none I've seen. In some places they're fine for digging shellfiss, but they're potentially dangerous! The bay is great when it has lots of water in it, but when it's empty it can really suck! (Couldn't pass up that pun!) Geo. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
> For Muddy situations we use a product called Mudders, I think Cabalas has > them. They allow you to walk on mud that you would not usually be able to In the north we have snowshoes. Are these mudders webbed things? *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
At 02:38 PM 5/26/98 -0500, Christine Wein wrote: > >> For Muddy situations we use a product called Mudders, I think Cabalas has >> them. They allow you to walk on mud that you would not usually be able to > >In the north we have snowshoes. Are these mudders webbed things? No they are not webbed,They look like /|__|\ from the side with your foot in the U . The little wing like thingys flair out when you step and it increases your SQ. FT for your weight or some thing of the sorts. Dana *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
In a message dated 98-05-26 17:42:37 EDT, dldecker_at_mediaone.net writes: << No they are not webbed,They look like /|__|\ from the side with your foot in the U . The little wing like thingys flair out when you step and it increases your SQ. FT for your weight or some thing of the sorts. >> Sorta like sponsons? Joq *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
At 09:10 PM 5/26/98 EDT, JCMARTIN43 wrote: >In a message dated 98-05-26 17:42:37 EDT, dldecker_at_mediaone.net writes: > ><< No they are not webbed,They look like /|__|\ from the side with your foot > in the U . The little wing like thingys flair out when you step and it > increases your SQ. FT for your weight or some thing of the sorts. > >> > >Sorta like sponsons? > >Joq NOT in this life, they ain't yeller, or round, or float, or have tim Sp*ns*n promoting them and I know Mudders work, I am living proof, cause I ain't still stuck in the MUD and won't be as long as I usem. ( this means no) Dana *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
> << No they are not webbed,They look like /|__|\ from the side with > your foot > in the U . The little wing like thingys flair out when you step and > it > increases your SQ. FT for your weight or some thing of the sorts. > >> > > Sorta like sponsons? > Ooooooo, you used the "S" word, shame on you. Now they've got me thinking about the frog flipper thingies snorklers use. I'd use my snowshoes but I'm afraid the crampons would scratch the deck. Besides, then I'd have to clean them. I think I'll just tie my sneakers on real tight or wait for the tide to come in. How long can that take? *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
Sisler, Clyde wrote: > I think I'll just tie my sneakers on real tight or wait for the tide to come in. How long can that take? It can take a while.... Recent personal experience leads me to believe that it can take too long. On a recent "expedition" to Chassahowitzka NWR on the west coast of Florida I made a serious error and paddled on the wrong side of an island on the way to the Gulf. My friends were in the channel and I was stuck fast on a bottomless mud flat. My calculations were that I had about 4 hours before I would float free. I developed a new stoke that my friends dubbed the "mud two step". I was able to boost myself up to straddle the rear deck of my Arluk and attempt to stand. I was able to slide my boat foward about a foot for each step. It took me about 20 minutes but I made it to the channel. I dont ever want to do that again. Before that "lesson" I thought I only had to worry about large waves, fog, boaters, if my roll is bomb proof, and green head flies now I worry about low tide. -- Hal Wilton, NH Power your boat with carbohydrates, not hydrocarbons. http://www.jlc.net/~hlevin *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
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