Mud!
I don't have much experience hiking in mud.
How do you keep youself and your gear clean?
Tips in general appreciated....
Thanks!
=============================Originally Posted by Froggy
That's a great question. Looking forward to the answers you get.
Your post reminded me of a section, think it was in Virginia in 2003. The mud was ridiculous. Take one step and slide 3 - 4 feet. Only thing I remember was somehow NOT falling, which would have been a disaster. Finally got to a stream, sat down and took off my shoes/socks and soaked the mud off.
That said ...my "tip" is to walk very slowly and take small steps. Key is to avoid falling !!
'Slogger
The more I learn ...the more I realize I don't know.
why would you want clean gear!?!?! i stomp into every mud hole i see allong the way it completes the look.
You basically have two choices:
A. wear gators and wash yourself and gear as much as possible.
B. Stay inside!
geek
P.S. B. is why I carry the Jack Daniels
not usually much you can do. i'd walk around every mud hole and collected water puddle for a whole morning and eventually there was always one i couldn't avoid going right through. most always i'd just stay dirty until i should shower in the next town stop.
if your shoes get really muddy it's sometimes nice to wash them out in the stream (far downstream from where people get their drinking water, of course). because the mud and grit can cause blisters the next day. Then just rest the shoes upside down at night for some of the water to drip out--not that they'll get completely dry.
carrying a decent number of extra socks helps, either to change in the next day, but at the least you'll want dry socks to sleep in at night.
I had sandals as camp shoes, and they were sturdy enough to hike in, so in the mud and rain, i'd switch to those and go barefoot and just plow right through. a quick footwash at night and everything stayed a lot cleaner when it got drier out.
all the best.
Consider it a religous experience.
Upon creating heavens and earth and having rested a day, God created Mud in Vermont. "And God saw the mud that he had made there in the garden of Vermont, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, an eighth day."
(Whenever I see an old movie about the trenches of WW1, I think of Vermud.)
If its muddy below your ankles, just trudge on carefully, wipe with leaves, scrape with fallen branches....wouldn't waste any water cleaning boots in the mountains, wait till you're in town.
If its mud above your ankles, that is getting inside your shoes, I recommend taking off those shoes and walking in your washable shoes (crocs, waders, whatever) till you get passed the mud fields.
No washable shoes, you say? Oops.
Any suggestions for what to do with a muddy footprint/tent? I don't mind me being muddy but I'd rather not put a mud-caked tent in my pack and I don't really like putting it in a plastic bag when bunched up in mud because it causes the fabric to weaken as the mud dries in the creases.
hammock! was i really the first response
Lazarus
That's what vestibules are for.
Other than that, your gear is going to get dirty.
Some tips:
Carry a Tyvec mat (2' x 2' will do) to set your pack on. put it somewhere you can reach with your pack on, put it down before your pack. you can also sit on it. OR: only set down on clean rocks, or thick ground cover.
Take small, gentle steps to avoid splash.
As mentioned, gaiters can help.
Don't fall.
Most of the above becomes a pain in the a** after a while, or is nearly impossible, especially the "don't fall" hint. If doing a long distance hike, you will get: wet, cold, muddy, dirty, stinky, etc. so get used to it, or stay home.
Curse you Perry the Platypus!
Tyvek ground sheet worked fine for me. When it dries, shake it out. But you are not usually not in that many muddy areas to camp. Now hiking - that's another story.
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