Sounds like a blast
Enjoy it why you can!!

 

Then you woke up?? "Now the rest of the story"

 

Oh....re-living the good old days.

 

Hey @JCat Haven't seen you around here in awhile. Welcome back.

 

Thanks!

There I was, stuck almost waist deep in the absolute worst muck I have ever encountered in my whole life. When you are 68 years old (but still feel like you’re 20) you can’t help but think about the worst case scenario. All sorts of possible outcomes raced through my mind. I realized quickly that I needed to stop and rest my rapidly beating heart. This was obvious and it seemed like it took forever. 20 seconds, 40 seconds, 1 minute seemed like forever. I eventually tried pulling up one leg. I pulled and pulled and could only move it about a 1/2 inch. Even moving it sideways took a monumental effort. The muck was like a vacuum, and my heavy motocross boots felt like lead weights. Imagine them acting like giant hooks or boat anchors. I briefly thought about yelling for help, but quickly realized that the noise from my Grizzly’s running engine would drown me out.

 

See how the mud looked unassuming:

 

My gear that day:

 

Gosh that mud does look terrible.
Looks very sticky.

 

Lesson learned, had a city fellow do that last year, up to the seat in gumbo mud, he managed to jump to dry ground. He was hoping I could pull him out, a fantasy dream. Then he backed his truck in a bit too far, sank it to the frame. 2 hours later and a mid sized tow truck he was out. I would poke a mudhole with a long stick before even thinking about that. Then again, I don't do mud or water at any cost.

 

Some of you may think I was a dumb arse, but I had never been in such a deep mess, nor seen anyone else in a similar predicament. Apparently there are well tested strategies and methods to free oneself from thick DEEP gooey mud . . . . which I did not know about at that time.

Since my boots definitely felt like boat anchors, I thought "Maybe I should try to remove them". They each have 4 or 5 buckles AND a (hefty) Velcro strap at their tops. Now try to imagine reaching 36"+ down into the muck and un-fastening all of this. Not gonna happen.

I then decided that I really needed to turn off the Grizzly's engine. I imagined precious seconds were ticking away (more panic). I felt like every move I made, made my situation worse. I leaned over forwards and grabbed onto the Grizzly's front rack. Pulling myself as hard as I could, I tried to reach the Grizzly's key, so I could turn it off (saving gas and battery). As hard as I tried, I could not reach it. I then realized that maybe I could turn the handle bars, and slide the red switch to off (ironically I once thought this switch was redundant). After a few tries, I succeeded.

Feeling like a DUM AZZ, I started yelling HELP !! HELP !! HELP !! Here I was, in central Alabama, in the middle of nowhere, with no near-by roads or houses, stuck waste deep in orange Alabama clay, screaming like a baby. It was a humbling experience.

 

Quite a tale....
Oh the good things in life 😂 😂 😂

 

A good reason that I avoid unknown mud or water crossings...the rest of the story is how did you get out?

 

After yelling for help, I stood there silently for a few moments staring at the sky and listening for anyone to reply. There was no response. I tried pulling myself out using the Grizzly’s front rack. The mud was just too grippy. I could barely move my feet. I considered falling forward or backward onto the top of the mud, but (not knowing better) I decided that might be a bad idea. (Now that I’ve read about escape techniques I realize that probably would have worked.)

 

I thought about using my cell phone to call for help. It occurred to me that my r e d n e c k friends and in-laws (I’m from Michigan) would never let me live this down. They would tease me relentlessly to the day I died. I decided that was a definite NOT GONNA DO THAT.
I thought about calling 911. I realized the risk of the same embarrassment (as above) was also a strong possibility. NOT GONNA DO THAT.
After about what seemed like 15 minutes of thinking and struggling, I heard the noise from a very loud ATV nearby. It was so loud, that I knew yelling for help would not work. As it got closer, I decided to wave and flap my arms to increase the possibility of someone seeing me. (I felt like a giant Dodo Bird. 🥴

 

JCat - if in the heat of the moment you were “thinking about Embarrassment“ then you were NEVER in Danger.

 

JCat —— sooo what happened? Assume you survived? Your Griz survived? Where is the “Rest of your story?” Real quicksand is extremely rare, and I too would’ve jumped off the ATV and pushed it on to firmer ground or back towards where I was coming from. At some point - you can always get out, with a winch, rope, come-along, friends etc.. Then the next time you approach a swampy area you’re unfamiliar with - don‘t be the 1st to ride thru it…..or get off and Walk-it-First.

 

I guess he's still standing out there in the mud.

 

@JCat Good story. I'm patiently waiting for the next chapter to unfold.

 

🙂

Come to find out later, he is famous in these here parts. 😎

 

"Hush now," the one youngster advised the other "we all need a hand every now and then." When I turned my head a bit, I could see they were ready to toss me a line. "I wish we had one of those red round disc sleds like they use up in Michigan, it would make getting you out a lot more fun."

 

When I heard the ATV in the distance, it appeared to get closer, then wane away. After what seemed like forever, I heard it approaching from across the lake (in Michigan it would be a pond). My head was at approximately ground level, and my waving hands not much higher. I started yelling help again and waved my hands in that general direction. Eventually I could see the ATV across the lake. It was probably 225.5 feet away. I changed my waving method to a "come to me motion" just in case the ATV rider might think that I was just a friendly fisherman. I wasn't sure, but I thought the rider saw me, and was trying to find away to circle the lake to get to me.
After what seemed like forever, this young man on an (super loud) ATV with 32" swamp tires pulled up to where I entered the quagmire. He shut off his machine and walked as close as he could to me, and said, "I ain't got no rope". I said that's okay, can you please help me? He said again, I ain't got no rope !". Then he said, "I wuda never gone dat way".

I immediately thought that he was smarter than me.

 

My primary concern was to get my body out of the mud. I quickly realized that this young man was probably not capable of pulling me out, so I asked him if he knew someone strong that could. He said, “My cousin Taylor is strong!”. I replied, “Can you go get him?” He said he would. He got on his machine, and tried three times to get it running. Finally it started and he left. His machine appeared well used and worn out. I think it was a Can-Am.
Well I had some hope now. I wanted to believe that help was coming.

 

My primary concern was to get my body out of the mud. I quickly realized that this young man was probably not capable of pulling me out, so I asked him if he knew someone strong that could. He said, “My cousin Taylor is strong!”. I replied, “Can you go get him?” He said he would. He got on his machine, and tried three times to get it running. Finally it started and he left. His machine appeared well used and worn out. I think it was a Can-Am.
Well I had some hope now. I wanted to believe that help was coming.

JCat - wake us up when you get to the part where you reached your computer and finally posted on GrizzlyCentral

 

After what seemed like eternity (I had time standing there to ponder the origins of the universe) my savior returned with his cuz Taylor. Taylor looked to be about 17 years old. He wasn’t tall or big, but he did appear to be physically fit. Taylor walked over to me and smiled. He looked things over and commented,”I wud’nt have gone this way.” I said thanks and asked him if he could pull me out. He said “no problem” with a smile and grabbed my right arm.
Now I’m may be 68, but I’d consider myself to be decently strong. I had just dug up my house waterline (with a shovel) to repair a leak, which was not a task for a weak person.
Taylor grabbed my arm and started pulling. I didn’t expect him to be so strong. Right away I felt like my arm was gonna be pulled completely off and away from the rest of my body. I calmly said whoa, let’s pull slow and steady. Taylor complied, and with his slow, constant, and consistent pulling I managed to free one of my legs and rest it on my Grizzly’s front rack. We took a brief break, and continued the effort. Miraculously I got my other leg out. Both were still covered in heavy mud, and very difficult to move.
After scraping as much mud off of me as I could, I worked my way to safe and firm ground.
Taylor and Jackson were determined to pull my Grizzly out of the mudhole, but they both repeated “ we ain’t got no rope”. I told them I had a 2” X20’ tow strap that we could try. We hooked the strap to both machines, and they pulled and pulled and pulled. Their machine was choking and stalling almost every try. We tried jerking the Grizzy with a running start. No luck. My Grizzy was stuck just as bad as I was.

 

After what seemed like eternity (I had time standing there to ponder the origins of the universe) my savior returned with his cuz Taylor. Taylor looked to be about 17 years old. He wasn’t tall or big, but he did appear to be physically fit. Taylor walked over to me and smiled. He looked things over and commented,”I wud’nt have gone this way.” I said thanks and asked him if he could pull me out. He said “no problem” with a smile and grabbed my right arm.
Now I’m may be 68, but I’d consider myself to be decently strong. I had just dug up my house waterline (with a shovel) to repair a leak, which was not a task for a weak person.
Taylor grabbed my arm and started pulling. I didn’t expect him to be so strong. Right away I felt like my arm was gonna be pulled completely off and away from the rest of my body. I calmly said whoa, let’s pull slow and steady. Taylor complied, and with his slow, constant, and consistent pulling I managed to free one of my legs and rest it on my Grizzly’s front rack. We took a brief break, and continued the effort. Miraculously I got my other leg out. Both were still covered in heavy mud, and very difficult to move.
After scraping as much mud off of me as I could, I worked my way to safe and firm ground.
Taylor and Jackson were determined to pull my Grizzly out of the mudhole, but they both repeated “ we ain’t got no rope”. I told them I had a 2” X20’ tow strap that we could try. We hooked the strap to both machines, and they pulled and pulled and pulled. Their machine was choking and stalling almost every try. We tried jerking the Grizzy with a running start. No luck. My Grizzy was stuck just as bad as I was.

JCat - you’re “68” and might think you’re “Physically fit” and maybe you are FOR 68….but you just got stuck in the MUD like a 5 year old and couldn’t get yourself out = Old Man Syndrome ie: happens when you get older, you “think” you are better then you really are, remember what You “use to be like” and missed what has happened over the past 30-40 years. That 17 year old kid that pulled you out “might of been strong/fit” or he might’ve been the weakest kid in his class —- but compared to a 68 year old he was SUPERMAN

 

WOW, WTF, WAD
If say to you @Old Griz what is on my mind we will never hear the end of the story as the mod's will most likely shut it down.

 

Reogem, enjoy a little humor and I’m not sure there is going to be an “end of the Story”…. Dragging on a bit. But< I never want to offend anyone and that was Not my intent ((Don’t want to be a Stick-In-the-MUD !

 

As I get older I find myself being less of a risk taker. On the afternoon this happened I avoided these obstacles (and quite a few others):

 

Cat - thats was SMART

 

By contrast, this is where I got stuck (picture after the helicopter lifted my Grizzly out of the mud j/k):

 

For a perspective on the area this occurred in:
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