About things getting stuck....:))

From a 'my pond is bigger than yours!' conversation....)

'What depth have we reached, skipper?'

xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> add some grass on top and it sounds a lot like our 'skag'
> Wayne

That reminds me of another very different type of "mudhole", which I
assume that Wayne and the guys have encountered too.

A pond out in the taiga or tundra which has no outlet will slowly fill
in to become a meadow as the decaying plant mater on the bottom and
around the edges fills it in over a loing stretch of time. However,
before it is actually filled in, the root "mat" will extend outward from
the edges to meet in the middle of seal it off, while there is still a
lot of room underneath that holds nothing but water and thin gruel. You
can walk out on this mat and bounce like walking on a big water bed. In
some cases you can drive an ATV across it. In *some* cases you can drive
a larger vehicle across it. But... It is bad enough when you break
through the top if it while walking. It is a lot worse when you drop the
front of your ATV through the mat. (I did a real nice roll over the
handlebars once when the front tires of my machine dropped into a break
in a mat and stopped all forward motion immediately). It REALLY sucks
when it is your FJ55 with the fronts slipping into the black nastiness
under the moss and grass roots.

It is often difficult to detect these spots without a bit of
experience and attention. It is not usually a problem for most off
roaders driving 4x4 vehicles that are basically street legal rigs,
because most of them are sticking to established trails. For folks on
ATVs or driving tundra buggies (usually out hunting or something related
to that) it can be a bigger concern because they are more likely to be
off of the beaten tracks.

A friend of mine was involved with walking a cat into a placer mine
about 20 years ago. Fortunately he was just a kid at the time, an
unskilled grunt worker with no authority or ultimate responsibility for
the equipment. I think it was a D6 or something comaparable. They
crossed what appeared to be a solid meadow. The weight of the cat proved
it to be otherwise however. They didn't just get stuck. They sunk that
thing out of sight and AFAIK it was never recovered.


Ponds evolving into meadows can be nasty places to encounter unawares.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

--
Bye,

Willem-Jan Markerink

The desire to understand
is sometimes far less intelligent than
the inability to understand

>
[note: 'a-one' & 'en-el'!]

"Willem-Jan Markerink" > wrote in message > ...
> From a 'my pond is bigger than yours!' conversation....)
>
> 'What depth have we reached, skipper?'
>
> xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > add some grass on top and it sounds a lot like our 'skag'
> > Wayne
>
> That reminds me of another very different type of "mudhole", which I
> assume that Wayne and the guys have encountered too.
>
>
> Ponds evolving into meadows can be nasty places to encounter unawares.
> xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
> --

Have had similar problems in florida swamps. Grass and reeds grow on
the flats during dry spells, but when you break thru the surface layer
it is just mud and muck underneath!

"Willem-Jan Markerink" > wrote in message > ...
> From a 'my pond is bigger than yours!' conversation....)
>
> 'What depth have we reached, skipper?'
>
> xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > add some grass on top and it sounds a lot like our 'skag'
> > Wayne
>
> That reminds me of another very different type of "mudhole", which I
> assume that Wayne and the guys have encountered too.
>
>
> Ponds evolving into meadows can be nasty places to encounter unawares.
> xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
> --

Have had similar problems in florida swamps. Grass and reeds grow on
the flats during dry spells, but when you break thru the surface layer
it is just mud and muck underneath!