Treking through boggy land - a query

[Papa Bear]

My recent hikes and adventures coupled with recent weather trends, have taken me more often than I would like though boggy area.

From crossable flooding (say 10' long by 8" deep) on woods roads to less easily crossable areas in log yards and skid roads (20-30' by 12" - but with grass on top), and finally to beaver ponds where the standing water and mud underneath may be several feet in depth.

Beavers take out a road

Often in boggy areas, say along the US-Canada border swath, you can sometimes manage to step on the grass and vegetation and sometimes move on to the next spot it before you sink. Or some times not.

Places like this

I just got a pair of 16" Bean boots, and even they just put off the inevitable.

What do pros do? Surveyors, forest engineers, loggers, boundary perambulators? What to they do? What do you guys do?

I have opted out of the Fisherman's hip boots or complete (arm pit?) boots for fear of falling over and drowning. Besides I could hardly hike the miles before during and after the boggy parts in such.

Here's an idea: for vegetated bogs, wear snow shoes or something similar, and try to keep above the vegetation and not sink? But I have visions of the snow shoes getting stuck in the mud and my days ending with the bottom (of me) drowning and the top (of me) being eaten alive by bugs.

Should I contemplate a rubber raft for big areas? Or would that be a wasted effort getting the thing in and out.

Anyone have any clever solutions? Thanks.

 

[sardog1]

Hip boots are widely used in AK for miles of tramping. Roll the tops down when you don't need them up.

If you're doing this sort of thing a lot, you might consider taking the plunge (sorry, couldn't resist) and buying the pricey but much-acclaimed Alpacka Raft for the deeper and wider traverses.

 

[John H Swanson]

Interesting point

Generally my route will depend on my current condition (dry/wet) If my boots are wet then I just splash my way through, However, if the water is deeper than 12" then I do not wade.

If my boots are dry, I attempt to keep them dry. So I select the most efficient route to get past the obstacle with dry boots. Some times I will walk the beaver dam if it looks passable or hop from tussok to tussok. Or at times I make a very large bypass. Of course this adds distance and time.

 

[jniehof]

The First Nations folks up in northern Ontario would use snowshoes to cross muskeg. However they used much closer to old-style bearpaw construction than the modern, smaller western snowshoe. I understand it takes a lot more skill than using them on snow.

 

[DougPaul]

The First Nations folks up in northern Ontario would use snowshoes to cross muskeg. However they used much closer to old-style bearpaw construction than the modern, smaller western snowshoe. I understand it takes a lot more skill than using them on snow.

Back when I started winter hiking (~1974), the flat bearpaw was the "standard" NE hiking snowshoe. (Many others on this BBS were also winter hiking back then.) The short, flat front makes kicking steps easier and they are a bit wider than the modern snowshoe. The older snowshoes were also larger and thus better in fresh powder than the currently popular (undersized) snowshoes (which are really designed for packed/semi-packed trails). Some modern snowshoes have better crampons than were in common use on the old snowshoes. Otherwise, they are pretty similar.

Doug

 

[nartreb]

Just get wet. It's ninety-five F (30C) out there!

 

[dentonfabrics]

I have opted out of the Fisherman's hip boots or complete (arm pit?) boots for fear of falling over and drowning. Besides I could hardly hike the miles before during and after the boggy parts in such.

When you wear the complete boots or waders, you wear them with a waist belt which should prevent you from drowning, if not falling over. But yes, you're right, even the most "breathable" models would be too heavy to hike miles with, especially in this weather.

 

[cushetunk]

The pros face all the same imperfect choices in this matter that the rest of us face. The primary difference is, if they choose wrong, they just keep going and deal with it. Foresters and their ilk don't really have a culture of whining. Of course, it is helpful to be getting paid -- and to have a job that needs doing -- if you wish to maintain this nonchalance.

 

[Barbarossa]

For that Beaver Pond, some kind of water shoe would suffice. It's not deep and the bed should still be quite firm. The grassy area looks like it could suck the Crocs off your foot

This summer I have crossed some areas where I did wish I was carrying my snowshoes.

Do you carry the Bean boots for wet areas or hike in them full time? Some conditions seem to warrant extra shoes, not just extra socks.

 

[RoySwkr]

I believe the fortress of Louisbourg was captured by soldiers snowshoeing over a swamp.

I guess it depends on whether you have to reach a point in the swamp like a BM, generally peaks are not in swamps and I just go around Back when survey lines were actually run in the woods, if your route crossed a swamp you could do an offset to go around unless you needed to set a corner inside. Similarly a timber cruiser who felt there was no merchantable timber in the swamp could just map the perimeter, if there were black gum trees that you wanted come back when it's frozen to measure them

Saturday I visited an island in a swamp by walking across ladders that someone had helpfully placed on the surface.