Beast scouters please read

[oldrank]

A good friend of mine n fellow beast was doing some scouting today n went through the ice in a swamp.. quick thinking saved his life. He made a phone call to my cousin n luckily had a whistle on him. He used his knife to get out if the ice but was severely hypothermic when my cousin found him n is in the hospital tonite... take a few minutes to prepare a safety kit n always make sure someone knows where u r.

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[olivertractor]

Scary deal, good to hear it wasn't more serious!

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[headgear]

Scary, been there a few times but not nearly as bad. I've been able to catch myself at waist or chest height. A lot of swamps don't freeze completely like a lake would, there can be somekind of current or thermal activity that can be dangerous. If you break in deep water you could be in some serious trouble like your friend, glad he is ok.

[kurt]

Im so glad everything went alright

Ive fell thru several times just not anywhere too deep just above waist line twice , if it was deep or have some current thats would be scary. But I lost a pair of knee boots once I just wouldn't reach in watery muck for them. I walked out in the snow in my socks A little over a mile.

The one thing I will say that scared me the first time is once your cloth's get wet it adds a ton of weight and I fell thru again with just my knees on ice. A full face-er with a mouth full of marsh water. I ended breaking ice all the way to the cattails which were not too far. Got up on them and cruised out of their that time I wasn't very far in 1/2 mile tops.

[Zona]

Hope all goes well. Thanks for the much needed reminder.

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[Jackson Marsh]

Glad to hear your friend is going to be okay. Stuff like that happens fast, always a good reminder to stay safe.

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[Dewey]

Cattail marshes and swamps can be really dangerous because some spots never really freeze. Been in situations myself a few times but luckily it never happened on a really frigid day. When your miles from the vehicle it can turn bad in a hurry.

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[Stanley]

Yep you gotta be safe.

[dan]

Marshes are often floating bogs. Under the cattails is just muck and water. Some spots are like walking on a water bed... Avoid spots where there are no cattails or brush. Often, if it can't support a cattail, it can't support you. Do not walk in the center of the trail. Deer hooves cut holes that make that area weak. Deer often travel down these trails on there bellies more hopping than walking. Walk to the sides and step on top of cattail roots. They will support you... No matter how cold it is, never trust the ice. Rotting vegetation in the muck creates heat and you never know where these "hot spots" are... I have gone thru bad on many occasions, if your in bad shape you may want to take someone with you.
When YOU GO THRU, bend at the waist anmd reach out to grab cattails or ground then crawl out of the hole forward if you can... We had an older guy go thru here once to his arm pits and they put plywood around him to pull him up and still couldn't so they got a snow mobile and hooked a strap around him and pulled him out... He came out with no boots, but they got him out.

[hunter_mike]

Wow hope he recovers well. Good point about the knife, that is something i never thought of.

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[whitetailassasin]

Glad to hear your buddy made it and very valuable lesson to be learned when scouting frozen marsh.

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[stash59]

Hope your buddy heals fast. I went through on Wednesday. Not too deep but when I went to catch myself my left arm went in too. Wrung out my wool mitts and it was cold enough to freeze everything else quickly. This actually is better than if it's warmer and you stay wet. I'm going to wear my neoprene chest waders from now on. And bring extra gloves and mitts. You can't be too careful.

[welded34]

I hope he's alright and thanks for the reminder.

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[Wlog]

That's scary stuff. It happened to me last year and luckily it was only waist deep. Trouble is I was about a mile from my truck. I just walked as fast as I could to keep my body temp. up. I stripped down at the truck and rode home naked. I'm glad I didn't get pulled over.

[checkerfred]

Marshes are often floating bogs. Under the cattails is just muck and water. Some spots are like walking on a water bed... Avoid spots where there are no cattails or brush. Often, if it can't support a cattail, it can't support you. Do not walk in the center of the trail. Deer hooves cut holes that make that area weak. Deer often travel down these trails on there bellies more hopping than walking. Walk to the sides and step on top of cattail roots. They will support you... No matter how cold it is, never trust the ice. Rotting vegetation in the muck creates heat and you never know where these "hot spots" are... I have gone thru bad on many occasions, if your in bad shape you may want to take someone with you.
When YOU GO THRU, bend at the waist anmd reach out to grab cattails or ground then crawl out of the hole forward if you can... We had an older guy go thru here once to his arm pits and they put plywood around him to pull him up and still couldn't so they got a snow mobile and hooked a strap around him and pulled him out... He came out with no boots, but they got him out.

Is there a thread or could be start a thread on safe swamp navigation? I've only been in a swamp 1 time. I started to cross a bog like area that had vegetation growth but was low. It moved like a water bed and I didn't feel comfortable so I backed out. I never crossed the cattails either. I didn't know about some of this stuff you mentioned. I ain't gotta worry about ice.

I've thought it might be helpful to carry a lightweight painter's pole for checking depths and whatnot.

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