![]() Quicksand is loose soil saturated with water. But don’t worry, here are a couple of steps that you can take so you can try to extract yourself from one. While it isn’t usually as dangerous as you may think, being in one can still be panic-inducing. Quicksand can usually be found near bodies of water like rivers and lakes, and some of them can even “move around” depending on different conditions. Quicksand is loose, fine soil that’s saturated with water and may appear solid until it’s abruptly disturbed by changes in the environment and it liquefies. She had sunk in knee deep.Are you getting that sinking feeling? It may not be just anxiety, you might have stepped on quicksand. I laid down a couple small cottonwood logs to get close and ensure I didn't sink in and it didn't take long to get her out. That woman in coyote gulch is the only person I've ever seen really stuck in quicksand, and I found out later she was carrying something like 11 liters of water, as well as heavy gear in general, so a heavy pack was probably what really got her in trouble. If youre stuck good you may have to try to dig a bit. Trekking poles, sticks, a pack, sit or lay down. ![]() The best thing to do if you do get stuck is to find a way to distribute your weight across the sand and work on getting whatever part of you is stuck out. If it's not too bad and you're not too heavy, moving quickly will get you across some that's not too bad (or will just get you in deep if you've misjudged.). Of course in a narrow canyon that's not always possible. Best thing to do is to just find a different way when things get squishy. I worry more about getting stuck in mud than quicksand here. Nebraska actually has tons of it because a huge part of the state is sand, and most rivers are very sandy. So also, anywhere where there is a spring in even a flat sandy area can have some quicksand. In springy spots, natural water pressure pushes the water up through the sand to give the quicksand effect. Basically anywhere water is moving downstream/downhill through sand then begins coming back out of it. Along rivers and streams, downstream ends of sandbars or upper ends of old channels are common places to find it. Here is is usually associated with streams, rivers, or sometimes springs. Often there are spots of it that are barely even noticeable until you stand still for a while and begin sinking. Here it's usually a pretty gradual change. The sand seems to start to liquify around your feet. Easiest way I tend to recognize it, where sand is the surface material, is that it starts to get a bit squishy and you see significant water around your footsteps. ![]() I'll admit my experience with quicksand in desert areas is very limited, most of my experience with it is in sandy rivers here in Nebraska. ![]() This was me in the first incident I mentioned. One minute I'm in calf to knee deep water, the next my legs are encased in what feels like concrete and I'm forced to nearly kiss the river as I try to keep as much of my pack out of the water as possible. The actual consistency was not really sandy or muddy at all. Nearly every corner was dangerous quicksand. On another trip on the middle Escalante, we were doing a big loop right after a massive flood event. One time on the upper Escalante we rounded a corner and I went from walking in 2" deep water to being up to my thighs in a matter of seconds. Usually one step is a warning and you can scurry out of the way. Or often it's on the banks where water is suspended in the sand. Quicksand usually occurs with flowing water and can be hard to see at all. I consider the two to be usually, but not always, different things. There's quicksand and then there's stagnant pools with silt mud like the photo above. ![]()
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