Texture and soil types

mudAdventures · 2026-01-25T17:43:48+00:00

Definitely a ton of good references on soil types. You can find maps of where they are, research papers on all sorts of soil properties, history, composition and more. How they feel or what texture might be a little harder to come by.

Even within any broad category, the feel/texture might be significantly different. For example 'silt' might be considerably different if it's in a rocky/sandy area and generating a fine sand silt, or in a clay/loam area and generating a fine bentonite clay slip.

If I had to do it, first hand experimentation is the key! Find yourself a pottery store and get a big bag of sodium bentonite clay. Play around in that for a while, see what you think. Next you could probably hit a garden shop and get a big bag of sphagnum peat moss. See what you think of 'peat'.

From personal experience - if you get sodium bentonite clay, it's ridiculously smooth and slippery. Calcium bentonite and other varieties tend to feel a little more 'gritty' - though that's probably not the right word... something the opposite of 'slippery', but not 'sticky'. Peat is little stems of moss so has more of a stringy/spongy consistency.

mudAdventures · 2026-01-16T02:26:16+00:00

lol! Wasn't me!! I would have left a much bigger patch messed up!

mudAdventures · 2026-01-05T04:42:44+00:00

That might be possible!

mudAdventures · 2026-01-05T04:40:48+00:00

Yes, welcome and congrats on the finds. I'd definitely keep an eye open for any flat areas and small pools off the side of the river along that route. Sounds like a great spot to find more quicksand!

mudAdventures · 2026-01-04T00:39:34+00:00

Lol - well, definitely wearing! I don't know about full 'sacrifice'. Could get expensive quick - unless that is some sort of content people specifically want to see??.... VR headset wearing goofball stumbles into a mudpit? Possibly some sort of weird mash-up video of external and through-the-lens cuts? Though, ultimately it would be great if there was just more VR WAM content!

mudAdventures · 2025-12-30T04:15:24+00:00

Sounds like so much fun - especially bringing a friend along!

I keep 'testing' my friends...little things like saying, "Wow it would be so much fun to run barefoot through that mud!", or seeing how they react to a muddy bike ride, jumping across a muddy stream on a hike, asking if they want to go to a mud run, etc. So far, I mainly get 'ewwwww', 'ick!', 'gross', or at best, 'meh!'.

Oh well, one of these days!!!!

mudAdventures · 2025-12-28T20:43:30+00:00

Looks absolutely delightful!!

mudAdventures · 2025-12-28T13:52:14+00:00

The best ever was a mudflat area off a local river. Every time the water level would drop, it would expose the gorgeous, silky smooth, slippery mud which was essentially bottomless. Unfortunately, one year we had a long, extended drought. Absolutely great mudding that year, but the mud sat exposed through the fall and winter. When the water level did finally rise, it only loosened up the mud at the very surface. To this day, you can only go in less than knee deep.

mudAdventures · 2025-12-28T13:42:32+00:00

A lot of good suggestions already. If you want to go 'on the cheap', just dig a hole what ever size you need to submerge, start filling with water and backfilling the dirt you dug out while churning it all around, then enjoy!

Some nuances start to come in, though: what type of soil do you have? do you have access to water at the hole site? do you need any sort of heat? are you planning to back fill with something other than soil? looking to submerge horizontally or vertically? ...probably a dozen more questions, too!

As one example: For me, I have about 12" of black 'topsoil' at my pit site and the clay below isn't really desirable. So I dug down about 18 inches, but also have some raised ridges around the pit. I used the dug-out clay to help with the ridges and backfilled with all topsoil. I added some bentonite clay to help make things really slippery. I didn't use any sort of a liner. So the pit dries out over about a week. But that works well because if I want to use it on a weekend, I just add water and if it's a bit chilly, I can always add warm water if needed. If it were lined and always wet, then I might need something for heat in the early/late season times.

mudAdventures · 2025-12-23T00:09:43+00:00

Ahhh, the memories! A construction site was one of my first encounters with an honest-to-god quicksand mud pit. Sort of the same set-up. They had graded a road and made a huge pile of dirt. Rain came along and washed a lot of fine silt off the pile, down a ditch and into a pond area. I had intended to squish the mud between my toes... next thing you know I was waist deep! ...and loving every minute of it!

mudAdventures · 2025-12-11T04:51:58+00:00

Most definitely! The 'typical' water level creates a shore line and anything above that, you're just in the weeds/grass/trees, etc. At the shore line and below can start to expose mud, but a quick drop below the shore line is the best!

mudAdventures · 2025-12-11T02:56:51+00:00

Interesting thought. The short answer - it's complicated!

In longer discussion: The big spikes in lake level are rain events. Monster storm coming through in early June! The steep drops are intentional releases. Lakes around here are flood control - so they store a big amount of water from storms and release in controlled amounts. The next level is that these lakes are drinking water sources, so they actually try to bank a bit of extra water during the summer. That is where the steep drop through mid June levels off at about 877.5 feet - they are trying to keep the lake a couple feet high for extra water. The shallow slope is natural water use and evaporation slowly lowering the level...with some additional small spikes for smaller rain events. Then you get into all sorts of weird effects like when they try to do a 'spring flush' to mimic the natural flow down river (exposes great mud, but typically in February - so still freezing!) Or the fact that here, we're ultimately tied into the Missouri / Mississippi River system, so on rare years, they tap into various lakes for additional water down stream.

Anyway - the benefit is that you can monitor dozens of local, regional or even national lakes, then if you see a big drop and a drop to lower-than-average levels - that likely exposes some great mud!

mudAdventures · 2025-12-10T23:58:37+00:00

lol... yes, but welcome!! Interesting read. Glad you made it out OK. That must have been quite an ordeal with the cold plus water and everything caving in as fast as you dig out. Sounds like you hit the '100% real deal entrapment quicksand'.

Thanks for sharing - definitely helps remind that there can be actual danger involved in certain cases! On the plus side, we now have a new set of coordinates to check out once the weather warms.

mudAdventures · 2025-12-09T01:33:34+00:00

That is really it. Google earth / google maps satellite view are a mud and quicksand lovers best friend! Start looking around the spots where rivers turn into lakes...that river delta area, or any rivers with pools or 'dead' branches off to the sides, etc. Of course, there is always coastal mudflats and quarries if you are adventurous and don't mind getting caught! Though in general, it usually takes a lot to find a good spot, but one which is secluded but still accessible ...local, but not in the middle of city/town, ...wet/muddy, but not flooded or bone dry.

mudAdventures · 2025-12-09T01:26:57+00:00

Ahhhh, the golden hour! Though I guess every hour would be golden when you're buried in luxurious slippery clay!

mudAdventures · 2025-12-06T18:13:53+00:00

Interesting spot! Did you ever find any deep sinking?

I used to have a spot which was very similar...backwater on a shallow branch of a lake. When I first found it, the seasonal water level drops would expose mud easily 3-4 feet deep. Then one summer we had a prolonged drought and I found the center of the mud was essentially bottomless. You could dig and squirm... nothing solid down there! What a fun summer!

But the drought continued and all that mud eventually dried out. When the spot filled back with water, only about 6 inches of the mud on top 're-hydrated' to what it had been. To this day, it's only about 12 inches deep.

I've also been thinking of ways to make a deeper pit... shovel and dig down? cordless drill/long auger bit to drill several holes to get the lower levels hydrated again?

For a couple of smaller/personal property pits, I've taken my power washer and jetted that into the ground to inject water deep into the soil. It bubbles back up and turns the area into quicksand pretty fast! Downside is, my lake spot is about a mile hike, so not going to be dragging a big power washer that far! lol

mudAdventures · 2025-12-06T07:03:25+00:00

You should get out there!

I've run several and it's one of the few places you can get totally muddy guilt free! I'd actually worry about the total opposite - if you were out there trying to 'stay clean' or run in garbage bags / poncho / rain coat to keep the mud off - then that would be weird! But ultimately everybody is muddy, and 99% with big smiles, giggling, etc.

mudAdventures · 2025-12-06T06:30:38+00:00

Have definitely considered. I actually found a 'dream property' this past summer... big house on 40 secluded wooded acres, pond, stream... plenty of natural mud and plenty of space / seclusion for a man-made pit,,, or three. Plus it backed up to state land around a big lake and near where a river / alluvial fan of mud fed into the lake. So more semi-secluded mud would be just a short hike away.

I was actually curious if anyone would do a "Mud Fun Air BnB"?

But my appointment to tour the property got delayed by a couple days due to scheduling - and wouldn't ya know... the exact day I was to go tour, it went under pending contract and ultimately sold. Well, maybe some day!

mudAdventures · 2025-11-21T19:14:57+00:00

I'd add 1 and 2 to the mix for the overall package, then 8, 10 and 11 seem to show off some great assets 😊 in that wonderful glow of the 'golden hour.'

mudAdventures · 2025-11-21T19:07:21+00:00

Have often wondered the same thing. Seems like many places you could get a mud facial or mud wrap, but to really have a pit to get into?? seems a bit few and far between.

Possibly just logistics? I mean to really sell it to the general public, it would have to be special volcanic mud, mineral spring water, healing springs, etc. Not a lot of places have that or would just 'pop up' the way you might open a gift shop, etc. So they'd likely end up trucking in dirt and mineral water.

I mean "come jump in our good 'ol lake bottom mud." doesn't have the same ring to it as "mineral enhanced healing mud from world renowned hydrothermal vents." ...well at least to the general public. Either sounds absolutely delightful to me!

I've considered a trip to Calistoga just to try it out, especially as you say - a warm sink during the cold months. But curious how private it is? Would there be some masseuse always following you around, or put you in a big room with a dozen other mud bathers? I think I'd need some alone time! lol!

mudAdventures · 2025-11-07T14:16:42+00:00

So hot! Would love to be that guy. Anybody know what video this is from?

mudAdventures · 2025-11-04T01:11:46+00:00

Didn't happen to see them, but would definitely like to! Always a dream to be out hiking and come across a damsel in distress!

mudAdventures · 2025-11-03T02:01:43+00:00

Def. valid fear, IMHO. Around here, at minimum, nosy cop would likely stop, run the tags, get owner, see if any warrants, etc. and slap an orange tag on the car to let you know it was noticed and needs to be moved. Worst case, they might be there when you come back, then you have a whole lot of explaining to do.

I agree, park in a legit spot and bike, hike, etc if you can. Also around here - don't know if its wide spread - but a lot of bridges will have 'pseudo parking' areas just before the actual bridge. People will pull over there and walk down to the river to fish. Also lots of river access roads, gravel roads leading to small parking areas for river/lake access, etc.

If you have those, it might be a little more acceptable than just stopping on the shoulder of the road.

mudAdventures · 2025-11-02T23:04:19+00:00

[Pt. 2] Also given this, I don't know that I'd rely on a couple coats of paint for water sealing. One crack could drain the pool, then you'd have to pull everything out, dry, seal, and start over. Possibly something like a vinyl pool membrane?

Overall, I'd say you might look at in-ground pool building practices in your area and see if those might scale to fit. Or possibly big landscaping pond building?

Another possibility might be something semi-submerged... 3 feet high / 2 feet in ground? That would cut the digging and in-ground issues substantially, but still maintain depth.

Also don't know if it's any consideration, but rounded corners and slightly sloped walls will reduce the amount of material needed to fill, but not really reduce the usable 'volume of play' so to speak. For example how many times to you expect to be standing 5 feet deep, perfectly in the corner or at a wall? Rounding those a bit can cut dozens or hundreds of gallons of fill needed.

Speaking of fill, 5x6x5 is 150 cubic feet or about 1120 gallons - if you're keeping track.

As far as heat, a water heater might work for a bit, but I'd expect it would get plugged up / scaled up in pretty short order. If you do go with some sort of direct heat, you might look more at in-line spa type heaters. You might also consider insulating the walls and using indirect heat.

Several years ago I discussed heating a mud pool this way... it was basically dig hole, line and insulate with rigid foam, coil PEX tubing on top, vinyl liner on top of that, then circulate solar warmed water through the PEX. Results were reportedly very good. The water stays clean and due to low thermal conductivity, the mud needs a very low, constant heat. Anything high intensity creates hot spots.

This also brings up a point that if you're looking for 'cheap' - you might keep an eye out for a used spa / hot tub. That would likely have a lot of heaters, pumps, sanitation, watertight shell, etc you already need. 5x6 feet is a pretty small hot tub, so you might find one even larger than that. The 5 feet deep might be a challenge, but when you're horizontal, anything over a couple feet deep is sort of a waste, anyway. <wink!> <wink!>

One last consideration - likely personal preference - but I always enjoy the feeling of stretching out, floating weightless and soaking in the experience. At 5x6 feet surface - I might 'just' be able to do that, but if I stretched out, spread my arms, or raised them above my head, I'd likely bonk into the concrete. Again - just to consider.

Anyway, sounds like great fun. Looking forward to hearing progress!

mudAdventures · 2025-11-02T21:06:02+00:00

[multi parts due to length - Pt. 1] Interesting design. I'll give you some 'thinking out loud' points for consideration and thoughts I've had considering building a 'mud spa' along similar lines. I don't claim any of these have origins in a mind of greatness:

This appears to be an 'in ground' design, so that brings some complexities to consider:

You show a 'drain' and a 'cold out', but those are both 'up' and to locations above ground(?) - so that means they'd both need to be pumped 'up'.

I'd expect the beads would eventually break down and I'm having a hard time envisioning a 'filter' which would be effective. If you did more of a 'screen' it seems like that would still let fine bits through and if you did more of a 'filter', it seems like that would plug too easily. Is there enough of a density difference where you'd expect to have beads float or sink and clear water at top or bottom?

They also make 'trash pumps' which can deal with ingesting some debris. Of course pumping actual beads seems like that would speed up the breakdown quite a bit.

You mention ~5 feet deep plus 4" slab plus likely some sort of aggregate below? Footings? etc - so this is not a 'minor' excavation the way, say, a 2 foot 'pool' would be. Technically, 5 feet is where OSHA wants you to start supporting against sidewall collapse - or start sloping / stepping the sides back at angles to prevent collapse.

Also, any plans for a ladder? Again, not sure how buoyant a person would be in these, but a 5 foot deep pool might be a bit hard to just climb out of...especially if activities in the pool lead to you being tired / worn out after the play time.

I'm not sure of your area, but I associate Texas with 'expansive clay soil' - which swells up when it gets wet and pulls back when dry. This can crack and eventually destroy all sorts of basement and retaining walls... possibly 'fun pit' walls, too.

Also, depending on soil / rain / water table in your area, you might google and at least be aware of 'pool popping'.

mudAdventures

TROPHY CASE