Creek crossing idea

“I have been thinking of taking along two trash bags for use during creek crossings. I'm thinking that for knee deep and shallower you could put a feet in each bag, cinch it with a rubber band, and walk right across. Anyone tried this? It seems like it would work as long as the creek bottom is relatively smooth.”

“yeah, and the first rock will poke a whole into the bag and you'll have water all in your boots. The problem is you'll never know how smooth the creek bottom really is.

Hate to get wet feet during cold days. :)”

“You can get the extra heavy duty trash bags like they use in factories or to sack trash along side the road. These bags are very strong and even if you do get a small hole from a rock, you should still be able to get to the other side before your feet get too wet. Wear goretex so if some water does get in the bag, your feet will still stay dry. Goretex is great, I could not be happy hiking the area I hike without it.”

“I prefer to inflate my ThermaRest and float across deep water.”

“The plastic bag trick does work for stream crossing and thicker the bag the longer it will last. Carry some duct tape to repair any holes and you'll get more mileage out of them.
If you want a more durable pair of waders to fit over you boots without spending $50 for Wiggy's waders, get some heatseable nylon and make your own waders. It's the same material they make dry bags out of. Contact cement cordura or packcloth to the bottom to protect the fabric from abrasion.”

“You could always just walk across the bridge.”

“If your going to bag it, try the trash compactor bags at Costco and other places, they are way heaver and tougher then most.”

“I have the contractor grade bags from Home depot/Lowe's. I line my pack with one of these. They arre very hard to tear.”

“The creek bottoms around here are slicker than owl snot. I would be hesitant to cross one with slick plastic covering my feet.”

“I agree with that bacpac..same here in TN”

“I just take my shoes off and go barefoot.”

“I was just thinking of compactor bags...

I had an idea a while back about getting a big pair of OR Mukluks and seeing if they would be waterproof enough.

I was thinking about the OR Makalu Mukluks... can't link directly to them. Go to Mountain Gear and search on 'mukluks'.”

“http://www.wiggys.com/moreinfo.cfm?Product_ID=5

sorry, i'm a nimrod about html.”

“Slippery?

These Stabilicers work great on ice as well as on moss-covered rocks. Now, they also have a cheaper And lighter-weight Sport version, but I haven't seen them 'in the flesh,' yet.

Even though they're sold more often as ice cleats, I've heard they were originally designed for wading.”

“9 oz on those Wiggy's, eh?

hmmmmm.”

“I can tell ya that the OR Mukluks wouldn't be waterproof enought...I use them all winter and while they work fine in the snow, they don't have what it takes to use in a stream. Personally I just use my Tevas.”

“Thanks for the heads-up.”

“if i'm on my way in for a day or 2 or 3... i slip into my sandals and roll my pants up... unless its summer and i have shorts on... if i'm on my last day heading to the parking lot i don't bother i just plow thru it boots and all”

“i've tried the plastic bags and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't... so i choose not to chance it and wear sandals usually...”

“a few more ideas - get a couple large dog sized body bags from the veterinarian and glue on some felt or pot scrubber material on the outside where the bottoms of the feet are going to be - ie the area where you will be standing. Use a good variety of duct tape to patch any holes.”

“I've used plain old sneakers, but I'm lookin' at getting some inexpensive "water shoes".”

“bare feet or sandals have always worked pretty well for me. unless you're hiking with bbinkley, in which case just plan on getting wet.”

“You could use trash bags and then make a sole with ductape to keep rocks from poking a hole through the bottom.”

“Wolfman's brother pretends he's Jesus and trys to walk across the water.

It dosen't work, at least not for him.”

“LMAO @ artex..a good laugh is good in the morning.”

“sandals”

“An old jetty fishing technique is to wear heavy heavy socks over your sneakers. This gives mondo traction.

Mebbe you could put socks over the bag to eliminate the slickness factor.

Or do like me... hop right in. My middle name should be "Wade".”

“LMAO @ Artex, that was quite a trick he tried. And Pennsy was right there with his wiggy waders too! :)”

“Thanks for all the tips. I usually take off and barefoot it, but thought it would be much faster to just take out a bag and off you go.


HOI had me scared at first. When a sentence starts out with "Go get a body bag..." you tense up a little, LOL”

“So Pennsy has some hands-on experience wit de WiggyWaders, eh?”

“That walking on water thing always works better for me in the winter.”

“Tilt, I made a pair of waders just like Wiggy's for $5 and no sewing skills are needed. In fact no sewing is needed at all. All you need,heatsealalble nylon. Some contact cement and two pieces of packcloth or cordura glued to the bottom will help them last way longer than Wiggy's, but isn't absolutely necessary. If you like to make your own gear, save money and make a better wader it's worth it. I bought 2 yards of the lightest weight heatsealable nylon Outdoor wilderness fabrics had in stock. They sell it by the pound and it cost me $3.96 and I had a lot left over to make other gear. I think what I bought was about 2ozs. per square yard. With no Cordura the final weight was 9 ozs and with the Cordura it was 12.5 ozs for the pair of finished waders. When I get some time, I'm going to make a really light pair from silnylon.”