You're hiking alone in the wilderness, lost in your thoughts, when suddenly you find yourself trapped in quicksand and sinking fast. Certain muddy death? Not quite. While quicksand isn't nearly as dangerous as it looks in the movies, it is a real phenomenon. Just about any sand or silt can temporarily become quicksand if it is sufficiently saturated with water and/or subjected to vibrations, such as those that occur during an earthquake. Here's what to do if you find yourself with that sinking feeling.

1
Drop everything. If you step into quicksand and you're wearing a backpack or carrying something heavy, immediately take off your backpack or drop what you're carrying. Because your body is less dense than quicksand, you can't fully sink unless you panic and struggle too much or you're weighed down by something heavy.

If it's possible to get out of your shoes, do so. Shoes, especially those with flat, inflexible soles (many boots, for example) create suction as you try to pull them out of quicksand. If you know ahead of time that you are highly likely to encounter quicksand, change out of your boots and either go barefoot or wear shoes that you can pull your feet out of easily.

2
Move horizontally. If you feel your feet getting stuck, take a quick couple of steps backward before the quicksand takes hold. It usually takes a minute for the mix to liquify, which means the best method of getting yourself unstuck is to not get stuck in the first place.

If your feet do become stuck, avoid taking big lumbering steps to try to get yourself out. Taking a big step forward might unstick one foot, but push your other farther down, making it extremely difficult to completely unstick yourself.

3
Lay back. Sit down and lean back if your feet are stuck fast. Creating a larger "footprint" should free your feet by removing the pressure they create, allowing them to float. When you feel them start to come free, roll to your side away from the quicksand and free of its grip. You'll get dirty, but its the quickest and safest way to free yourself.

4
Take your time. If you're stuck in quicksand, frantic movements will only hurt your cause. Whatever you do, do it slowly. Slow movements will prevent you from agitating the quicksand; vibrations caused by rapid movements can turn otherwise relatively firm ground into more quicksand.

More importantly, quicksand can react unpredictably to your movements. If you move slowly, you can more easily stop an adverse reaction and, by doing so, avoid getting yourself stuck deeper. You're going to need to be patient. Depending on how much quicksand is around you, it could take several minutes or even hours to slowly, methodically get yourself out.