Soft mud is truly a nightmare. I once got stuck in Kalpitiya close to the lagoon area is saucy soft mud... tried for hours to winch myself out, and nothing worked. Got a tractor in the area to pull me out and that too didn't work. Finally with luck, found a JCB unit that managed to lift and pull me out. It took more than half a day for the process.... Now, I always try to talk the track if I feel its soft mud. Sometimes they deceptively appear normal. When I got stuck the area appeared dry and the top surface layer was about 3-4 inches of soft sand. It looked like sand... the moment there's weight over it, the sand gives way and underneath was very soft mud with the consistency of ketchup. It takes seconds to sink upto axels and a few more up to the chassis rails. Great job helping these guys!