I think there is zero concern about any gravel placement sinking through and rupturing your bentonite "seal". However, I don't think gravel on "boot sucking" material would help much, unless spread on a fabric barrier and emplaced pretty thickly.

WHY do you need to walk on the damp clay? In a pond with very shallow slopes on the shore line, the clay ten feet outside of the water's edge is probably still going to stay damp in a slowly subsiding pond. During summer, you might get a sun-baked crust on top, but you can still break through that until it gets pretty thick.

If you need access for fishing, perhaps set up some "fishing stations"? Set these up where you (or a kid) can cast to your fish attractor structure.

You could build little "mini docks", drag in tree trunks, or lay out quality ground fabric and cover with gravel to make "finger" walkways into the pond.

Do you own any earth moving equipment? If so, you could build little peninsulas out into the pond 1-2 foot above the slope. (Might need gravel on the slopes and the deeper part of the top that would be underwater at normal pool so wave action does not erode your peninsulas.)

I think one good "poor boy" solution would be to get fabric and the largest surface area pavers available at your local big box hardware store. (Like the cheapest 16x24" pavers.) Install those side-by-side on fabric as far into the pond as you like. A grown man walking with one foot on each paver should barely sink them at all. The deeper ones will get covered with a little silt when your pond level goes up, but you could still easily walk on them when they are underwater a few inches with your muck boots. (They might get slippery though.)

Just throwing out some ideas, to see if any might help you for the actual situation you are observing at your pond.

Last edited by FishinRod; 09/22/24 11:04 PM. Reason: fix typo