Morning Chrys,
I think it might be easier for you to let this keep going if you had some waders and or gaiters to get through it, yes?
The Backpackers Mag says you can make you own gaiters by pulling you pants legs down over the top of your boot...
I tried to picture this, however, and it just seems problematic.
You could just get waders fairly cheaply that do the same thing:
Or some that are much sharper looking (as well as more expensive) and may give the ability to perhaps march through some of this:
Or if that is a bit too much, back to the gaiters, here is a fairly simple
DIY tute:
http://www.daveguenther.com/backpacking/gaiters.html