Salty Dawg, I don't think I need to go that far for the muddy areas I'm traversing!
It's usually just a strip about 10 feet wide - maybe 20 feet at most - right at the water's edge, after that it's fairly hard packed. That narrow strip can be quite a mess, though...
Bob, I remember you mentioned elsewhere that you broke it down in these situations. Yes, that's probably the best idea. I'm prone to trying to get everything in one trip though, I hate making multiple trips no matter how short they are.
Usually costs me more time and frustration than just making the extra trips, of course, but I can be a bit hard headed at times...
I do like the foam tires better than pneumatic. My first cart had pneumatics and the darn things were always flat when I needed it and nearly impossible to fill thanks to the stubby little valve stems. My current cart has solid rubber tires.
I never even thought about using the trailer as the "cart" - should have, I wheel my Yakima trailer in and out of the garage by hand to hitch to the truck. That's a good idea to keep in mind.