Word meaning "to walk clumsily among many obstacles"?
Example:
I kept [...] among the ocean of trees.
I thought of striding but I think it doesn't imply that there are obstacles. What's a better choice?
Stop bumbling about the room, knocking things all over the place.
bum·ble
v. bum·bled, bum·bling, bum·bles
v.intr.
- To speak in a faltering manner.
- To move, act, or proceed clumsily. See Synonyms at blunder.
v.tr.
To bungle; botch.
[Perhaps blend of bungle and stumble.]
bumbler n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Perhaps blunder would fit the bill; particularly the first verb meaning:-
To move clumsily or blindly. [American Heritage Dictionary via the Free Dictionary].
Drag: (from M-W)
- to move with slowness or difficulty.
Stumble:
- to walk unsteadily or clumsily
also the expression:
push through (something) : (From TFD)
- to work through or force one's way through something.
- I pushed through the snow, trying to get to the post office on time. The snow was very deep, but I pushed through.
You could grope your way through steep or obstacle-infested terrain if you were physically having to steady yourself by grabbing hold of objects like the trunks of saplings, rock outcrops, foliage and so on.
You could pick your way through terrain where the footing was slippery, uneven, overgrown, prone to sinkholes or quicksand etc., obscured from view by low-growing plants, or impeded by broken-down barbed-wire fences, nettles, spiny branches or other problematic vegetation.