Yes, my issue of clipping in is the one that smaller women have, hence my thinking about getting the light actions. But, removing my shim seems to have fixed the issue. I always wear down the left cleat faster, since I always unclip on that side. No matter what I do, I cannot train myself to do this on the right; I can unclip right side when mountain biking, but I think that's a self preservation issue and you don't have to lean over quite as much. Thus, my left cleat is always needing more lubing and TLC.
The regular Speedplay cleat covers should work when you are doing the river or wash crossings. Mine worked like a charm when walking through the very sandy parking lot at the beach, after learning the hard way that you need to actually put them on for them to work in this spot. I used up almost a whole water bottle cleaning the sand out, so I could continue.