5/9/09 – Happy opening of fishing!

5/7/09 – The ice is gone from Sawbill Lake this morning, at least as far as we can see from the canoe landing. We’ll know more this evening after we go for our first paddle of the season. Four days ago it was 17.5″ thick and safe to walk on. Last year it went out on the evening of May 6th. – Bill

Roy contemplates the peaceful, watery scene at Sawbill Lake this morning.

A few steps away from the canoe landing, this snowbank reminds us of the hard winter just past.

This was the scene yesterday afternoon.

5/3/09 – 17.5″ of ice on Sawbill Lake on this fine, cold, sunny, breezy morning. – Bill

Lee Noble, veteran Sawbill crew member, returns for another year.

4/30/09 – The ice on Sawbill Lake now stands at 20″ thick after a hard rain last night. – Bill

Another sure sign of spring is the arrival of new Kevlar canoes from their home in southern Wisconsin. This load of 12 beautiful Bell Seligas arrived last night. The Wenonah and Souris River canoes are not far behind.

Nash drills on a wet, foggy Sawbill Lake.

The early afternoon view from the canoe landing looking south toward Sawbill Creek.

Homer likes to eat chunks of ice that he finds floating in the “moat” of open water near the landing.

Lake ice is such an interesting, beautiful, complex phenomenon. These patterns appeared today, presumably the result of the overnight rain.

4/28/09 – Here is today’s ice picture and thickness measurement. – Bill

The ice measured 22″ today. I stuck my arm down the hole to check on the ice quality. The top 14″ is not real solid, but the bottom 8″ is solid, clear ice.

4/24/09 – Things are gradually melting here. We still have at least of foot of snow on the ground, although it’s to the point where it is two feet deep in some places and bare ground in others. Our official snow depth gauge is down to one inch this morning. – Bill

The ice sheet on Sawbill Lake has “floated up” which means that it has detached from the shore and is actually floating on the surface of the lake. It makes an 18″ deep moat around the shore, forcing us to use a canoe to get out on the ice without getting our feet wet.

Veteran Sawbill crew member Pat Nash watches new guy Dan Shirley drill the test hole while Roy checks out the old hole.

Nash takes over for the last few turns before the auger breaks through 22.5 inches of ice.

Given the condition of the ice and the weather forecast, ice-out should be in about 10 – 14 days. But, it is totally weather dependent, so anything can happen.

4/20/09 – Dan Walch was kind enough to send some great pictures he took during a camping trip to the Baker Lake area just after the big snowstorm two weeks ago. Since then, we’ve had a lot of melting, followed by more snow. – Bill

A wolf alongside the road. Dan Walsh photo.

A spruce grouse hides in a thicket. Dan Walsh photo.

Open water at beginning of April. Although there are many more open spots now, it will be awhile before the ice is gone. Dan Walsh photo.

4/19/09 – After a couple of days of summer-like weather, today is 33 degrees and snowing. We measured the lake ice this morning and it is 28″ thick. Only about a foot of it is really solid though. The top layer is still fairly solid, but clearly degraded.

Our newest Sawbill crew member, Dan Shirley, on the business end of the ice auger. Dan hails from Santa Fe, recently returned from spending his senior year in Chile and is graduating with a degree in chemistry from the University of Montana this spring. Welcome Dan!

4/15/09 – The big metal roof on our outfitting/store building has produced a new phenomenon we call a “roof glacier.” I’m not sure I want to be around when it finally lets go. – Bill

The Sawbill roof glacier is creeping forward at a rate of about 6″ per day.

4/13/09 – According to the official snow gauge we have 16″ of snow on the ground. The lakes remain solid enough for skiing, although temperatures in the next few days are predicted to be in the 50s for the first time since early November. I had a clue that ski season was coming to a close when a vulture started circling me during this morning’s ski. – Bill

The south end of Alton Lake as viewed from the Beth to Alton portage, 6:00 pm, April 13th.

Seeing the tracks of this wolf are a daily occurrence around here.