12/8/22 – Last night around 10pm I stepped outside to admire the first full moon since the woods have been blanketed in snow. It was a brisk -19 degrees and trees were popping all around (caused when sap inside a tree freezes, expands, and breaks open the bark). I took this eerie sound as a signal that it might be okay to venture onto the lake in the morning. Up until now I hadn’t been super confident in it’s structural integrity due to the mid November snow we received just as things were beginning to freeze over. So, this morning I gathered the necessary items for measuring ice and headed for the lake. Half way between the canoe landing and Mouse Island I found 6″ of sturdy ice, with the bottom 3-4″ nice and clear. A good start, but I didn’t venture any further (here’s a link the Minnesota DNR’s ice thickness guidelines for lake travel). Did I mention I’m a chicken when it comes to early ice? -Jessica