5/9/23 – Yesterdays measurement was 19″ total with only the bottom 5 being solid ice. The top 14″ is very rotted/slushy “ice”. With warm weather in the forecast and more open water by the minute, paddling season is just around the corner.
Today was my turn to check the thickness of the ice. Getting out far enough for a good measurement is a little more nerve-wracking now that the ice has officially split from shore, naturally an aluminum canoe is used to bridge the gap. The ice continues to hold at 25″ but today the 17″ or 18″ of solid ice from yesterday seems much more rotten and waterlogged, still about 7″ of slush on the surface. -Owen Jr
5/4/23 – Today new crewmember Eli took his turn drilling through and measuring the ice. He reported the total held at 25″ made up of a 18″ solid ice base topped with about 7″ of slush and rotten ice. As Eli was measuring the ice Jessica spotted two moose coming out of the woods onto the lake near the north end of the campground, the two appeared to be a mother and yearling. -Owen Jr
5/2/23 – Over the past couple of days the spring crew has started arriving. Per tradition we sent them out to check on the lake. They reported 25″ from the bottom of the ice to the top of the slush. 11″ of which were ice and 14″ compact slush. -Jessica
4/25/23 – Yesterday morning the stars aligned for prime lake skiing conditions. On his way to take advantage of the first, and maybe last, spring lake ski of the season Dan measured 23″ of ice (varying in quality) and 8″ compacted snow. He reported some open water along shore, mostly in the narrows. -Jessica
4/20/23 – Winter storm warnings and winter weather advisories have been the name of the game this week. Monday we added 9″ of sloppy snow with more coming down today. As a result all the water that was previously on top of the ice has since been covered up/refrozen, but even with all that we’ve made a little progress since the last measurement. This morning’s test hole showed 18″ of solid ice with a top 12″ layer of compact slush and snow. That’s 4″ less ice than a week ago! There is a caveat however, ice thickness can vary from one side of a test hole to another, so although there are 18″ here, there might be 20″ not far away. Even so, I’m taking this measurement as a win and not asking too many questions. -Jessica
4/13/23 – After reaching a high of 79° yesterday the solid ice held steady at 22″, with the top slush layer dwindling to 6″. In the woods we have just under 2 feet of snow which means we lost over a foot in the span of a couple days. Looking at the forecast however, it appears we’ll soon be headed into second winter. -Jessica
4/11/23 – This afternoon’s ice check revealed 22″ of solid ice, plus 11″ of slush.
We reached 72° for a brief few moments this afternoon which has really done a number on the structural integrity of the snow (posthole city in the woods) and added a good amount of water on top of the ice past Mouse Island. -Jessica
4/6/23 – Yesterday afternoon Clare started off the ice out countdown by drilling the first test hole of the 2023 season. She reported 24″ of solid ice, with 18″ of snow and slush (some frozen, some unfrozen) on top of that.
Meanwhile in the woods we still have a good 3 feet of snow. Sooner or later things are going to start melting…right? Stay tuned for further updates! -Jessica
3/31/23 – Yesterday afternoon while out for a walk my eyes caught a telltale sign of spring! The first pussy willow sighting of the season! Today I noticed a few more have come to join the party. -Jessica
