Winter just got here

S

SZihn

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Jul 1, 2021
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175
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Shoshoni Wyoming
Well----- Winter's here I guess!


I went out this morning and thought I'd go up the river from the lake, and see if I could find some deer. I got to the place I usually put in and found ice. I knew there would be some, but not near as thick as it turned out to be. I have been seeing a thin sheet and up to about 1/4". This morning it was so thick I could not get through it. So I loaded up and came home. On the way I stopped to talk to a neighbor who was fixing his shop door. He saw my kayak and said "what were you thinking"? It's 8 degrees!


The last few mornings it was about 28 to 35 degrees so I didn't bother to look before it got light. So before it was light I am sure is was even colder then 8F, and with the 12 MPH wind it froze the lake over much thicker then I had guessed. I was able to walk out on it quite a ways.


The weather forecasters say it's going to warm up to the mid 50s in the coming week, so I may have a few more chances, but I don't know for sure. What I do know is that the 2021 kayaking season is going to come to an end for me pretty soon, if it hasn't already.
 
cougarmeat

cougarmeat

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Sep 17, 2012
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942
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Bend OR USA
> I was able to walk out on it quite a ways.
Once upon a time, there were four French kittens who wanted to kayak on Gaube Lake. When they got there, they found the lake was covered with ice. A sign was posted on the ice and they walk quite a ways out to read it. The sign said, "Warning: Thin Ice." They heard a threatening cracking sound. Un deux trois quatre cinq.
 
S

SZihn

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Jul 1, 2021
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175
Location
Shoshoni Wyoming
Yeah Sofstu, pretty hard to paddle when the "hard part" of the water gets that thick.

I don't know exactly how thick the ice can get here, but I have heard reports of 7 feet a few winters. I do know several friends who love ice fishing, and get mad when their 5 foot augers can't get through it. I have seen that happen in 3 winters.

Most years the ice gets about 2-1/2 feet thick, but if it gets cold and we have wind too, the ice can get a lot thicker. One year we had record breaking temps that were the coldest in 78 years, and no one could reach the water that winter. No fish caught then.

Another thing that makes ice thick is lakes that just are not all that deep. Boysen is one of them. Less mass to cool down than you have in a deep lake.

I used to go to lake Tahoe on the Nevada/California border and even at that altitude it is so deep that air temps of -25F to -30F for over a month don't freeze it over. I see your town is over 7400 feet high. I assume your lakes are deeper than ours, but how deep I don't know. Being way up north of me, I am sure it has to get colder and stay cold longer.

Here..........we freeze over at +15F to +20F if it stays that cold for even 3-4 days. When we get -25F to -40 F most times we have no wind at all, but it's not too uncommon to have winds when it's -15 and a wind at -15 freezes the ice a lot faster and deeper then -30F does when it's calm.

I hope I don't loose too much of what I gained in the winter. I may have to "re-learn" all over again in the spring.
 
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CPS

CPS

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Oct 27, 2020
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243
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BC
SZihn said:
I hope I don't loose too much of what I gained in the winter. I may have to "re-learn" all over again in the spring.
Click to expand...
I suspect you've built up enough muscle memory that you'll have no problem when the ice melts. It will be just like riding a bicycle.
 
S

sofstu

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Jun 14, 2021
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109
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Kootenays BC
SZihn said:
Here..........we freeze over at +15F to +20F if it stays that cold for even 3-4 days. When we get -25F to -40 F most times we have no wind at all, but it's not too uncommon to have winds when it's -15 and a wind at -15 freezes the ice a lot faster and deeper then -30F does when it's calm.
Click to expand...
That is getting cold,

My above photo was taken on the ice road very close to the Gahcho Kué Diamond Mine.

canada.debeersgroup.com

Gahcho Kué Mine

De Beers Group Canada Site
canada.debeersgroup.com canada.debeersgroup.com

Even though it often gets much colder than your home, to get the ice that thick they have to plow off the lakes, and pump water up flooding the ice.

The big trucks are actually allowed to start driving on it with partial loads at a little under 3 feet of ice.

Since the roads are technically Public Access and start just 50 miles from a big city there are several hunters up there, yet very rarely ice fishers.

However the road crews often prepare new sections prepare for for faster return trips, and so on.

If I was an ice fisher I would probably utilize some of their freshly drilled holes after the flood crews move on.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with it, and the only people you would even see is the security patrol who would probably check in and ask if you caught anything from time to time.
 
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