Ice Skating in December

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Of all the winter sports available here, the one with the shortest season is ice skating. That is, if it is even possible in the first place.  For skating to happen, the lake has to freeze hard, and then it has to be free of snow.  Often times, we will get the ice, and then it will cloud up and snow immediately.  This year was a rare exception.

The lake froze on December twenty-second.  We enjoyed some  cold weather with clear skies for the next few days, and it made for the most incredible skating experiences.  I'm just now catching up with the photos and videos to share here.

Make your own photo slideshow at Animoto.

Greg also shot some amazing video footage, and soon I will be editing it and putting it up on You Tube.  Though the skating season was short-lived, without a doubt it was the  most memorable.

Back in the Freezer

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We dropped back into the freezer for a couple of days here.  This morning, it was once again thirty-five degrees below zero.  Fortunately, the wind was down so there was no wind chill to deal with.  I noticed one day recently that the Fairbanks weather report doesn't even include wind chill readings or predictions.  They must be tougher than we are. 

While I was starting the fire in the bread oven at seven, Greg was in the kitchen making coffee.  I heard him open the back door, and when I looked over, he was tossing a cup of boiling water into the air.  It's so fun to watch it evaporate, and then it sort of turns to ice pellets that hit the snow.  I asked him to repeat it, so that I could make a video of it.  It really does remind me of fireworks...of a different sort.

The cold didn't stop us from baking some ciabatta, which we enjoyed with some turkey and white bean chili in the tent.  I found that it is a little harder to get the tent warm when the temperature doesn't get above zero, but we managed.  It also hasn't been too cold for some of our guests to take a sauna and jump into the lake.  We have a decent hole cut into the ice, with a depth of about four feet.  I'm told that one can dunk easily under, should that be the desire.  I admit that I have no desire to do this!  It's much easier for me to cool off just by sitting out on the porch.

The wolves were howling this morning.  We haven't heard them in a while, so we were both happy that they were singing.  I guess it's time to start keeping the windows open a crack, cold or not.  The howls of the wolf are sweet music to wake up to.

A True Winter Report

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First the snow, and then the cold.  Well, if I am going to be totally honest, than I have to say first the rain, then the snow, and finally, the cold.  The painful fact is that yes, it did rain, for the opening of the trout season on January 12th.  I know that it has been too long since I last wrote, but really?  What good can be said about rain in the middle of the winter?  I was just too sad to hear those drops beating on the metal roof overhead as we lay in bed.  I love that sound in the summer,  but no, not now.

The fishermen were troopers though.  Out they went on that bleak Saturday morning, motoring their snowmobiles through three inches of water that had collected on the ice. The temperatures dropped rapidly during the day, so that they were returning on hard ice by evening.  But it made the going treacherous, and one fellow reported to me that he had not taken off his yak traks all weekend.  Some parties were rewarded for their efforts with some decent fish to bring home.  By the time they all left, they reported that we were up to sixteen inches of good, solid ice.  That was excellent news.

Fortunately, we got fresh snow within a couple of days of the rainfall.  It was only about two inches, but it helped immensely with traction.  Then, as if by some sweep of the magic wand, we really hit it lucky.  Late in the week, we received a couple of new inches of snow.  Predictions were that it could snow all night, and possibly into Saturday.  I have noted here in the past that the promises we hear from the weather people are not always kept.  So I work hard to remain nonchalant, and not to get my hopes up too high.  This time, as I said, it was rather like magic.  Indeed, the snow came through.  On Saturday afternoon, as we enjoyed hot soup and fresh bread in the tent, the snow globe really got shaken and huge flakes came down. By late afternoon, as the wind came in, the count was nine inches of new snow.

A lot can be done with nine inches of snow.  The trails got packed, and once that set up, the tracks were laid.  Our base is now between 5 and 8 inches, with 12-16 inches of snow in the woods.  Nearly all of the trails are open, with only Amperage Run, South Rim, and Magnetic Rock awaiting more snow.  Those last two are great for snowshoeing right now.

As I mentioned earlier, deep cold is a part of this post.  This morning, the thermometer posted thirty degrees below zero.  I had to photograph it, for the sake of posterity.  It's been a few years since we've seen temps this cold.  Fortunately, cars all started with no extra measures needed, so that departing guests could be on their way south to warmer climates.  (I doubt that it was much warmer though!) 

Just for fun, I took my bubble mixture outside, and blew a few bubbles.  The cold causes the bubbles to contract, and soon they are wrinkly little things, trying hard to catch an updraft.  When they burst, it's more like a shattering...and the pieces drift to the snow below like bits of plastic wrap tossed in the air.  It's a unique sight that I've only seen when it's this very cold.  I'll try to get a picture of it tomorrow if I can, for they say that it will remain cold for the next several days.

In the meantime, we have the best kind of screen to watch while we endure this cold snap:

Between the fire and my knitting, I can be entertained for hours.  'Til next time--stay warm!

Gunflint Lake Sunset Tour

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Clouds on North Lake

On a recent cloudy day, Greg asked if anyone wanted to take a snowmobile ride to North Lake.  I had never been there in the winter, so I took him up on the offer.  The day had warmed up enough to make riding a comfortable possibility. Still, I felt like I had on a ridiculous number of layers, in order to assure that I would stay warm.

Greg steered the machine on to the ice and headed to the east.  With little snow to hamper us, he drove us quickly towards the first obstacle.  Approximately a mile down the lake, a pressure ridge runs from the south shore to the north shore.  It first appeared a few days after the ice formed, and it is likely one of the reasons that we have been hearing so much noise coming from the lake in recent days.  As a side note, one night the lake was rumbling continuously, and we could hear the tempest of the waves below the ice.  It was almost like a movie soundtrack, and I half expected to see a giant creature come leaping and crashing through the ice, in true Hollywood fashion.

The pressure ridge showed signs of change this particular day.  Greg had crossed over it in the morning, and with the rising temps and shifting ice, cracks at the ridge had caused water to flow on to the ice.  This created slush, which does not mix well with the tracks on the bottom of a snowmobile.  We drove along the ridge for several hundred yards, and got off a couple of times to test the ice for a good place to cross.  There were several inches of thick ice below us, as evidenced by the cracks visible in the black ice itself.  We just wanted to avoid the fresh, wet spots.  Soon we found a good place, and we were once again veering down the lake.

As we approached the East End beach, Greg drove towards the northwest corner.  Soon we were close enough for me to see the large patch of open water, and the current running through the narrows where Little Gunflint feeds into Gunflint Lake.  It always strikes me as incongruous to see so much water, but I am used to living on a lake in the winter, not a river.  It also helped to explain one of the reasons why we still are seeing an eagle around.  This would be one of the few spots still open for an eagle to do some fishing. 

We continued on the land, past the flowing river stream and through the bulrushes.  The ice of Little Gunflint was covered in more snow, indicating that it had been frozen for many more days than our lake.  Again, as we neared the area of the rapids, Greg slowed down, and gave wide berth to the ice shelf where current meets lake.  We took the portage trail that once served as a means to transport boats easily across the land.  The railway tracks were still visible, and it felt odd to be traversing this spot with such a modern-day machine.  It's doubtful that the fellows from the CCC who had installed those very tracks ever had a clue as to the kind of machine that someday would be running over them.

Little North was as beautiful as ever, untouched by the fire or windstorms of the last several years.  Tall pines, spruces and cedars line the lake, providing a richly beautiful shoreline.  For some reason, Little North Lake always feels serene to me.

After one more "portage", we were winding our way into Big North, and the wide open icy view of the whole lake.  We did a complete tour of it, west to east.  When we turned to come back, the wind had increased and was kicking up snow devils all around.  We paused for a brief moment at the west end, and I was able to snap a quick photo, which illustrates the grey of the day surrounding us.

But that was soon to change.  As we re-traced our path, the sun began to set.  We crossed back over the portages and around the open waters, watching the first glimmerings of orange.  When we reached the railroad portage, the sun was sinking quickly.  The sky was illuminated with the oranges and reds that winter brings to us.  We stopped for some photos, and to enjoy the painting of the clouds.

Sunset on Little Gunflint

Going back always seems faster than going in, and again this was true.  We found a good spot to cross the ridge, the ice skimmed speedily below us, and soon the sauna came into view.  We got off the snowmobile just as dusk was falling. 

For anyone who is considering a run down the lake by snowmobile, be sure to ask ahead of time how the conditions are.  Things can change on a daily basis, and so it is wise to gather as much information as possible.  As we head into the trout fishing season this weekend, we will see more snowmobile traffic on the lake.  The trails they blaze will freeze more solidly with continued use.