Good Morning Everyone...

Chief Ken Skead is again allowing us to use the reserve to access the ice roads!
He said this morning, that it is open for use, however they will be monitoring its use and he hopes his message got accross to those it was intended for. I expressed again, we appreciate the use of their road, and should any of us see anything or anyone abusing their property, to take down a license number and turn it in. The only last reminder, is that we all take it slow going past their homes.

Sharon

thanks for the road update

thanks Sharon for trying to talk with the band ,,, it would be nice to go that way ,,, but it's not the only way on to the ice now ,,, you know that we as a group are repectful of the road and this private property ,,, but i have seen persons driving to quickly on the icey corners and going off the road ,,, then blocking it trying to get there car back on the road ,,, and all the extra traffic thur there community ??? sooner or later there was going to be trouble from someone ??? thanks again for keeping us informed to date ,,, and again if we can go on this road it would be nice ,,, we are coming up on thursday with another load for my camp ,,, so if anything new happens with the band post it ,,, thanks again peter

Had a meeting with Chief Ken Skead on Tues, just after the notice of non-access onto lake via Rat Portage/Skead's Landing was announced. The meeting was attended by myself, my husband Ray, and Lenoard Boucha. We attempted to question if there was a way, our Ice Road users could be identified by the people manning the blockade,so we could all still have access. The Chief would have no part of anyone accessing the reserve, due to an altercation that had taken place on the Sat prior, by someone coming off the ice, bushing a vehicle, then causing a disturbance. We are going to speak with Chief Skead this week, to see what his status is on the matter. Will post our results when we find out.

Sharon

our neighbour lot 12 french narrows

2007-01-19 - Richard (Dick) Braun, of Kenora, ON
It is with great sadness that the family announces the passing of Richard Braun on Friday, January 19th.He leaves to cherish his memory, his wife Donna, his children Jeff (Jennifer), Sherri (Doug), Jennifer (Jason) and his grandchildren Billy, Aaron, Olivia, Elizabeth; Scott, Haelee; and Daniel. He will be missed by his brothers Gerry, Darwin and Alec, numerous nieces and nephews. He will also be missed by the many friends he made on his journey through life.He will be remembered for his zest for life and his passion for helping other people. He was “MacGuyver” to many people and always had something to repair for someone, and a story to share with the project. He had a love for Lake of the Woods and moved his family from Winnipeg to Kenora in 1971. He pursued his mechanical career until his sudden passing.Special thanks to the ICU staff of the Thunder Bay Regional Health Science Center, and the staff of The Lake of the Woods District Hospital.Cremation has taken place, and a Celebration of Life will take place at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the charity of your choice.
Posted on 2007-01-22

road closed ???

Wauzhushk Onigum restricts access to ice roadsCareless drivers and litter have prompted Chief Ken Skead of Wauzhushk Onigum (Rat Portage) First Nation to put up gates along Devil’s Gap Road and Matheson Bay Road.
By Miner and News StaffMonday January 22, 2007Careless drivers and litter have prompted Chief Ken Skead of Wauzhushk Onigum (Rat Portage) First Nation to put up gates along Devil’s Gap Road and Matheson Bay Road.Skead said the lack of respect shown by motorists in his community, which he’s seen first-hand, has resulted in the traffic control measure.“I’m not trying to be difficult,” he said Friday.
Band council had considered the move last winter, but eventually decided against it. Skead made the choice, after consulting with Treaty 3 Police and legal advice.“We’re very fortunate. There’ve been no accidents yet, but it’s one of the reasons why we’re doing it right now,” said the chief, who wanted to protect the safety of children playing.Starting at 8:30 a.m. today, band members will be manning gates at the entrance to the reserve. They will be restricting access to residents and delivery vehicles. Others may call the band office for permission to pass through.Skead noted people in Kenora wouldn’t like it, if Rat Portage residents didn’t obey traffic laws and dumped garbage all over the place when they visited the city.

roads are wonderful this year

thanks for the great job on the roads so far this year ,,, went up on the weekend with a bunch of guys and everyone had tons of fun ,,, weather was perfect ,,, all possible because of the wonderful roads ,,, thanks again for the maintenances of the ice roads and keeping everyone informed ,,, peter t

Hey Peter...........

Roads are in good condition. Come on down....

Sharon

thanks for the info

thanks Sharon ,,, i will mark our road because sunday on our way out it was blowing snow and the road was almost impossible to see ,,, that is a good idea ,,, i'm new to ice roading ,,, if that's a word ,,, next time we are up ,,, not this weekend but maybe next weekend ??? post thursday if the road is not ready as i'm bringing a load of material again ,,, thanks again ,,, peter

Hi Everyone..

So, all this snow and wind has not been good for us out there. Leonard was out last night trying to keep the snow drifts down, but as of this afternoon when I took a ride around, the wind has drifted everything back in. Hopefully, the wind will die down by Friday sometime, and Leonard and Billy are planning on cleaning things up by then. The road into French Narrows is blown in, so there will be some work in there to be done. It would be a good idea, if anyone has the time, to place some trees along the road to mark where it is should a wind come up again while you are there.
Leonard also has plowed the road a different way after Strawberry. Instead of following the shoreline, he comes off and goes straight over the ice ridge. He shaved it down with the blade of his dump truck last night. You can still go around if you want.
Okay, well, that's all I have for now....see you on the weekend.

Sharon

First time up this winter

Well, I finally made it up to the cabin for the first time this winter last weekend. I am amazed at how little snow there was and what was there had just fallen.

We took quite a tour of the lake (almost 2.5 hours) as we couldn't figure out initially that our ice road didn't hook up with the Treaty Island and ended up taking almost every other ice road available. The weather was nice and it was mid-afternoon so was nice to get to tour around and see different parts of the lake. However, this, and other navigation nightmares, has made us resolve to packing our map, compass and GPS with our cabin keys so we are forced to take them with us everytime.

It was the first time we got to use the two-way radios I gave Peter & Kathy for xmas. Definately was nice to be in constant contact without the constant use of cell phones. Plus the built in weather band gave accurate conditions. But when my 4x4 gave out near the top of treaty island we found out their limitations when presented with significant topography (me and peter couldn't raise each other on them because of the hill blocking the signal). But no worries, a 100kph run at the hill was all that was needed to propel me over the top.

Having the road, once we got on it, coming right to the dock was so nice. And after two years of not being able to get any roads in because of the slush, it is kinda funny to have mulitple roads going every which way both in our bay and out on the lake in general.

Made some interesting discoveries when we arrived. For example, with the angle of the sun and the placement of the hill behind our cottage we recieve zero sunshine. A lesson learned oh too well by our solar system. Spring will definately see some relocation of the solar panels. Also too, trucking in a load of wood is alot less work than cutting and hauling a load of wood from the surrounding forest.

First thing Saturday Peter spotted a family of otters or something similar running along the ice. They would run two or three steps and then slide on their bellies. After breakfast, I headed out to try out some new toys. I spent most of the day trying to zero in my SKS with its new stock and then was able to finally try out my M44 and Lee Enfield. I had intended to only go for an hour, but ended up blasting away on the ice for close to five hours.

I was going to go for a hike but it was going to get dark soon so I thought I would save it for Sunday. Saturday night we had a nice bonfire on the ice, our first ever. The temperature was just around zero and a misting of snow set in at about midnight. Peter wouldn't let me burn his precious truck wood, so I scavenged the surrounding shoreline. Another lesson learned, a root of a tree produces great sustained heat and interesting flames.

Sunday was a write-off as, despite only being a few degrees below zero, 30km winds drove the snow to an uncomfortable degree. Basically it was wake up, pack up and drive out. The only drama was when Mark's Durango had trouble getting over a hill and jackknifed on its trailer a little. But a quick tug by the passengers had him rolling quickly enough.

Should be rolling out there again next weekend if weather permits. Hopefully I'll be able to get some fishing and some hiking/photography in.

Out checking the roads today....not to nice out there. Hoping this will end by Thurs sometime, and Leonard will be out by then opening all the main roads. Its like a whiteout out there!

Sharon

thanks for the info on ice road

sharon ,,, welcome to our site and the information on the ice roads ,,, the conditions change every day and it's great to have someone out there checking the roads out ,,, kathy and i are not going this weekend ,,, but will be out the next weekend ,,, friday morning ??? again thanks for keeping a eye on our camp ,,, and as you'll know which is which ,,, you can drop in for that drink ,,, it'll be nice to get to know each other ,,, pt and kt

Hi Everyone..

So, have talked with some of you already. My name is Sharon and I'm your Ice Road Co-ordinator, I guess you would call it. Thanks to Sean and Peter for showing me your site that you all use. Will try to keep you up on any new developments that may come up regarding the road. I think most of you have already figured out how to get out to your places by now. My husband Ray and I use "Skead's" landing on the Rat Portage Reserve, well others are using Bare Point, and some are still trying the Treaty way. Leonard Boucha who does our plowing, has not plowed from the main road off Treaty over land at Gages, as he does not prefer to go that way anymore. It is still useable, untill lots of snow falls, then maybe the alternate routes can be used. Leonard is out today, checking the roads, but we're hoping to plow maybe on Thursday, as we hear there is snow forcasted for Wed. For sure it will be cleaned up by the weekend.
Well, I seemed to have filled up this space quite well...can you tell I'm a yapper! Just kidding...
Bye for now........Sharon

John's new ice road ,,, posted by peter t

GUYS,
Give me a call before you come out.I had a new road through Dorian ploughed.

John