e mail from sharon

Hi Everyone.......

Just an update on how the ice road is progressing with all this cold weather.

Spoke with Leonard Boucha this evening who says surprisingly, the ice is coming along pretty good for this time of year. He has been over Treaty, and cleared it off, however he has not ploughed a road beyond Treaty yet, as he does not want anyone following his tracks just yet.

Rocky Narrows has not froze over enough , although he has driven past there, and has been out to Queer. (Only Leonard takes the sneaky way around)

He will keep us posted, but more than likely, it will be good to go just after Christmas. If it is sooner, I will be sure to let you know as he lets me know. It's better to be safe than sorry.

Merry Christmas everyone, and see you soon!

Sharon

First trip to town

I went to Bare Point by snowmobile this afternoon,we have 7.5" ice around the French Narrows area and 5" on the parts that were broken up by the winds.We rec'd 2.5" snow Wednesday so snowmobile travel is awesome. There are a lot of pressure ridges along the way,most are small but a couple 18"-24" high. The route I drove would be very much the same way the ice road.Lots of wolf tracks around Queer Island. Counted 12 deer crossing the Narrows on Wednesday,saw 2 eagles by Pipestone.They are driving trucks in welcome channel and have started to plow, they have more ice than we do. Please use Caution if travelling this weekend,
the thinest ice I found was 4" but as we all know it Varies.

Dec 6th update

I was out on the ice boat this afternoon and checking ice. Not the greatest news! We have 5 inches at our place and where I took these pictures there is 7 inches. From here I went to Moore Bay Lodge, and there was open water in the same location as where last years ice road was. We have heard that Bare Point Marina is still open water, that is from Terry Lunny and he drives the road every day to check. Will keep you all updated.

update

We have made 4.5" of ice around our Island since the 1st. Even the Narrows has froze as of the 5th. this should make the deer crossing safer.To answer your question Peter in this case 1 deer managed to get out but the other did not,this is the 2nd deer I have seen die trying to cross at the narrows.The 2 eagles and about 20 ravens were at the site all day yesterday.Barepoint Marina still has not froze as of last night (toooo windy) Ice conditions this year are going to be different than years past. The lake froze at different times with some parts still open And the level is very high,so with the normal outflow there will be strong currents making for hazardous conditions,Please check the ice before venturing off your normal routes.

Lake froze F. N.

On this am. walk I can no longer see open water. But I heard there is still open water at the entrance to Moore Bay. The problem has been the wind!!! it just will not quit blowing. On the 4th 4 deer were crossing at the Narrows,2 broke through the ice and were swimming and the other 2 returned to East Allie. This is a daily routine back and forth Spring and fall.

rick and deb dec 08

1st picture is woods end looking east
2nd picture is our road landing looking south.
the open water you see was froze once but opened with the strong winds.
The winds are dropping and I expect to see ice all around on tomorrows walk-------------stay tuned for more info!!!!!!!!!!

Lake Update

This picture was taken November 30th from our dock looking North to the narrows

Made our last boat trip November 29th, had to travel from Bare Point Around west side of Scotty's down to Elbow and east to home, saw 2 eagles perched in trees and 1 buck swimming.

Lake temp is 0c. there is lots of ice and open water around our island. Thorburn's said they have ice as far south as they can see from their island.

This morning the bay out front flashed over,but broke up when the wind picked up.If the wind drops tonight I expect her to freeze solid.

Lake froze November 23 in 2006

Lake froze November 27 in 2007