Click to ENLARGE. GPS track from my ‘Garmin Epix 2‘ via ‘Garmin Connect’.
Click to ENLARGE.
Spent much more time on the frozen lake today than I did yesterday.
We had a dusting of snow last night. It was just enough to coat the ice. It was still slippery underfoot but the snow helps. Stayed close to shore not because I was worried about falling in, but because it is still slick.
Had the lake all to myself today. Nobody out fishing. It was a blast. I find it like that quite often — outside of Summer. So nothing that special for I or the dogs. It is our private lake.
Click to ENLARGE. GPS track from my ‘Garmin Epix 2‘ via ‘Garmin Connect’.
Click to ENLARGE.
In prior winter’s I would have been on the lake weeks before. Last winter I was walking the lake in December. This year, given the warm days we have had, the ice was not thick enough until just the last few days. It seems plenty thick enough now — & as you can see from the top photo (especially if you ENLARGE it) there is a 4-wheeler on it with folks ice-fishing.
As the GPS track indicates I did NOT venture far into the lake. Wasn’t because I was worried about falling in. It was because the ice was too icy! There wasn’t enough of a compacted snow covering. Without that it is BUT a sheet of ICE. Not fun to walk on. Too slippery.
I like a couple of inches of snow on top of the ice COMPRESSED & COMPACTED by snowmobile tracks. Great to walk on. Firm & good traction. So, that is what I am waiting. But, today I broke my duck. Stay posted. Before the winter is out I will walk across as I always do. SMILE.
Click to ENLARGE. GPS track from my ‘Garmin Venu 2‘ via ‘Garmin Connect’.
I have been walking on ‘Halfmoon Lake‘ since December 28, 2021 of THIS winter. To start with I, for obvious reasons, stayed close to the shore. As the winter progressed & the ice got thicker I ventured further out. Walking conditions had NOT been ideal. Either no snow coverage to provide traction or too much snow making it hard (without snowshoes).
Today, after some light snowstorms walking conditions were tolerable. So, I decided to walk at least a mile. The initial zig-zags indicate my tactics for tackling snow. I walk on ‘packed’ snowmobile tracks. The ‘slightly’ compressed snow limits the amount I sink into the snow. I try to follow the most compacted tracks. I zig-zag along until I find a good track. That is what I did today.
Once I did the 1-mile I was 3/4 of the way across. So, I continued. It was FUN.
We, i.e., Rowen & I, had the ENTIRE lake to ourselves. We like it that way.
Click to ENLARGE. GPS track from my ‘Garmin Venu 2‘ via ‘Garmin Connect’.
Click to ENLARGE.
This was NOT the first time we ventured onto our lake, viz., ‘Halfmoon‘, this winter (i.e., 2021 — 2022). We, i.e., Rowen & I, had tentatively gone in a bit on two weeks ago.
Then the lake had not been frozen for long & I wasn’t exactly sure of the ice conditions.
Now, things are different. We have had quite (a brutal) cold spell. It is a shallow lake. It is frozen good. So we ventured out about a mile — straight in. Had the lake ALL to ourselves. That is invariably the case. It is nice to have a whole lake to yourself. Rowen loves it.
It was cold. There was quite the breeze. I think the wind chill, in Fahrenheit, was in the low single digits. But, we had fun.
Now that we have started we will most likely walk the lake multiple times a week. So, stay tuned.
Click to ENLARGE. GPS track from my ‘Garmin Venu 2‘ via ‘Garmin Connect’.
Click to ENLARGE.
One of the FEW things that make the bitter & interminable Central New Hampshire winters enjoyable — hiking on empty FROZEN lakes, in this case my local ‘Halfmoon‘.
Today, for the first time this winter (i.e., 2021 – 2022), I saw footprints on the lake. Wow. I, having fallen into frozen lakes 5 times in my adult life, never to be the first to venture onto a frozen lake. I, especially in my old age, prefer others to check out the strength of the ice. Typically I wait until I see snowmobile tracks going way out into the lake. If the ice supported a 1,500 lbs snowmobile it is likely to be able to carry my 150 lbs.
Today there was plenty of snowmobile tracks on the beach & surrounds but none on the lake. Hhhmm. But, there was a lot of footprints. Plus, having lived by this lake for the last 14 years, & swum in it most Summers, I do know it quite well. It is VERY shallow for the first 100, if not 200, yards — & I am talking less than waist high. Moreover, given this atypical shallowness (for a lake) Halfmoon tends to freeze faster, harder & thicker than larger, deeper lakes.
So, I gave it a spin — with Rowen, the Newfie. We didn’t go too far out as you can see from the GPS track above. But, it felt good. As is often the case, had the lake all to ourselves. We BOTH appreciate that.
I went & checked posts from prior years. This about 10 days EARLIER than in prior winters. Interesting.
