Candle Ice

Alas, when I checked the ice late this afternoon, it was too soft to walk on.  This morning my pole barely dented the ice when I whacked it - this afternoon it went through with little effort.  This is at the shoreline...I'm sure it is still solid further out. I just can't get there.

So, I'm a little sad that I can't walk on the lake anymore, and a little relieved.

 

This photo is a close-up of the candle ice from this morning.  The little round bits are about a quarter inch diameter. In the bigger pictures, this would be the 'black' ice.  Not all the ice on the lake has candled.  The pale ice is honeycombed, and stronger.

 

This afternoon the black ice within a hundred feet of land went white, as it finally melted away from shore and lifted.  It will go black again just before it's gone.

 

Warm days and south winds will have a big impact on the ice.  Still, there's no telling how long it will take. A week?  

The ice I walked on in the middle of the lake this morning was thick, and hard.  It's going to take some time.

Ice

Is the ice safe? Yes. I only know this because I'm out there walking on it every day. And because I know my lake. I would not walk on a lake I did not know at this time of melt.
99% of the lake has solid ice. I don't walk on the 1% that is not safe. And, I avoid another 5% that is near the ice that is unsafe. Still, I carry a long pole that would keep me from going all the way in if I did make a mistake.
I work very hard at not making a mistake.
My experience from many years of ice walking is that I must listen to my inner voice - which often cautions me. The few times I have made mistakes is when my desire to get somewhere overrode my inner cautious self.

We don't get wiser just because we get older...we only get older if we get wiser.

Pure beauty

Near the large pressure crack, this 'pool'.  At the edge of the pool, lace.

 

the far shore

This is where one of the major pressure cracks meets the far shore.  The ice I walked on to get there is well over a foot thick, and hard as ever...right up to the edge of the crack, and right up to the bedrock shoreline.  A skim of ice formed on the open water overnight, and was starting the crack again this morning. 

I will admit to more than a little adrenaline hitting my heart when a loud crack snapped right underfoot.  The fear only lasted a moment, because there is no way the ice can break right now. 

In some of the ice art photos below you can see these hairline cracks.  As I walk across the ice, I am fascinated by the various textures, and reassured by the depth of the cracks...which continuously assure me that the ice is more than 8 inches thick.

ice art

How thick is it?

The ice I walked on this morning was generally 7 to 12 inches thick. Except near shore, of course, where it thinned out to nothing at all.
How do I know that it is safe? I take great care, and I carry a long pole that serves as a poking stick. When I want to check any particular patch of ice, I give it a number of sharp whacks with the end of the pole. Most of the time, it barely makes a dent in the surface. Sometimes, just a few whacks will break through.
The colour of the ice gives some indication of strength. In this photo, the dark ice broke though with about 4 pokes. Yet, I could not poke a hole all the way through the paler ice a foot away. The ice at this spot was about 4 inches thick.

Colour alone is not an indicator of the quality of the ice. Some pale ice I walked on just a little closer to shore had a 'soft' feel as I stepped on it. It whispered to me, a little creeeek. I did not poke a hole there...no point making it weaker while I was standing on it! I went back to the quiet ice, and found a better place to walk back to the land.

Monday mornng

The beauty of the ice draws me out each day.  These photos are all of the same pressure crack, which includes a wide open water space at a rocky shoal.