With no snow, I am thinking Ice thickness should be building back pretty quick. The Christmas warm up really didn't destroy it as bad as I thought it would. I was in the Mercer area and still had 3-4 inches of ice after the rain and warm temps. Anyone been drilling any holes lately?
Ice conditions
- Thread starter katden4
- Start date
JeffB
Member
I was in the Eagle River and Minocqua area over the weekend and saw very few brave souls out on the ice. I checked my lake in the Yoop again last night(behind the Up North Lodge) and had 1.5"- 2". Heading in the right direction anyway. There was around 4" prior to the warm up, but it's been inaccessible until yesterday.
In the Tomahawk (WI) area...We had 4 to 5 inches on average, before xmas....went down to 1-2 inches...and we are currently back up to 4-5 inches in the bays...slowly building back...but many lakes are not close to being safe for snowmobiling...the weather looks good to build ice the next several days with night time lows in the teens and 20s...we'll see where we are at by Sunday...hopefully close to that 8 to 10 inch mark, so we can mark the lakes....but right now we are not there yet...I know bigger lakes further north are not close (Fence for example, was still wide open).....if we get the predicted heavy snow early next week...that could slow down the ice making process which would mean some trail systems might open, but have lakes, and or swamps that are unsafe to ride...so you'd have to plan your routes accordingly (around, and away from water)...if a lake isn't marked, DON'T CROSS IT....we'll know more by the weekend.
goofy600
Well-known member
Driving through Minocqua area yesterday saw a few out on the north end of the lake ice fishing. Also saw someone out on Cisco lake on the Cisco chain today. Hopefully by weekend I can get out firsthand to put some holes in the lake and see if I can get the sled out. Thinking at least Cisco should be good to go soon, not sure about rest of chain though.
pclark
Well-known member
Up here in Vilas the ice is all over the place. Attackman has best advice. Our chain in Manitowish Waters is now back to 4-5” in some bays but we have a lot of moving water so bottom line is don’t trust it just yet. I don’t believe there are any marked trails on our chain, Rest Lake is most heavily traveled as you can cut a few miles off by cutting across it.
lofsfire
Active member
I've always wondered how often do they check thickness during the season? If is cold with no major warm up, it's not necessary. but the way some of the last few years have been you do wonder at times?
Do the clubs have a minimum thickness before they mark a lake? I know what standard thickness requirements are but I assume if the club is marking it they probably want a factor of safety built in so they may wait till it 15" plus or something like that... Maybe more since so many people drive on the lakes up there.
Had a guy with me our first time in St Germain on Little St Germain Lake. We were staying off the Southeast bay which is not marked. He did not even want to go on the lake. When he saw a full size truck bajaing jumps he was ok to ride the lake. We later found out the ice was over 30" at that time. The next day saw a guy build a bonfire on the lake. it burned all day. While it left a good crater in the ice it was still solid.
Do the clubs have a minimum thickness before they mark a lake? I know what standard thickness requirements are but I assume if the club is marking it they probably want a factor of safety built in so they may wait till it 15" plus or something like that... Maybe more since so many people drive on the lakes up there.
Had a guy with me our first time in St Germain on Little St Germain Lake. We were staying off the Southeast bay which is not marked. He did not even want to go on the lake. When he saw a full size truck bajaing jumps he was ok to ride the lake. We later found out the ice was over 30" at that time. The next day saw a guy build a bonfire on the lake. it burned all day. While it left a good crater in the ice it was still solid.