Silver Lake Ice Out

After posting the pseudo scientific explanation of how ice melts I witnessed it first hand last night as we took Rookie the Wonder Dog for a stroll. Temps were balmy but a gusting 25mph wind out of the south made things a bit uncomfortable. The ice on Silver Lake, a small 60 acre lake with a large island, was breaking up nicely. Silverwood park itself is new and is on the site of the historic Salvation Army Camp and Conference Center which was founded in 1921 and operated until 2004. Other than missing the 'no pets' sign and getting busted with a guilty looking Rookie by the park ranger, we had a good stroll. Just as yesterdays post stated, the ice had crystallized and was breaking up, blowing into shore and stacking up in piles that tinkled as the wind moved them around. I guess I hadn't noticed the phenenom before but there it was in all its spring-like glory.


I hope the Apostle's expedition sees that same ice melting this weekend but I'm a bit skeptical. Reports from MrSafe, a noted Ashland realtor, reports, '30" of ice in Chequamagon Bay and large drifting plates of ice at Saxon Harbor'. GurneyGranny weighed in this morning with,'The only open water I've seen is the channel they busted from Bayfield to LaPointe. Tell em to watch out for ferries!'. An experienced group of paddlers the likes of RonO, RonS, Alex, and ChrisG should be fine but need to remember that the lake is indeed the boss, especially in April. My plan is to head down to the Trempealeau National Wildife Refuge, paddle, and take pictures of the incredible migration that's heading up the Mississippi flyway this time of year. I am sure that notes on the two trips will need to be compared at some point next week over a cool pint of Summit Maibock.