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1/31/2016 10:34 pm  #1


Ice depth

Hi all,

Planning a trip to Opeongo Feb 20th. Slightly worried about the ice depth with all this warm weather. Does anyone have an idea regarding the current ice thickness in Algonquin? 

Cheers,
Marko

 

2/01/2016 10:24 am  #2


Re: Ice depth

I haven't been up to Algonquin, but we were up to the cottage a week ago which is about an hour south of Whitney. We only had 6-8" of ice then and with the weather this last week I wouldn't be surprised if it's thinner now. 

 

2/01/2016 10:41 am  #3


Re: Ice depth

Might be best to post on an ice fishing forum, asking about large lakes near Algonquin. I'm sure there are lots of people auguring that area up every day, and Opeongo has more elevation than any major lake outside the park nearby. Personally I'd be surprised if any lake in Algonquin is unsafe to walk on right about now. Without measuring I think I had something like 6 inches of black on a small but deep lake in Richmond Hill on Saturday. 

 

2/01/2016 11:14 am  #4


Re: Ice depth

Call the park. I'm sure they would  conduct ice thickness checks throughout the season. Should be able to provide that information.

 

2/01/2016 11:22 am  #5


Re: Ice depth

Shayne74 wrote:

Call the park. I'm sure they would conduct ice thickness checks throughout the season. Should be able to provide that information.

Do they though? I'm asking out of honest curiosity. Officially the park does not recommend ice travel, which I imagine is because they don't monitor ice thickness and can't guarantee its safety. I mean I've heard of them doing ice thickness checks towards the end of the winter to try to predict ice-out, but I don't know of them doing it throughout the season.

 

2/01/2016 1:29 pm  #6


Re: Ice depth

I'm assuming they do but don't see anything current online. I did notice opeongo road is gated at the Cameron lake road. Have to walk in from there.

 

2/01/2016 2:41 pm  #7


Re: Ice depth

Whenever I have asked the Park does not give out information in ice conditions and the official word is they do not recommend travel across ice.
My guess is this policy is dictated by liability laws.

 

2/01/2016 2:56 pm  #8


Re: Ice depth

I just called the East Gate. They do not check ice depths. The road is gated at Cameron L Rd. I was hoping it wouldn't be. Not a huge fan of walking an extra 4km. 

Does anyone have any other suggestions for access points? I was thinking Smoke Lake --> Ragged Lake would be fun to explore. 

Cheers!
Marko

     Thread Starter
 

2/01/2016 7:18 pm  #9


Re: Ice depth

Got this insight from Gord @ Algonquin Outfitters today. Sounds like stay clear .

""I would suggest that ice conditions are sketchy, variable and changing daily. I had two first-hand reports a week ago, both from park cottagers. The Cache Lake guy said that he put his axe through the snow crust and couldn't get to the ice due to deep slush and water layer. The Smoke Lake cottager reported 8 inches of solid ice with pockets of slush here and there. Bear in mind this was over a week ago and we have had one day of significant rainfall and generally mild temperatures since then. The forecast for the rest of the week is pretty wonky, with cold nights and warm days. Make your own judgement call and be extremely careful. Two snowmobilers died this week in Muskoka, one in Haliburton, all three were ice-related.http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/snowmobile-crashes-muskoka-1.3426991 The ministry does not recommend lake travel in winter and does not publish any ice reports. I'd stay on solid ground for the time being."

 

2/01/2016 7:26 pm  #10


Re: Ice depth

I live on the southeast corner of the park - the ice is sketchy - people do not have their ice huts out - it isn't safe around here yet.

 

2/01/2016 7:36 pm  #11


Re: Ice depth

call the golden lake native band office. they are most likely ice fishing in the park now, with the winter camps set up nearby,,,maybe you can get a snowmobile ride deep into the park with them? help pay for the gas??? 
 

 

2/01/2016 7:58 pm  #12


Re: Ice depth

I spoke to Kevin at the East Gate on Saturday. Very sketchy ice on Opeongo. No one is going on it. We dug an ice hole on Provoking, 4 maybe 5 inches of ice in a bay. Anywhere with any current was open. All the creeks are running. You would be bound to punch through somewhere while crossing pretty much any wet land. 

 

2/01/2016 8:27 pm  #13


Re: Ice depth

There was another snowmobile fatality on Dark Lake just off the east end of Limerick Lake about 20 minutes south of Bancroft on Hwy 62 last weekend. 

I checked a few ice fishing sites and while Lake Nipissing is reporting decent ice thickness, the Sudbury area was reporting as little as 1". 

 

2/02/2016 2:51 pm  #14


Re: Ice depth

I went  on a snowshoe / circumnavigation of Sec Lake on Saturday (Jan 30th), near the Sand Lake gate and I would say that any thinner and I would not have felt comfortable. For about 90% of the lake the ice was fine, but we did walk up the creek/swamp toward Wet Lake an encountered ice thin enough to poke sticks through, and in two spots along the north west shore some slush under the snow. After that we gave the shore a wide berth as the ice in the middle of the lake was consistently better.

I did not check the thickness, but did shovel down to the ice every so often to take a look. Most of the time it was fine, and seemed to at the very least 4 inches but after the weather this week I wouldn't chance it.

stay safe.

 

2/02/2016 3:49 pm  #15


Re: Ice depth

I would say that creeks swampy and otherwise should be avoided regardless of how good the ice conditions are. I was on the little unnamed lake just north of Tanamakoon during Family Day long weekend of 2013, which was a much colder February than this one, with thick ice and snowmobiles and ice huts sitting comfortably on lakes surrounding the park. But when I crossed the southern tip of the lake too close to the outlet, my snowshoe got wet. And bear in mind this was the outlet, I was standing *upstream* of the creek, so you'd think the ice would be less affected by current there than at the other end.

On the flip side, slush doesn't always mean danger... a warm spell in the middle of winter can cause annoying freeze/thaw cycles in the upper layers of the ice without degrading the base.

Also when you're talking about the east end of the park, keep in mind the significant elevation differences between that and the west side/hwy 60 corridor. Tanamakoon, Ragged etc sit over 200 m higher than Sec or Grand, and that makes a difference to how winter plays out. Fun fact: you can get more elevation change travelling between the east and west boundaries of Algonquin Park than between the west boundary of the park and Georgian Bay. And that's true whether you're doing a hypothetical line from highest to lowest points on the boundaries, or a canoe trip across the park on the Tim and Petawawa R's vs a canoe trip from the west boundary to the Bay via the Oxtongue and Muskoka R's.

But Opeongo being so big and windy may have taken longer to freeze up in the first place, making for thinner ice now.

Bottom line, if you are going on the ice it wouldn't hurt to carry something you can jab at it with to check for thickness as you go.

 

2/02/2016 4:21 pm  #16


Re: Ice depth

Thanks guys! 

I'm planning for Feb 20th, so should have some cold temps between now and then. I'll check in on the ice depths closer to the trip. Will cut some ice holes at the start of the trip as well.

Regarding safety, even narrows between islands and close to shore will have less ice build-up. Creeks and bogs are particularly dangerous. 

My home-made ice picks are always attached to my wrists when on ice. 4" screws with a 1" dowel drilled down the middle. They float too. 


Ice chisel with the blade from Lure of the North and the pole from the woodlot. On average I cut 2" to 3" per minute, any diameter I choose :D

Ice was 18" deep last year... There's still time. I'll take 8" though. 
 

Cheers,
M

     Thread Starter
 

2/02/2016 10:35 pm  #17


Re: Ice depth

hey j.c.    ya forgot about the traditional,,4x4 truck, atv or quad runner,  or traditional  homemade snowshoe. not.
  is it just me or has anyone else noticed a lack of moose hang`n around da park? not to mention the  trout situation.
pity,,,,tsk,tsk,tsk
 

 

 

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