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Thanks everyone for the updates!
I'm down in Barrie and I'm tempted to drive all the way up the Tim access to check things out lol.
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ATVenture wrote:
Just got back from Kiosk.
I bet the majority of the lake will be open by Monday, 100% open on Tuesday. There have already been canoes in the water.
New Modis Image out now, you can see things are changing very rapidly. Bye bye ice.
Sure are!! Like I say, ice-out Wednesday at the latest. Thanks for the great updates ATV. Almost wishing I had kept my original reservation to start from Kiosk next week. Been a few years since I was up there--this summer for sure!
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I believe Fork Lake is mostly open on the Webcam?
Edit - Maybe Not lol. Might have been the lighting
Last edited by ATVenture (5/05/2018 7:17 pm)
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300!!! 
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It did look like fork had mostly opened, after tomorrow it will be wide open.
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"Algonquin Park's lake ice along the Highway 60 Corridor has survived a high wind event on May 4, 2018 caused by an approaching cold front. Wind gusts reported to 65km/h at the Park's West Gate did little to remove ice from medium and large lakes."
Anyone else feel like the Park, or whoever does these updates, is deliberately trying to build the drama about this ice-out LOL?
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I just wanted to chime in and say that I love this thread. It's awesome to know there are so many passionate (insane) people out there, it makes me feel slightly less crazy. My guess is that if there was a live ice out feed, we'd all have it on 24/7. When it's reported that the ice is finally out, remember to take deep breaths, we don't need anyone dropping dead at this point. See you out there.
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Check out these guys I seen on Pimisi Lake yesterday. The first portage of the Mattawa River is on the far shore just slightly to the right of the photo. That's where they were headed. Funny thing is I know they weren't the first people to run the entire Mattawa this Spring. Bill Steer ran the River from Pimisi to Mattawa on May 1st.
There were also around 10-12 kayakers playing in the Amable Du Fond yesterday, beside Highway 630 around the snowmobile trail crossing.
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Check out these guys I seen on Pimisi Lake yesterday. The first portage of the Mattawa River is on the far shore just slightly to the right of the photo. That's where they were headed. Funny thing is I know they weren't the first people to run the entire Mattawa this Spring. Bill Steer ran the River from Pimisi to Mattawa on May 1st.
There were also around 10-12 kayakers playing in the Amable Du Fond yesterday, beside Highway 630 around the snowmobile trail crossing.
I can remember doing stuff like this in the park back in the 80's when we would get our pemits regardless for opening week.
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Check out these guys I seen on Pimisi Lake yesterday. The first portage of the Mattawa River is on the far shore just slightly to the right of the photo. That's where they were headed. Funny thing is I know they weren't the first people to run the entire Mattawa this Spring. Bill Steer ran the River from Pimisi to Mattawa on May 1st.
There were also around 10-12 kayakers playing in the Amable Du Fond yesterday, beside Highway 630 around the snowmobile trail crossing.
Was in the interior of Pukaskwa in early May with a buddy one year. First 2 lakes we paddled through were ice free, the last one looked like that.
My friend was in the bow, and against my wishes, he hopped out on the ice with his hands still on the gunnels to drag the boat forward a few feet at a time, then he'd hop back in.
I knew it was stupid, but there was no stopping him. Eventually just as I thought, in mid drag he fell straight through a patch of rotten ice and was in the lake up to his neck hanging onto the gunnel. I'm eternally grateful he didn't grab the gunnel when he fell through as he would have flipped the canoe and both of us would have been in the lake.
He managed to climb back in then we made for shore and lit a fire.
Was really foolhardy and scary, never again. 
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Mike back in the day we use to fish the outflow of Bruce nuke and would always have to push our tinny that way over Baie du ore till we broke through we would wear our 5mm neoprene and you could kind of tell when the ice was going to break.
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Mike back in the day we use to fish the outflow of Bruce nuke and would always have to push our tinny that way over Baie du ore till we broke through we would wear our 5mm neoprene and you could kind of tell when the ice was going to break.
The things you do for fish eh?
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Not to be a killjoy but has anyone stepped back and took a look at where we really are right now?
The Park's planned opening is less than a week away and lakes still have ice, access roads on the West side are still impassible doe to snow cover and the status of the Brent Road is still unknown not to mention whatever damages has happened to the roads and need to be fixed over the Winter. Not to mention that staff have not made it in to do any pre season maintenance.
Ya I know that a few closed access roads will not stop the rest of the Park being opened but also looking at the the last few years, current Park Management seems reluctant to open the back county to overnight travel if there is ice remaining anywhere in the Park. It seems that the days of the South being opened while there is ice in the North end are long gone.
Ya I know, not what anyone wants to hear but someone had to say it.
Let's just hope I am wrong but I am not ruling out the date being pushed back a little more to protect us from ourselves and keep the Lawyers happy.
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Not to be a killjoy but has anyone stepped back and took a look at where we really are right now?
The Park's planned opening is less than a week away and lakes still have ice, access roads on the West side are still impassible doe to snow cover and the status of the Brent Road is still unknown not to mention whatever damages has happened to the roads and need to be fixed over the Winter. Not to mention that staff have not made it in to do any pre season maintenance.
Ya I know that a few closed access roads will not stop the rest of the Park being opened but also looking at the the last few years, current Park Management seems reluctant to open the back county to overnight travel if there is ice remaining anywhere in the Park. It seems that the days of the South being opened while there is ice in the North end are long gone.
Ya I know, not what anyone wants to hear but someone had to say it.
Let's just hope I am wrong but I am not ruling out the date being pushed back a little more to protect us from ourselves and keep the Lawyers happy.
I am still 50/50 on next Friday being opening day. I have a strong feeling they will push it to the 18th for the long weekend.
My buddies and I have a good backup plan for next weekend if it is pushed back again. Better to be safe than sorry!
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I would *like* to hope that, given how late we are into the season already, that they'll get less wedded to a Friday opener, and push back a couple days at a time (if needed). Do I have any evidence they'll do that? Nope. But if I were running Algonquin, I wouldn't want the first day for a bunch of new staff to be Victoria Day Friday. If I could open a few days before then to give them a soft opening, I certainly would!
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Is there someone we can email or call to give our opinion about only pushing the opening back as much as necessary? Maybe if they hear from enough of us it'll make a difference? But then again...
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Took a drive up the Brent Road this afternoon.. got as far as the 11km mark then found this puddle... we didn't try it.
