Lake Markers rescue

I went out on the lake today to pick-up the lake markers on the lakes near town.... last week our trails where still open but with day time highs in the 20's the snow melted fast and the ice on the lakes got thin at an alarming rate.   So I hooked up the snowmobile trailer with the sled in it and  headed out to the lakes, I drove around looking for a good place to unload... hardly any snow pile left to unload off... I settled for a dirt bank and unloaded the sled, my sled  sitting there was idling and seamed like it was trying to tell me something  " Are you sserious? are you really going to take me over this grass and dirt then on a bare lake?" I Strapped on some bungee cords on the back rack to help me tie down the lake markers once I would grab them  then I put on my Mustang (full jacket) life vest and  headed out on the bare grass with my sled... as I drove up to where the trail goes on the lake I noticed that the ice had melted from the shore line and there was about 2 to 3 feet of open water....humm, there was no way I could make it one here as the angle from the shore to the ice was too steep and I could just see myself trying to go on the ice and my 2 skis getting hooked on the ice and I'd fly over the bars on too the ice.   I turned my sled around and looked for a better spot, I headed for the spot where the D trail to White River  goes on the lake,,,,  more bare grass to get there... darn same thing and the angle onto the lake is even worst...

I turn the sled around and tried to find a new spot.. I decide to ride near the shore line and see where the ice is right up to the shoreline... hmmm nothing.... I keep on looking then I found a spot in the shade where there was some brush and there is still  snow mixed with tall grass and weeds and brush... the ice is only about a foot away and the angle is the best I've seen... I point my sled in the small spot  and without thinking more than a few seconds I pin it...  "Brappppp.".... my sled  slices  the open water and the ice breaks under the weight of my heavy sled, my sled bogs but I know I will hit hard ice once I'm a few feet from the shore... the sled finally hit hard ice and I'm relieved as my sled was slowing down due that I only had a short distance to get a run at the ice and I had to pull on the bars to get the skis up so they would not hook on the ice.

Now I'm on the hard ice,  I made it but with all of this I had forgotten to take into account that the small Herman creek is raging with water from all the fast melting snow and ice from up stream and it has melted the ice....  with my new unplanned entry to the lake I had forgotten about the area of the creek coming onto the lake... once I got on the hard ice I look in front to open water in front of me...... oh shit..... what to do???  the lake is bare with no snow, I have no studs.....quickly turn left and try to avoid most of it and giver gas? or just go strait and keep the engine wide open.   well in the few seconds I had to react I decided to crack the sled wide open and go strait as I knew once passed that open spot the ice would  be solid as that's where the trail on the lake was and the ice is all ways thicker in those  spots...  the sled came alive and skipped over the open water. I was speeding over the gap,  water was shooting from the back and sides of the sled,  the 800 triple made it over without any problems, I  got on top of the hard pack with my heart pumping....  I did not waste to much time on the lake as there was many black spots... the ice seem still very thick  but I was not going to hang around to find out how think it was, I quickly picked up the markers one by one and strapped them on my sled.

On my way back I drove my sled around the open water section and looked for a way off the lake... after planing my way off I decided on taking the spot where the D108A comes off the lake... I lined up and gave the sled gas,  not too much as I did not want to hit the bare dirt on the shore too fast to avoid a sudden stop and do a dismount on my face on the shoreline, I got close came to the edge of the ice at a good pace and once I hit the open water i let off the gas so I would get on the shore a the right speed,  the water splashed and my pants got a little wet from the water spraying, other than that it all went well.  I rode back to the truck loaded the sled back on the trailer and said to myself   " that was stupid , what where you thinking?"

I know the lakes around here but still I was taking a big chance, do not go on lakes if you are not sure.  Now it time for some Atv riding.  Check back for more stories all summer long..... my blog is not shutting for the summer.



Here's a video I took... its short, I was too in a hurry to get off of the lake.

The open water I forgot about....

The Ice gone from the shoreline (D108A)

My 2 set of tracks, When I first rode up to the ice and turned around on the dirt then my track coming off the lake hitting the dirt on the shoreline.

The spot where I got on the ice

Same spot I got on the Ice  (close up)

Where I took off with my sled, you can see my take off tracks.