| Author |
Message |
pine_tree_point
Member
Post Number: 1
Registered: 03-2010
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 2, 2010 - 10:00 am: | 
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My son is planning a possible trip to cross country ski and snow shoe from Bear Island to near Horseshoe (or the lower entrance to Sharprock Lake). What are the lake conditions now~ the beginning of March 2010? He would be there in mid-March. We come to Temagami every summer, but have never been in the winter. Just want to be sure it is safe for cross country ski/snow shoe travel. Also, what would be your estimate of time to travel by cross country skis from Bear Island to Horseshoe? Thanks so much. |
curly
Member
Post Number: 210
Registered: 03-2006
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 2, 2010 - 10:04 am: |
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Time estimate, 1/2 a day if he's a competent skiier and not easily bored by a long straight stretch.
As for lake conditions, speak with people on Bear Island, at Camp Wabun, and Keewaydin a few days before heading out. |
pine_tree_point
Member
Post Number: 2
Registered: 03-2010
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 2, 2010 - 10:16 am: |
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Thanks, Curly, for your response. I will contact someone, as you suggested. One concern that I've always had for winter travel is that we know the lake well in the summer.... but some of our visual cues wouldn't be there in the winter. Do you think that it is relatively simple to navigate that part of the lake in the winter? |
irishfield
Member
Post Number: 227
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 2, 2010 - 12:52 pm: |
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Ice is definitely safe! 18 to 22 inches. Trail is marked with wood sticks from Garden Island part way to Rabbit nose... it then changes to branches to Rabbit nose and beyond..allowing him to get to Devils Island on a marked trail. Not sure what's beyound Devil.. but I believe it is marked as well. With the conditions of late.. it should be pretty easy going if not bare ice. |
ed
Moderator
Post Number: 748
Registered: 03-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 2, 2010 - 1:10 pm: |
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If it is bare ice it will be easier to walk it.Skiis are hard to control on bare ice.
Is your son hauling a sled/toboggan? The travel times will be much longer. |
curly
Member
Post Number: 211
Registered: 03-2006
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 2, 2010 - 2:13 pm: |
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Ice is safe, with some major exceptions. You might know Devil's Island in the summer, but in the winter it rarely freezes at the northern tip, at the base of Devil's Mountain. In the Horseshoe Island area, it never freezes in the upper narrows between Deer Island and the mainland. So yes, it is safe, but only if you know the lake in the winter.
Spots between islands and mainland are often thin due to currents, and the same goes for above shoals. At Horseshoe, it might be thin along the eastern side, at the narrows.
So if you stay on a marked snowmobile trail, you'll probably be ok. But still ask someone who knows the exact part of the lake you're going to. |
pine_tree_point
Member
Post Number: 3
Registered: 03-2010
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 2, 2010 - 3:44 pm: |
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Thanks to everyone who posted their comments here. They are very helpful. He'd probably stay on the main channel all the way up~ past Ojibway, and stay to the main channel side of Horseshoe. That's pretty much as far as he would go. He'd try to go from Bear Island to Horseshoe and back again in one day...so probably just with a pack on his back. I think he does not intend to camp out. Just a round-trip ski trip. If you think of more things he should be considering, just let me know. How great that so many of you watch and respond to these forums. If only we had forums for everything in life, it might make it easier! Thanks again! |
pine_tree_point
Member
Post Number: 4
Registered: 03-2010
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 2, 2010 - 11:09 pm: |
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If anyone else has thoughts or advice on this adventure, please post. I want to get as much information as possible so that he can make the correct decision. Thanks. |
mahogany1193
Member
Post Number: 1
Registered: 03-2010
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 3, 2010 - 4:02 pm: |
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wow, I was planning the exact same trip as your son. Thank you for providing all of this valuable information, you have a very lucky son with such great, caring parents. |
pine_tree_point
Member
Post Number: 5
Registered: 03-2010
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 3, 2010 - 5:21 pm: |
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Oh wait.... your screen name sounds familiar....you must be his other parent!!! |
mahogany1193
Member
Post Number: 2
Registered: 03-2010
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 3, 2010 - 5:25 pm: |
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i've been looking into it too, and I think its more than safe for him to go. I think that it would be a great experience for him! |
brian
Moderator
Post Number: 1150
Registered: 02-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, March 4, 2010 - 9:35 am: |
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To get into Sharp Rock, and avoid the narrows, there is a snowmobile out of the north end of Raccoon Bay into the bottom of Sharp Rock. |
lorrain
Member
Post Number: 21
Registered: 12-2008
| | Posted on Thursday, March 4, 2010 - 10:25 am: |
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The best trail into Sharp Rock is the first bay North of the narrows it is probably the best traveled. |
dan_carpenter
Moderator
Post Number: 65
Registered: 03-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, March 4, 2010 - 3:15 pm: |
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Lorrain's point is well-advised. While the trail out of the north end of Raccoon Bay into the bottom of Sharp Rock was viable several years ago, it very well could be overgrown or otherwise impassable now. The trail from the first bay north from the Upper Narrows is much more frequently traveled. |
pine_tree_point
Member
Post Number: 6
Registered: 03-2010
| | Posted on Saturday, March 6, 2010 - 4:47 pm: |
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Hi. I am the one who originally posted about ice conditions and my son's desire to cross country ski up the lake this month. Being 19 years old, he has decided that the trip is out of his price range for this year..and being that we are paying for college, we are not jumping in to help him with the expense! So he has decided to postpone until next winter. I now know that the best advice is here and I want to thank you all for your helpful comments. We will look forward to our annual trip to Temagami this summer... absolutely our favorite place in the world and always worth the 13 hour car ride from near Boston! Thanks again. |
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