Uploaded March 2012 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
I dodge slush and spider holes (overflow) on the lake ice, hauling my toboggan out, in the last of the series from my 4-day solo mid winter trip 2012. The ice dynamics on these small lakes is very interesting. Less wind-packed then bigger lakes at this midway point in the winter, the heavy snow forces the ice down, and water overflows on top of the ice through cracks, melting out "spider holes", and floods the ice under the snow. The fluffy powder snow is still very insulative and the slush does not freeze. The lake ice is safe, about 1 1/2 feet or 45 cm thick this winter, except around the actual spider holes. Slush is the bane of winter trekking in the northern lakes. The generic safety issue is wet feet when getting bogged and stuck in deep slush, and the sled can get mired in it because of flash-freezing globs of wet snow that prevent any hauling of the sled. In deep cold temps (although warm on this trip), your gear is your life support system. The slush can terminate a sled hauling trip, forcing you to base camp and go out the way you came. I was able to scoot over top of the seeping slush and was lucky the temps were warm enough to prevent freezing globs of ice on my toboggan.
I dodge slush and spider holes (overflow) on the lake ice, hauling my toboggan out, in the last of the series from my 4-day solo mid winter trip 2012. The ice dynamics on these small lakes is very interesting. Less wind-packed then bigger lakes at this midway point in the winter, the heavy snow forces the ice down, and water overflows on top of the ice through cracks, melting out "spider holes", and floods the ice under the snow. The fluffy powder snow is still very insulative and the slush does not freeze. The lake ice is safe, about 1 1/2 feet or 45 cm thick this winter, except around the actual spider holes. Slush is the bane of winter trekking in the northern lakes. The generic safety issue is wet feet when getting bogged and stuck in deep slush, and the sled can get mired in it because of flash-freezing globs of wet snow that prevent any hauling of the sled. In deep cold temps (although warm on this trip), your gear is your life support system. The slush can terminate a sled hauling trip, forcing you to base camp and go out the way you came. I was able to scoot over top of the seeping slush and was lucky the temps were warm enough to prevent freezing globs of ice on my toboggan.
