May 20th Ice Update

Signs of winter have been quickly disappearing around Eagle Lake.  The ice on the majority of the surrounding lakes has completely melted and only trace amounts of snow can be found in the darkest parts of forest. Eagle Lake still has some ice but warmer temperature has caused the ice to recede at a rapid pace.

Winters grip however, is still present 500 kilometers north in the Opasquia Park. Yesterday (May 19th), a pilot from Sandy Lake seaplane flew towards Central Lake to observe the ice conditions throughout the Provincial Park.  According to his reports, the ice is sluggishly melting.  A small opening exists in the west arm of Central, around the east rapids and west rapids. See pics from May 19th right. The open water you see is just south of main camp.

Local weather is calling for cool temperatures and a fair amount of rain for today and tomorrow. However, future forecast models show temperatures Friday, Saturday and Sunday are supposed to skyrocket into the mid 70's in the Big Hook area. Gauging the pictures, three days of 70 degree weather should take care of the ice in a hurry. Another plus, fairly gusty winds have blown over the last two days.  Those winds should have pushed the ice away from the shorelines.

Fortunately, the bay at Sandy Lake has opened up enough for float plane traffic. My plan is to grab the airplane from Selkirk on Thursday or Friday and fly north to Sandy.  From Sandy Lake I can at least begin staging goods to be flown up to Big Hook.    

 Think warm thoughts for us everyone.
-Nathan
www.bighookcamps.com