We Have Arrived

Everyone has made it into camp safely. Freezing rain and blowing snow were not enough to keep us from arriving at Big Hook last Saturday (May 16th). For the past two days all of us here (Mom, Dad, Myself, Andre, our two helpers Elvis and Anthony) have been lugging motors, cutting wood, cleaning cabins, flying freight, etc... as fast as we can.
Saturday night was a chilly one. The lake actually froze over again over night! Again this morning (May 18th) Mother Nature decided to play another joke on us today by dumping another inch of snow in our front yard (see the attached pic). Fortunately, warmer temperatures are along the way.
I am itching to get on the water but for now it's time to put on a layer of under armour and get back to opening camps.

Batten Down The Hatches!

Mother Nature always has her way of letting you know she is the boss. Today, she is having her way with us here at Eagle Lake. Lashing us with 45 +mph winds and stinging rain, Mother Nature is telling us spring has just begun.
On days like today winds only stress out pilots and aggravate outpost camp owners, mostly because we have to succumb to the weather. The only thing we can do is sit back and wait.....and wait.
When the gusts top 45mph our stress levels elevate and our eyes turn to the dock where the wind and water pitch our float plane around like it was made of paper. We can only hope that the dozen ropes we have lashed to everything in sight will hold fast and keep our only means of transportation stationary and grounded.
As a guide, I do enjoy foul weather of sorts. Dark skies often increase the bite and trophies are more often caught. However, when the howling winds are splashing gallons of water over your boat and temperatures are hovering around 35 degree's and lower, I draw the line. I am a tough tough fisherman, I'll guide through most of Mother Nature's tantrum's. I'll admit though, the wind...it is my enemy. Nothing is more disheartening than seeing three foot rollers lumbering down the lake. At that moment my fishing instinct is turned off, I set my rod down and sulk back to the cabin for a nice warm cup of coffee.

Patience is a virtue

Still all quiet on the northern front. Ice is still holding steady in the Sandy Lake/Big Hook area. Yesterday Dad and I, admittedly getting a little restless, decided to take a drive to Red Lake and drop off a load of supplies at Wasaya Air. Along the way we were surprised to see many lakes still with ice on the surface. Howie Bay in Red Lake was still completely white with ice. However, after talking to several pilots and looking at weather forecasts, we left with the impression that we should be getting into camp soon. Tomorrow will bring warm temperatures to the area, with lots of sun and hopefully a little wind to start cracking up the ice.

Also, tomorrow I'll be heading to Winnipeg to pick up our pilot Andre and our 185 Cessna. We will fly the plane back to Eagle Lake here and wait for the green light. Once we get the call that an airplane can get into Central Lake, Andre and I will jet out of here ASAP.
Here's to warmer weather and a non icey future. Take care all.

Heat Wave Today

Yesterday I woke up a little chilly. I didn't think much of it, just another cool spring morning crossed my mind. Still bleary eyed I walked down to the most important kitchen appliance, the coffee maker of course, and began my daily routine. Raising my eyes to the kitchen window only to see two inches of snow on the ground caused my jaw to drop. Fortunately, several hours later the snow disappeared and the yard was once again the typical spring field of mud.

Waking up this morning I experienced an entirely different sensation. I sprang out of bed, my feet touched the floor and amazingly I didn't recoil with ice cube toes. I rambled downstairs once again to the coffee maker, looked outside at the thermometer to see the morning temp was pleasant 45 degrees already at 7 am.
The temperatures today will perhaps flirt with the 60 degree range, which is excellent news for all of us who are waiting to get on the water. I decided to take a couple of pics of Eagle Lake to show you all the progress of the melting ice. As you can see, the ice is pulling away from the shoreline and has thinned drastically. The temperatures in Sandy today are slightly cooler than here in Vermilion Bay. Many people are starting to take bets on when the ice will "officially" remove itself from the water. With weather like this today and rain in the forecast for tomorrow, look for the ice to take some major damage in the next couple of days. So once again, fingers crossed and hopefully we will be on the water soon.