Advice for getting to island cottage in winter?

[escaped from NJ]

When we first bought our island cottage in Aug this year, you were all so helpful in advising us. Now, I am dreaming of winter and venturing out to our cottage over the lake probably in February for one night (all my husband will agree to at this point!). We'll have heat (electric baseboard and a wood burning stove) but no water. How will the lake be to walk over? The walk will be about a mile from land. Will we need snow shoes? I've never been on a lake in winter. What is the chance of breaking through the ice at that time? :eek: What other things should I fret about between now and then?

[JTA]

I've traveled over the ice to my island place for 25+ years. I've walked, snowmobiled and driven out in a 4WD. The ice conditions and weather are usually never the same, but February is a safe bet for good thick ice. My best walk over (2 1/2miles) was on a warm February day. There was a nice pack of snow on the ice that could be walked on, or I walked in the snowmobile tracks. I pulled a toboggan behind me with my gear. Two days later, the temperature dropped to zero and the west wind kicked up. By layering my clothes and wearing a ski mask and with proper boots, I was fine walking back. You should have a way of checking the ice conditions in your area. If there is no snow on the ice, it will be hazardously slippery ... you will need some kind of metal creepers that strap onto your boots. If there is a lot of new snow on the ice you will have a difficult walk. My message is ... adapt to the conditions. My best bet is that you should be OK in February. You will be amazed at the personality of the Lake in the winter. Keep and eye on the Forum for ice condition reports and watch the weather. ENJOY!

[Island Girl]

Just ask here about the ice conditions. Many of us will be on the lake in the winter to tell you... particularly about any ice rifts, deep snow, slush, glare ice, etc. Last winter was particularly wonderful with snowmobiling into March before things got soft and mushy.

I have stayed in my camp in February with no water... works just fine. I leave lots of bottles water in the fall and thaw it when I get there. A porta pottie works well. the peacefullness and silence of the lake is magical! Food cooked on the grill is extra special. Snowshoes are good if you want to hike the interior of your island... or if the snow is too deep to walk out. It will take some time to heat the house. Mine takes a couple of hours to get to 50 another hour to get to 70.

Here are some pictures of our first walk out... I never did load all from that trip. It was a 2.5 hour walk each way... the next year we bought a snowmobile!

http://www.winnipesaukee.com/photopost/showgallery.php?cat=15005

Enjoy
IG

[spotsink]

escaped from NJ, (what exit?)

We aquired our island home a few years ago and I too was very anxious to get out there in the winter. For my first trip out I bought a pair of "Yaktraks" (see link below). That winter had been particularly cold but with little snow so the lake was like an ice skating rink. In some places the ice was so clear that from a distance you would swear it was open water! The "Yaktraks" were perfect for those conditions.

Once the ice is in and ice fishing is in full swing you will find "roads" on the ice where the fishermen travel back and forth. It is usually fairly easy walking along these but you need to watch out for traffic! It can get quite busy on the ice on the weekends...

As the other folks have already advised you, keep an eye on the forum for postings on ice conditions - as the weather gets colder there will be a lot of first hand information posted here.

My wife will not consent to staying over night at our place - we only have a fire place for heat, along with some portable electric units - but day trips are great too, if you live close enough to do it...

I'll dig out some pictures of the trip when the ice was so clear and post them... it was really neat to see the lake like that. :coolsm:

http://www.improvementscatalog.com/product.asp?product=234712LGzz&dept%5Fid=12100&subdept%5Fid=12170&code=macs=MP5WGGL&cm_mmc_o=7BBTkw%20swY8ByplCjCG4V%20%20m5ybET%20nii D%20RJaKRRq%2021RaZGW7%20%26%2022HmmRqGHmCjCQzLfyz 0CjCYzLfyzLlCw0zgf&

[Mink Islander]

Conditions vary so much! I have ice creepers for glaze ice, and snowshoes for deep fluff but often can just walk in snow boots. If you have never crossed the ice to your property before, be careful. While there should be good overall ice thickness that time of the year, by all means check in here and be sure you see plenty activity on the lake. I carry ice picks (you can mail order them), just in case....Consider buying a small sled to tow your gear. Also, depending on your plumbing, you might be able to have flushing toilets if your system gravity feeds to the holding tank. Need access to water but for a $35 investment in a hand ice drill and a manual pump-style boat bailer and bucket, you can get water from the lake with relative ease. Just have to manually fill the the toilet tank after each flush. Remember to winterize with RV antifreeze afterwards. Final thought: look into a remote system for turning your heat on. For under $100 I installed a cheapo X-10 system that I control with codes through the telephone. I can turn my Kerosene heater on the day before so it's toasty when I arrive. Otherwise, you will find yourself potentially waiting hours for the house to warm up once you get there - BRRR!

[islandAl]

Best if you can get together with someone that has gone your route before. Do you pass points of land, could be thin ice, shallow place, narrow channels? All COULD be possible danger points. I have had 3 feet of ice and open water 400 feet away at a channel. In one cold snap, that channel froze (skimmed over) and shortly thereafter, there was a truck sitting on the bottom with water to the windows. :eek:
Water circulating around rocks just under the surface can undermine the ice to too thin to stand on, while the ice 20 feet away could support a car.
Sunglassess are a must.

[escaped from NJ]

I really appreciate the advice. Still a little scared. I will order my yaktraks and ice picks and check the forum before we go. We definitely will only go if there are no storms forecasted.

Island Girl, I loved the pictures. I really can't wait to do this after seeing them.

[spotsink]

escaped from NJ:

It has taken me a while to get this done... (had to crop and resize the photos in order to upload them) but here are a few pictures of our first trip out over the ice the winter after we bought our place. This was February 1st 2004. A week later there was over a foot of snow on the ice but up until then there had been very little. :cool:

[Joe Kerr]

Anyone know if any island residents use a helicopter to get to their property? More expensive than snow shoes but if you have the $$$ why not use a 'copter?

[ApS]

"...Also, depending on your plumbing, you might be able to have flushing toilets...you can get water from the lake with relative ease. Just have to manually fill the the toilet tank after each flush..."

Filling the tank will take about six gallons of water. You can save several steps to the lake by bypassing the filling of the toilet tank itself.

Pour about 2½ gallons of water directly into the toilet from a bucket. It will "flush" just fine...and you'll have 3½ gallons left for next time. :)

It's an acquired "skill": I'd suggest some practice — prior.

[Mee-n-Mac]

Anyone know if any island residents use a helicopter to get to their property? More expensive than snow shoes but if you have the $$$ why not use a 'copter?


Along the same line as the above question ---- Obviously just walking or sno-mobiles would be the least $$ way to get to the island during a complete freezeup but in the spirit of the question ... I wonder if anyone uses a 6 wheel ATV anymore. They were a semi-common thing waaaay back when to get across land and water and might well be suited to island transport in those "tween" times. Then again I'm not sure how good 6wheel ATV's would be in climbing back upon ice from the H2O. Just a thought ....

[Orion]

I sincerely doubt an ATV or amphib could climb back out on the ice from a breakthrough to the water. The amphib would at least float until an airboat or hovercraft rescue could come by. :)