Around the Great Lakes

The Ice is Gone

Spring is in the air, 50F temps accompanied by sun have melted our snow pack, and broken up the ice on the lake. This years breakup and the coming spring equinox have signaled the time to reconnect — to discover the summer spirit and summer sports. With the expedition starting in just 6 short weeks, the long winter with an iced over lake seemed a psychological barrier.

Over the last two days, I’ve used these abnormally high temperatures to get out on the lake to paddle. On Monday, I drove south from Grand Marais to Tofte, MN attempting to find open water. By Lutsen, I started to finger my cross country skis thinking it might turn into a ski day. But by Tofte, the lake was open with a few sections of pack ice moving with the wind. The closest put-in was Tofte City Park. The pack ice lined the shoreline in a 50 yard wide band moving with the current and wind at about 3 knots to the west.

I carried my new NDK Explorer down to the water wondering how it would be to paddle through the pancake ice ranging in size from 1′ to 5′. As I finished dressing into my new Kokatat drysuit, a woman wandered up with a camera. We chatted about spring kayaking, her son is the adventurer in the family. She asked to shoot some pictures of me, and the model in me consented.
I sealed myself in to the kayak with my new Seals Sprayskirt, and pushed off into the water. The first paddle stroke of the year was used to push my way through the ice flow. Once onto open water, I felt free. Free to roam the open waters of Lake Superior again. The icy psychological barrier melted and I spent an hour paddling around large chunks of ice.

On Tuesday, after guiding during the day, I went out near Lutsen and paddled a short section of shoreline that I’ve paddled 100s of time guiding trips in the summers. The ice transformed the shoreline to a new terrain. On top of Gull Rock, the Seagulls were back ready to nest for the spring. After the paddle I worked up the bravery to do the first roll of the season. Instant ice cream headache in the 32F water. But it sure felt good to roll in fresh lake water instead of a pool.

It’s sunny spring days like this that winter just melts away, and I realize that I cross country ski only because it’s a way to stay on the water when it’s frozen. And it’s days like this when life is the clearest. What more can I ask for? As my friend Josh used to say, “Living the dream.”

Tags: first paddle, ice, kayaking video, Lake Superior, spring, training