Muir Lake

Late last October, I popped out to Muir Lake for quick paddle at lunch. Temperatures had been consistently below freezing overnight and I found a fair bit of ice on arrival (the air was +3C), including about 20 feet out from the launch.

Fortunately, the ice was thin and easily broken by my foot and then the bow of the kayak. Once clear of that, there was just a bit of floating ice in the northern half of the lake.

There was also a good sheet of ice halfway down the lake, where it pinches together at the island.

Both sides of the island were frozen (you can see my paddle resting on the ice with the island in the background). I managed to push through to the open southern basin without too much trouble.

The reflections were great on the calm water and, by the time I was off, the ice was starting to break up in the sun and the rising temperatures.

This was a good reminder that the flat-water season was coming to an end (the North Saskatchewan was ice free) and also to get my skates sharpened up!