the outfit for channel crossing. (for those who worry: keep in mind, the channel isn’t deeper than my waist at any point … I know this b/c I kept hitting my paddleboard paddle on the bottom all summer!) The brown string leads to the ice-pickers that my dad makes to pull myself out if I go in.

And I finally got brave enough to do it. (second try on the second day. I chickened out first time around)

The rest of these pictures are from looking at the ice/playing on smooth smooth L Superior ice (note, water only 15 cm deep under ice!) It was lovely!

The sun trying VERY hard to penetrate the clouds!

I walked down to the mouth of the Goulais River and sat on a log looking around:I took this picture out over the mouth of the Goulais River …

I didn’t realize at the time I was taking this picture that the night before a snowmobiler had gone missing here. It turns out that he had thought the ice was solid enough in the mouth of the river right here and gone out on it. He fell through with his machine. He was found the same evening I took this picture. In fact, Rob came home while I was out walking and was very worried because there were several police cars and ambulances on our road. (I’ll leave a note saying where I’ve gone next time!) The man was way out in the bay, almost where Goulais Bay meets Whitefish Bay, and found by helicopter. He was very young, and a well known man about town. It is so sad to think that while I was sitting here enjoying this lovely spot his family was looking for him. I’ve noticed that there hasn’t been even one snowmobile going by since, not even on the solidly frozen, and shallow channel, whereas we had a constant flow of them prior. I guess everyone is so shocked and sad that they aren’t willing/wanting/able to get back out there. I’m even a little gun shy now about walking across the channel.

Lake Superior is wonderful, but unforgiving in many ways. My thoughts are with that gentleman and his family right now …

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