Yesterday the ice layer on Lake Superior broke up and open water appeared again where I was standing for this picture so another sign that spring is coming and the rain last night took the last of my snow pile finally. But with chances of snow in the forecast, it might not be the last of the white stuff this spring yet.
Winter Fading
The sun set last night on the Lake Superior ice cave season as they closed last evening after only ten days due to the warming temperatures and predicted winds which will make the ice pack unstable. And while it might have been a short season for the ice caves, it has been a long winter so I don’t mind the warm up.
Sun Setting on the Season
By 8 am this morning, people have braved the cold temperatures and had hiked over two miles to see the ice caves which opened today after the ice pack was determined to be thick enough for visitors. In the summer, kayakers will paddle through the arch opening (when the waves aren’t not too high) but for a brief period during some winters, hikers can walk through the opening instead.
Winter Sea Arch
A friend of mine was planning to see some waterfalls on the Hawaiian island of Kauai today, but others will be visiting much colder waterfalls tomorrow when the ice caves open this weekend on the south shore of Lake Superior. The icy waterfalls will not be flowing like those in Hawaii but some frozen ones do have water flowing inside or behind the icy layer. And some brave adventurers will crawl through narrow gaps in the ice to see the flowing water.
Icy Waterfall
The below normal February temperatures this year is allowing some ice formation by the sea caves again, for the third time this year. And if the winds don’t blow the ice pack away from the cliffs, the caves might open in a week or two for visitors again but at the moment there are too many thin spots to walk safely on the ice like last year.
A Walk on the Ice
Another light coating of snow overnight hides the ice patches so I probably will practice my ice jig again today like I did yesterday. At least when I visited the ice caves last year, you expected to find ice, although it did come in more colors, shapes and textures than I imagined.
Icy Tunnel
It appears the ice monster had swallowed a mouth full of people last year but it may be hungry this year with no visitors able to get near it.
Hungry Ice Monster
The cold front arrived and it is a chilly start to the day so the ice formations do not have to worry about melting today, but then they won’t be growing longer either without some running water.
Icy Icicles
After slipping on a patch of ice this morning and doing a not so pretty impromptu dance, I not sure ice is so pretty to look at, especially if it looks like a monster ready to devour me.
Ice Monster
Surface ice had been forming again along the sea caves, but winds on the weekend blew the ice back out into Lake Superior so there is open (and mighty chilly) water where I stood just one year ago to take pictures of the icy formations. And because I was busy taking pictures of the ice caves, we didn’t get too far the first day (and didn’t reach the end of the caves after the second afternoon either).
Ice a Year Ago
