ICE OUT! 2024 Courtesy of Doug Thompson

The last remnants of winter ice cleared out of Deep Bay in a record breaking date of March 20th.

The only other March date I have is March 25, 2012.  The average is April 20 and the latest May 4, 2018.

For those of us who like winter, this one never came. The first snow was October 30th but melted a few days later. On November 19th another snowfall with more on the 26 and 27. But any trace of it was gone by December.  Fortunately Mother Nature took pity on us and a few days before Christmas gave us 1/2 an inch for Santa's sled, which quickly melted shortly after.

Temperatures kept bouncing plus and minus all winter so whatever fell was slowly melting until the next snowfall and the most measured accumulation in the fields we had was January  21st at 13 inches. It was short lived.

 The coldest temperature was February 19th at a mere minus 24 celsius. It too was short lived. Last year, February 3rd, our record low, was minus 33 celsius.

Total snowfall from November to February 18th was only 54.5 inches, compared to last year 72 inches.

 Lake Ice: 

Although the bays started to freeze in early January the main lake didn't freeze over until January 20th. (Jan 8th last year) By February, Deep Bay was 7 inches thick, 8 inches between Long Island and North Morris Island.

By the end of the month Deep Bay had 9 inches and I took a scary snowmobile ride out midway to Sugar Island in the deepest part of the lake and measured 7 inches.  (13 inches mid lake last year)

 Hopefully our 2024 summer will be better than the winter.

ICE OUT! Courtesy of Doug Thompson

It's that time once again !

The last of the lake ice has turned into slush around Victoria, St. Helena's and North Morris Islands.

People started asking me a week ago when I thought the ice would go and I said, “around the 20th”, because the nights were down to minus 10C and days barely above zero. The two inches of rain we got on April 5th caused a lot of road damage as the ground was still frozen. 

On the 12th, the temperature hit 25C, yesterday and today were in the 30's and that did it. I'm calling it the 14th of April for 2023.

Our first snow was November 16th and by December 30th we'd received 46 inches.  (18 inches on December 25 and 26).  January to March 4th, we got only 26 inches making a total of 72 for the winter.  (Last year 61 and the year before 68)

In the last half of December our Hydro went out twice for several hours each time, and then again the beginning of January leaving us not only with no lights but no furnace or running water! (I'm not a camper!)

Temperatures were mild again this year. December's coldest was the 13th at minus 18C. January 31st got down to minus 22C and February 3 hit minus 33C. But by February 5th it was plus 4C. Only one night all winter got into the minus 30's.  The lake froze over on January 8th (last year the 3rd) and by the 24th we had 5 inches in Deep Bay (not very much at all!) By March 3rd we had 11 inches in Deep Bay and mid lake by Victoria Island. March 28th both spots measured 13 inches.

ICE OUT April 12-15, Courtesy of Doug Thompson

  • It's that time of year again !

  • The last of the lake ice, once again huddled in Miners Bay and remnants today were found piling into Pine Ridge Bay.

  • Pretty much the average ice out time, generally April 15-22. (Last year was the 8th)

  • This past winter was a little cooler than last. January had a low of -35C on the 29th, but once again no -40's. The lake froze over on January 3rd, which is now becoming commonly late compared to the 'good old days' of mid December. The first snow that stayed was December 4th. Many years ago it was early November. The last snow we got that didn't melt when it hit the ground was March 11th. Overall 61 inches of snow required being removed from our drives and walkways. (68 inches last year).

  • We did get more ice thickness this year, test holes in various parts of the lake all came up with the same 20 inches, considerably more than the last few years, but still, 20 years ago 30-40 inches was the norm!

  • Annoyingly, the power outages up here are only increasing with the more we pay ! This winter we had outages from December 11-14 (nasty), February 2-4, and March 9th for 2 hours. No running water or furnace in the winter kinda sucks !

  • This year’s Sugar Island Ice Out Winners are Al and Shelly ! Congrats !

The pics: April 12 Looking out from Deep Bay, April 14 towards the diving rocks, Miners Bay on right, April 15 Pine Ridge Bay.

Hope everyone is well and we will see you on the lake !

Doug Thompson, Deep Bay

Keith Galbraith Allen Kennedy 1959-2021

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our President, Keith Kennedy, on October 15, 2021. Keith is survived by his beloved children, Michael, Georgia, and Nolan; partner Patricia Anne O'Hara; mother, Marie; brothers, Stephen, Rick and, Terry (Marianne); as well as his many nieces and nephews who all called him their favourite uncle. Predeceased by his father, Ted; his nephew, Matthew; and his sister-in-law, Gaby. Keith will forever be remembered by his unending love for his children, his boisterous personality that gained him new friends just about anywhere he went, and his contagious smile and laugh that lit up any room. Keith's family is heartbroken by the thought of weekends spent at the cottage that will simply never be the same without him. In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that donations be made to the Haliburton Highlands Health Services Foundation. You can find a direct link here: HHHSF

ICE OUT

Long time resident of Gull Lake and GLCA member, Doug Thompson submitted this Gull Lake update.

Hello everyone, time to mark your calendars again.

As of today the last of the lake ice, which was huddled in Miners Bay, departed April 8, 2021.

This was definitely a mild winter; the coldest temps per month were January 30th, minus 26c, February 17, minus 27c and March 2nd, minus 24c. It didn't even hit the minus 30's ! First time we've ever had that ! As a result we had very little lake ice. The mouth of Deep Bay remained open until January 23rd and never did form much thickness there. February 4th an ATV broke through there and fortunately the driver was able to get out and walk for help. The beginning of March I drilled measuring holes midway in Deep Bay and got 15 inches, near the mouth was 10 inches and out in the middle mid way to Victoria Island was 12 inches. A pressure crack had formed at the mouth of Deep Bay that never did completely freeze so we had a stretch of open water there all winter.

The first snow fall that stayed was November 24th and the last was February 22nd (that I felt needed to be removed), with a grand total of 68 inches. We didn't have much rain this year and even with the warmer temps were able to enjoy a constant 20 plus inches of snow in the woods. Great year for snow shoeing !

The last two days have been plus 25 and 26c up here, but next week , so they predict, is a return to winter.

The good ol' covid shots are just starting to be given up here, beginning with front line and seniors, so we're considerably later than the GTA.

I've attached a pic from last night looking into Miners Bay over the ice. Also there's a dock that floated out in an ice field in the main lake which is now grounded off Grierson Trail. Anybody recognize it ?

Looking forward to seeing everyone safe and healthy again !

Doug Thompson

Deep Bay

Ice Out April 8 2021.jpg
Dock found during 2021 Ice Out.jpg

FIRE on SUGAR ISLAND! Friday, July 10th, 2020

Most of you have probably already heard about the fire on Sugar Island. At approximately 1:45pm July 10th, 2020 the transformer on a Hydro pole on Sugar Island blew and sent two live wires down to the dry pine needles sparking two fires in 34 C temperatures. The fire was spotted by Sarah MacLean, who quickly contacted 911, and her vast network of friends on Gull Lake. Even though Kilcoo Camp is closed for the summer, their emergency crew quickly responded. Ian Currie, an alumni of Kilcoo, managed to fire up the pump even after 40 years, that's stellar training!! The Minden Fire Department and the MNRFF also responded quickly. Miners' Bay Lodge flew into action and arrived with pumps, their team and volunteer guests from the lodge as well. Pumps, hoses and buckets quickly appeared from all over the lake. Multiple bucket brigades were formed in no time! Over 100 Gull Lake Cottagers showed up and volunteered to help get the water up the hill to fight the fire! Luckily the prevailing winds kept the fire uphill and it did not spread down to the cottages.

The Gull Lake community never disappoints. It was an amazing effort by everyone, and once the fire was under control, a big cheer could be heard across the lake. The cottagers were vigilant throughout the night and took two hour shifts checking for root fires and hot spots. The Saturday rainfall was most welcome and helped to saturate the soil and extinguish the last of the trouble spots. The Gull Lake Cottagers on the Island would like to extend their heartfelt thanks to everyone that attended, volunteered, and helped quash a near disaster, including the MFD, MNRFF, Kilcoo Camp, and Miners' Bay Lodge.