Hit by nasty bitter cold and sick of running indoors, I decided to again venture out on frozen Utah Lake. Utah Lake is the largest fresh-water lake in Utah. It covers about 97,000 acres (151 square miles) and is 23 miles long (north-south) and a has a maximum width of 13 miles (east-west.) It is a shallow lake, with an average depth of 9.4 feet.
My dog playing on Utah Lake
Last year, temperatures were warmer and I didn’t have the nerve to go out on the ice, having visions of falling through the ice. But this year, with freezing temperatures for over a month and morning coldness falling close to zero, it seemed time to check things out on the ice again. I took my dog out for a short run on the lake.
ATV tracks near Saratoga Springs shore
I found a solid surface with about 4-5 inches of snow. It appeared to be even thicker ice than two years ago when I ran about 100 miles on the ice. See stories here, here, and here.
I decided to run across the lake again. This is obviously risky. Utah Lake has hot springs in the lake and could have thin ice in spots obscured by the snow, especially near the shore. So kids, don’t try this at home just because I did.
For my adventure, I decided to run nearly straight across the lake to the city of Orem. Once there I could run a mile or so to a store to resupply and then run back home for a run of about 20 miles.
I’m too lazy to write up the details of this adventure so to find out what happens, you will just have to listen to these mp3s that I recorded along the way!
Descending down the short toward the lake
Listen: Recording while going down the shore and through the reeds
Me, running with Mount Timpanogos in background
Listen: Recording about three miles from the western shore
Two sheets of ice come together, pushing up ice
Listen: Recording near the eastern shore, after I fell in the water!
Crack and Crystals
Listen: Recording in the middle of the lake, describing cracks and crystals
as always, davey, your adventures make me jealous. :)
Reminds me of ice fishing in Vermont up by the Canadian border. I usually go every winter and see family but not this winter. Your right – You need to know the lake and all the channels which produces thin ice. I had a few close calls with this.