Walking on water

It was three years ago that I first set foot on a frozen lake. A couple of days ago, up in Fort Collins with Wendy's family, I gave it another go.

lifesaving.org gives a handy ready-reference for what's considered safe on various thicknesses of ice:

• 3" or less STAY OFF
• 4" ice fishing, walking, cross country skiing
• 5" one snowmobile or ATV
• 8"–12" one car or small pickup truck
• 12"–15" one medium truck (pickup or van)

According to one knowledgeable local expert I met on my walk, the ice on Terry Lake was about 8", so good enough for a car. Underfoot, though, the creaks and deep resonating twangs made my lake-walk a pretty hair-raising experience, even if in theory completely safe.

From a vantage point off the ice, I took this one in the sunset: