This Inuit family was already on the ice when we got here so we knew it was safe but we still chipped a hole in the ice every foot just to make sure. They dragged the qamutiq onto the ice by hand because it is not thick enough for machines yet.
Kim, Larissa and Patricia all bundled up. It was a nice day but the wind picked up and it became very cold.
Kim with Toby and Kajuq. Kim and Dan were on the snowmachine and the dogs ran all the way there. The trek to the lake was just over 7 miles.
Since the sea isn't frozen and there isn't enough snow on the tundra yet, we had to take the road to get to the lake. Some of us took quads while others took their sleds.
Dan warming up his sled before taking off.
Marty and Danny at the edge of the lake. Danny was a little reluctant to go on the ice at first but eventually went on. I don't blame him since the ice was cracking and moving when you walked on it. I jumped up and down on it and never went through. There is about 3 inches of ice right now.
We all had our spots on the ice. We tried to spread out since the ice was a little thin to have a lot of people in one spot. The water is so clear here that you stick your head in the hole and watch your lure at the bottom. We all saw tons of fish swimming near our lures but none were bitting.
Steve fishing in his hole and Marty changing the lure on his line in the background. We all took advantage of the thin ice by making multiple holes. Today it only took 5 seconds to chip through. Last may, it took 2 and a half hours to chip through 5 feet of ice.
Maren came out with her dog team. She spent most of the afternoon on shore untangling the lines for her team. All the lines begin individually in a fan pattern but become so tangled that the knot in the line can be as big as 15 feet long.
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