Odds of Stillwater River freezing over this winter? (Orono, Lincoln: law, moving)

[inthetrees]

Wondering if it normally freezes over enough to cross safely on foot, specifically the area just west of U.M.

[Northern Maine Land Man]

If you venture out on that ice, wear a life jacket and carry a very long pole - under your arm - at the middle. River ice you walked on yesterday can be 1/4 inch thick the next day. That river flow varies with electric demand. It is controlled by the power company. Moving water wears away at the under side of ice. It can be 20 below at the ice surface you walk on, but the under side of that ice is at 32 degrees.

Pay attention friends. This is true for all lakes and rivers. Talk to local people. A lake can be frozen shore to shore, but where there is moving water at the mouth of a stream or the lake's outlet, the ice can be very thin. There can be local trucks parked on a lake. There can be very thin ice on that same lake.

There is a law in Maine that you must remove your truck from the lake bottom with three days - if you survive. There are experts in Maine who are experts at this. Your local game warden can give you their contact information.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCl5XWg3ggg

http://archive.thenorthwestern.com/V...Lake-Winnebago

[arctichomesteader]

I would absolutely not try crossing that river. I never saw the ice thick enough I'd trust it.

[Maine Writer]

We skated on the Stillwater near the steam plant when I was a kid. They cleared the ice, had benches and a warming hut for us, and someone kept us filled with hot chocolate. I don't think it's going to freeze this winter. The forecast I heard on WLBZ last weekend said we'll have a warmer than average January.

[Northern Maine Land Man]

The Penobscot Tribe owns all the islands from Old town to Medway. One year they decided to log a couple of islands between Lincoln and Chester. It was February and it was cold. There was considerable ice. They took the cab off a skidder and brought the logs from the island to Chester using a long cable behind the skidder. I estimate that is possible once every 20 years or so.

[Maineac]

Originally Posted by Northern Maine Land Man

If you venture out on that ice, wear a life jacket and carry a very long pole - under your arm - at the middle. River ice you walked on yesterday can be 1/4 inch thick the next day. That river flow varies with electric demand. It is controlled by the power company. Moving water wears away at the under side of ice. It can be 20 below at the ice surface you walk on, but the under side of that ice is at 32 degrees.

Pay attention friends. This is true for all lakes and rivers. Talk to local people. A lake can be frozen shore to shore, but where there is moving water at the mouth of a stream or the lake's outlet, the ice can be very thin. There can be local trucks parked on a lake. There can be very thin ice on that same lake.

There is a law in Maine that you must remove your truck from the lake bottom with three days - if you survive. There are experts in Maine who are experts at this. Your local game warden can give you their contact information.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCl5XWg3ggg

Sunk Truck Pulled From Frozen Lake Winnebago | Video Library | Northwestern Media

Good advice. I can't bring myself to drive out onto the ice in a vehicle any more, but did it for 30 years without a problem. Around 25 years ago we were ice fishing Branch Lake. 2+ feet of ice, the salmon (and one brown) were biting and some assw*pe decided to cruise through our trap field while the kids were out on the lake. He was showing off, flying, spinning, sliding and doing about 45 mph in his brand new, 10 day plates F-100 between us and the kids. Wife was horrified. Based on the direction he was heading (toward a pressure ridge), I said, ". . . oh, oh, watch THIS!" As he approached the pressure ridge, he saw it and slammed on the brakes and water appeared. He slowed down, stopped and tried to back up, spinning on the wet ice. He had just enough time to leap from the cab and run away. While we laughed loud enough for him to hear us. The truck took about 20 minutes to completely sink. Next day, a skidder was brought down with extra chain and the F100 was winched, along the bottom, to shore about 100 yards away. Over, through and around, apparently, a number of submerged large granite boulders. The 10-day plates were about the only thing still intact.

[inthetrees]

1 more day till the Orono trip, highly doubting the river is frozen over this year, however we are just going to use a designated driver. Should be a great Bluegrass show tomorrow night if anyone in the area wants to get out of the house.