Trifecta: Miller Pond, Lake Morey and Lake Fairlee

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Dr Jo

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Mar 19, 2021, 10:08:05 PM3/19/21

to Nordic Skating Group, NHNordicSkating

Skated a trifecta today (see subject line).

I'll send photos separately, otherwise they don't go through.

I reported earlier today on Miller Pond. Very small, but if you're nearby it's a sweet gem and had the best conditions of the 3. Skating until 7:00 p.m. in daylight - wow.

Lake Fairlee was interesting. From the boat ramp it was very bumpy getting out beyond this main entrance/exit for ATVs, snowmobiles, and ice fishing enthusiasts. The rest of the lake was better, but still pretty bumpy. What was curious, however, is that there were wonderful 5-10 foot wide lanes of smooth ice that went for nice distances, sometimes intersecting with similar lanes heading off in other directions, and a very nice skate could be fashioned by combining these lanes. What puzzles me is their origin, as they were not formed on seep water from cracks that refroze, nor do they appear to have been intentionally created at some earlier time. I'll try to attach a photo. Gray-white snow ice, occas skim ice, very solid. Easy access at the put-in but this may change with warming daytime temps.

Lake Morey was much better today than Monday (see report headlined, "technically it was skating..."). Easy access from Fairlee Town Beach with obvious open water at the put-in easily avoided. The trail varied from 4-7+ all the way around. Interestingly, for much of both the east and west sides skating just outside and along the trail was even better. The horseshoe across the top connecting the sides wasn't great; from there I skated right along the eastern shore to the top of the lake on reasonable ice. Some skim ice here and there, easy to glide through and enjoy that nice crackle without worry.

The timeframes Jamie laid out for skating Pleasant Lake in New London, NH, before the ice softens are likely to apply to these lakes in the coming days, too, so I'm cribbing his helpful material here: <<Based on the current forecast, you should expect surfaces to begin to soften at the following times: 10:30am Saturday, 9:00am Sunday, 8:15am Monday, and 8:00am Tuesday.>>