Breaking the Ice
Getting Back to Basics to Raise Money for the Needy
by Pat LaMarche
According to information furnished by the American Pulpwood Association and reprinted on the Maine Nature News website we should “respect mother nature.â€Â And that admonition is used in conjunction with the proscribed ice thicknesses on Maine lakes when it comes to traveling across them.
Here are a few of the safety hints they cite: ice two inches thick will support the weight of “one person on foot†— ice seven and a half inches thick holds “a passenger car†— and two feet of ice can hold about “45 tons.â€
Now if you’re not from Maine I need to explain a few things about these ice facts. Winter sporting enthusiasts need to know them because they play — aka fish, snow mobile, cross country ski, etc. — on the waterways as though they were land. They even build ice shacks onto the thick ice of lakes, rivers and ponds from which they enjoy their winter activities. (more…)