January 2025 - 40

Poor ice conditions can lead to a dangerous situation in the outdoors. (Adobe Stock Photo)
W
hen I was 16 my friend, Dave, told me about some of the
most colorful fish he'd ever seen. He thought they were a
type of char. The fish lived in a high-mountain lake in the
backcountry, and I wanted to see them for myself. We decided to go
in early spring. There was still a lot of snow on the ground, and the
temperature that day was very cold. We hiked over big snow drifts
and deadfall timber for about a mile before we finally came to the lake,
which was mostly iced over.
There was a big, frozen bay on the east side
and a bit of open water to the north where
I wanted to drop my line. The deadfall and
crusted snow skirting the lake made it difficult
to reach. I took off across the ice, thinking
I could save time. I never considered that
springtime with a bit of open water around
the lake would be a hazardous time to venture
out on the ice.
As I reached the middle, Dave yelled a
warning. At the same time, I heard a horrific
shrieking noise as if all the ice on the lake had
shattered. I stopped walking. Then, I went
40 | January 2025
under. I immediately resurfaced and grabbed
the edge of the ice with one hand and held
my tackle box and rod in the other. It was
at least 200 yards to get to shore. I tried to
climb onto the ice, but it broke. Repeatedly
I tried to pull myself up, but the ice broke at
every attempt.
Realizing I would never be able to climb on
the ice, I put my elbow on the ice, pulled hard
and snapped off a small piece. I did this over
and over, pulling myself into the space I had
cleared and continuing to snap off another
section until my arm tired. I transferred my
fishing rod and tackle box to the exhausted
arm and started to break off ice with the other
elbow. I switched back and forth; this system
went on until I finally climbed out of the lake
right where Dave stood, and yes, I still had
my tackle box and fishing pole.
I said to Dave, " Why didn't you build me
a fire? "
" Because I never thought you could possibly
make it to shore. "
" Well, I did make it! Are you going to

January 2025

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of January 2025

January 2025 - 1
January 2025 - 2
January 2025 - 3
January 2025 - 4
January 2025 - 5
January 2025 - 6
January 2025 - 7
January 2025 - 8
January 2025 - 9
January 2025 - 10
January 2025 - 11
January 2025 - 12
January 2025 - 13
January 2025 - 14
January 2025 - 15
January 2025 - 16
January 2025 - 17
January 2025 - 18
January 2025 - 19
January 2025 - 20
January 2025 - 21
January 2025 - 22
January 2025 - 23
January 2025 - 24
January 2025 - 25
January 2025 - 26
January 2025 - 27
January 2025 - 28
January 2025 - 29
January 2025 - 30
January 2025 - 31
January 2025 - 32
January 2025 - 33
January 2025 - 34
January 2025 - 35
January 2025 - 36
January 2025 - 37
January 2025 - 38
January 2025 - 39
January 2025 - 40
January 2025 - 41
January 2025 - 42
January 2025 - 43
January 2025 - 44
January 2025 - 45
January 2025 - 46
January 2025 - 47
January 2025 - 48
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/january-2025
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/december-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/october-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/september-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/august-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/july-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/june-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/wyoming-wildlife-may-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/april-2024-e-edition
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/march-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/february-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/january-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/december-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/october-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/september-2023
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https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/may-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/april-2023
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https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/december-2022
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https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/september-2022
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https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/july-2022
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https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/may-iak-special-issue
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https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/march-2022
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https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/january-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/dec-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/october-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/september-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/august-2021
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https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/june-2021
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https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/January2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/December2020
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