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Full Version: Bad day at the Berry ... Be careful!
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][size 2][#002850]Bait_Caster and myself have been wanting to fish the springs south of Haws Point. We decided that today was the day to give it a try ... very bad idea.

Early in the morning we left the marina and headed straight across to Haws with the slush monster consuming us all the way. In an attempt to avoid danger in the springs, we went way out around next to Rainbow Point.

I’m not sure just how to write this report. There are no words to describe how bad the slush is right now. We never even got to drop a line once! We were busy all morning getting stuck and digging out. We never set up a tent and we are just simply glad to be back alive! We did drill one hole and discovered we were on ice only 2 ½ inches thick!

I fell through the ice in that area up to my waist but as I was going down, I quickly put out my arms and was able to roll to safety. Now I was drenched with water in my boots and the snow machine stuck again.

We were stuck MANY times. As the day went on, the slush resistance got worse and worse. Finally, BC was able to go good enough to get the sleds back to the truck but had to leave me behind because there was just too much resistance. I was worried the whole time he was gone that he might get stuck and be alone with a new unsolvable problem.

He did make it back to get me and it was full throttle all the way back to the marina and still just barely making it.

By the time we got back around noon, our lungs were burning and we were shaking like leaves. We had been working our guts out all morning. I felt like kissing the parking lot ground I was so happy to get back!

After we got everything loaded, and were going to drive the snowmobile up into the trailer, we could not get the engine started. We checked all the basic stuff and no luck. We were so tired that we just could not drag that heavy pig up the ramp. Luckily, four guys came by and gave us a hand. I can only imagine where we would be right now if that snow machine would have stopped on us out on the lake.

My feet were frozen and my clothes still wet and froze up to my waist.

I felt like we were very close to a tragic ending many times today.

I think that the heavy snows, like we got this week, just acted like a sponge and soaked up all the lake water. Absolutely NO where on the lake was there a lack of the supper heavy deep slush! We even go stuck several times on the hill sides because the snow was so deep.

Man, what a day. They say we learn something every day. Today I got a lot smarter!

My advice ... don’t venture out on that slushy mess too far from help.

Number of fish caught today ... ZERO! And I am alive to tell the story![/#002850][/size][/font]
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Thank goodness you and terry came out of it alive.

I say stick to the boating and shore fishing, I hate going out on slush and ice.
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thank god you two made it back in one piece and still breathing to tell about it.
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Glad you guys made it out ok Ralph. Doesn't sound like too much fun.[unsure]
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Thanks for the warning.
Good to see you safe back at home.
I hope that you get a chance to go back and enjoy a great day at Strawberry real soon.
You have earned it!
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Wow... I am really happy the 2 of you made it out ok. That's very scary. Thanks for the warning. [cool]
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Glad your still alive. I can sympathize with you. We went out to the berry as well today and ran into similar problems, though none so severe. The slush monster got really bad out 100 yards from the ramp off to the left of the marina, it was deceiving though because there was a layer of ice on top of the slush and not much ice under the slush. I took a strong step on the water and went 1-foot up to my waist in water. Fortunately I wore rubber waterproof boots and my waterproof snow pants, so I wasn't fully screwed for the day.
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Wow! I thought I had a long day. For the benefit of our own safety (and my own excitement) can you go into detail about falling through the ice and how you got out? Quick thinking on putting your arms out.
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][size 2][#002850]The instant I started to go down I instinctavlly leaned over to the more solid ice. So from my waist up landed on solid ice. Also, as I was going down I had one leg going up and was able to put that leg up out of the water then rolled. It all happened pretty fast and I rolled as fast as possible to get away from the hole. I was darn scared. Something I won't soon forget.
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Wow Ralph, reminds me of an extremely bad day I had at Huntington once. Supposedly anything that doesn't kill ya makes you stronger, but I'm not too sure about that. Glad that you made it back alive. I sure hope that we don't encounter similar conditions tomorrow at Fish Lake.
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wow, sounds like a close call, glad you made it. thanks for the slush update. later chuck
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i had a day just like that up at E-lake some years ago. i had to leve my sled out on the ice for two day's for the shush to freeze up so i could get it off the ice.. not fun at all! [unimpressed]

good to hear ya made it through the monster and back. you'll rember that one for a while..
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Glad every thing turned out OK. It is typical for strawberry, or any other water, to get slushy after the first snow fall due to the weight of the snow. It takes two or three weeks for it to freeze enough to walk or drive on top of it.

Thanks for the heads up.
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Coot old buddy, I have been in that position before and it never is a good thing to happen to anyone. I'm glad that you guys got out alright .

AFdan52
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What a crazy and scary story Ralph. I'm glad both of you made it back safely. After a heavy snow, the slush monster up there can be absolutely ridiculous.
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Wow old coot, I am glad you made it out ok, I think I will see the berry next spring.
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Thanks for info, glad your experience turned out ok. It will help us all be a bit more careful. I know what its like getting stuck in the slush, 2 years ago back in renegade bay, miles from the truck, scary. Dang slush anyway! Hope the lake can crust over sometime soon.
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Wow!! Glad to see that we weren't reading about you in the paper.
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Coot, glad to see that you both made it out safely. I can sympathize with you on that near death experience. On Christmas eve my wife, myself, and one of my friends got caught in that big blizzard on top of the mountain in Henefer on our elk hunt. We also were very wet, cold, and extreamly glad to see that truck!

Thats too bad about the snow and slush, I wonder if the ice will ever get thick with all that snow and slush as an insulator.
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Sorry to hear about the bad day you had me and my dad had one when we went up on New Years day except it was on the way back in, n the dark and we had to leave one of the sleds out there over night [mad] and come back up the next morning to get it.
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