Temperatures are rising this last week of February, giving a possible hint the coldest spell of winter in Michigan may be coming to an end. Of course, now that I have typed that statement, it surely means we will be hit with another big storm. I took a couple of trips up the coast of Michigan’s thumb this week, venturing a bit beyond my normal visits to Lake St. Clair for winter landscapes. Many in Michigan already have “blue ice fever” given the widespread reports of large blocks of blue ice building up near the Mackinac Bridge.

Of course, northern Michigan isn’t the only place to see blue ice as I’ve already written about the blue ice on Lake St. Clair. It’s also been reported at various spots along Lake Huron from Port Huron to Port Sanilac. But just like it did on Lake St. Clair, it can disappear quite quickly or get covered in snow, diminishing some of the “awe” freshly piled-up ice may have.

Lake Huron ice

Knowing that conditions can change in a matter of hours, I am not one to drive 4 hours north to photograph blue ice in Mackinaw. Call it a bit of natural immunity to blue ice fever, or a higher threshold for chasing such things. If I lived closer, I’d certainly go check it out. So when I began seeing reports much closer along Lake Huron, I gave in a bit. While it is further than my normal 30 minute trip to Lake St. Clair, an hour and a half drive up Michigan’s Thumb was more tolerable. Besides, it’s been a number of years since I have photographed ice on Lake Huron, so I was overdue for a visit, even without the blue fever.

Ice Safety and the $200 boot story

I went late morning to Port Sanilac to get an idea of what conditions were like and scout around a bit at a few nearby parks I knew of. I checked the weather forecast which was indicating some increasing cloud cover, giving the potential for some good skies. Upon arrival, I could already see the effects of the reports of blue ice here. The parking lot was about half full. Perhaps 25% were ice fisherman, the rest, blue ice tourists, and +1 with me.

While poking around the shore, seeing what there was to see, a man and his son were walking along an inclined overhang along the beach. They both took a tumble, not a serious one. After asking if they were OK, the dad remarked “You’d think after spending $200 on a pair of boots, they’d have better grip.” I thought that was a bit more amusing than the fall as I chuckled to myself. It seemed to indicate his bravado was injured more than anything else and the need to try a recovery by bragging about his $200 boots. Did he think I cared about that? Of course, photographers can usually relate to this type of thing because we’ve all encountered the guy who complains spending $5000 on a camera didn’t yield the photographs he expected.

If anyone is reading this that thinks $200 boots are the key to walking on icy surfaces, let me save you a lot of money. I don’t care if you spend $500 on a pair of boots because rubber soles, no matter how high-tech grippy-grip they are marketed to be, aren’t going to do what a pair of ice crampons can do for an existing pair of winter boots or shoes.

Ice Crampons to fit any shoes

These things have come down in price since my first pair. There are a lot of different kinds, but I find the kind with these steel spikes on the bottom to be the most effective.

I had a pair of Kahtoolas that run today between $50-$70 and thought I lost them. I bought a newer set by Unigear that run $30 at the time of this posting. The Unigears seem to be every bit as good as my old ones. They have near 5-stars on Amazon and come with a carrying bag and top strap (which I found I rarely need). The steel spikes on the bottom are really the key for any of these and similar brands. They fit any shoes you are most comfortable and warm in. After these arrived for me – I found my Kahtoolas.

I also have the kind with the coils on the bottom (Yaktrax) and they are simply not made for walking on very smooth ice, and even make it worse. You probably don’t want to walk long distances on a surface like concrete with spikes on, but for slippery snow and ice, I know of nothing better without getting into more technical and more expensive ice-climbing gear.

I simply don’t photograph on or around ice without them. They were extremely helpful on this trip to Sanilac and its large, ice-covered breakwall. And, that guy and his kid likely wouldn’t have fallen with these on, and he could instead brag about the money he saved for his kid’s education fund instead. 🙂

Always worth going

The dynamically changing shorelines of the Great Lakes make for some great winter landscape photography, with or without blue ice. As it turns out for my trip, a snowfall from the previous evening covered much of the blue ice in Port Sanilac as seen in the top photo of this post. I photographed for a while in mid-day light and decided it was worth coming back if morning conditions looked favorable.

That meant getting up pretty early for the hour and a half drive. As I expected, the scene changed dramatically again. Blue ice was more scarce now, but the clear skies and morphed shoreline just made for different photographs. Some snow-covered surfaces now showed a more transparent ice layer covering the lake. The simple clear sky and lake horizon almost merge into one. This large iceberg I photographed two days earlier is now more isolated. Perhaps an indication its life in Lake Huron is coming to an end soon as spring approaches.

Featured Photo (top): Lake Huron Frozen Shore with blue ice, Photo # WI-10490, Winter Landscapes collection