Mar 12 2008
Ice flow, Two Harbors Breakwall
It was an amazing night. The warm weather melted the snow and ice off of the top deck of the Two Harbors breakwall making it possible to walk out to the lighthouse at the end. It has been several months since I have been able to do so. The wind was blowing out of the northeast about 20 to 25 miles per hour sometimes gusting higher. With the wind to my back I decided to walk to the end of the pier. As I got about halfway out I noticed that the wind was propelling these huge sheets of ice and piles of ice plates parallel to the breakwall. Some of the sheets and piles did not conform to the shape of the huge concrete barrier so where the two met was quite the interesting zone of transition. Ice would groan, moan, and whine along the cement wall that extends about two-thirds of a mile into the lake. I found that I had to run to keep up with the ice. I came to the end of the breakwall and the ice won the race because I could go no further. I found myself in another area of intrigue. The wall is wider at the end, almost like the barb on a fish hook. Here the ice collides with the wider wall and is compressed, ground, and cracked into smaller plates of ice. The ice heaved, popped, and broke like window glass with udder determination. After watching the sheer power of the ice against the wall I am shocked that the breakwall still stands. Once the ice was free of the wall the remaining large sheet thrust into the open lake towards Duluth and the small plates and chunks of ice boiled, rolled, and tumbled in the freedom of open water. There are rare moments where nature allows you to witness awesome events and this definitely ranks very high on my list. The light was fading fast and as I started the walk back to the car the strong wind drove sleet into my face like shards of glass. I had to duck my head and cover my face with my mittens to protect my face. I was so excited about what I just witnessed the pain of the sleet and wind against my skin did not register.
I stood in one spot and captured about 110 still frames in a short period and compiled them in a Quicktime movie which can be seen at the following link:
Large size:
http://clintphotos.com/iceflow.mov
Small size:
http://clintphotos.com/iceflowsmall.mov
I will try to add some audio in the near future. . .
