Lake Lucerne and the surrounding area got a big helping of thaw last week. Daytime temperatures pushed past 50°F on a few days and the sun beat down the snow most days. It was a dark time for snowmobilers, but a boon for those that roam the woods in search of maple sap.
A full thaw this early into the sap season can be a tricky thing. Frost in the ground, an overnight hard cold, or maybe even squirrels can keep the sap from flowing. The maples this year would have none of that and dripped nicely.
Collecting all those drips and boiling them down went nicely, too.
At mid-week, the lake got its first good rain of the year. For an entire day it rained on and off, hard and soft. When it was done, we had over a half an inch in the rain gauge and a lot less snow on the ground.
Last week, 1040 gallons of sap was hauled from the sugarbush, more than the beginning of the legendary run of 2016. This could be the greatest year for syrup this century.
It also could be the greatest year for Lake Lucerne's water level. Last year, part of Lake Lucerne Drive in the southeast corner of the lake flooded. This year, the water is claiming parts of West Shore Drive on the North end.
Knott Lane is currently ice free (mostly) and dry, a huge improvement over its condition just a few weeks ago.
The lake still has plenty of ice. The 16+ inches won't be going out this week, but, if this weather continues, we could get a rare March ice-out.
It's also really hard to walk on the lake ice without slipping and crashing down. The lake lost about 2.5 inches of ice last week. At that rate, ice-out could push into May, but as the sun gets warmer and the days grow longer the ice losses will grow. I've seen 9 inches of solid ice disappear in under a week of warm rain and strong winds. There's no rain predicted for next week unless you count the hundreds of thousands of drops that will fall from the Maples.
-Nemo didn't fall once, but it was a close thing.
