Oops, grapple skidder through the ice Portage Lake N.Maine.

[woodroe]

Looks to be a tough job getting it out. Bringing in some heavy equipment .

https://www.bangordailynews.com/2024/02/27/aroostook/aroostook-business/logging-truck-frozen-portage-lake/

[quilbilly]

Yikes. Need to get some lift somehow

[Southside]

That's always a tricky part of the lake, more than a few sleds have gone in there with fatal results. 

[barbender]

Is that actually lake, or bog right there? 

[thecfarm]

Grandson has friends up there. 
He sent me the pictures last night. 
He knew I would like it. 

[moodnacreek]

I got my little Case crawler buried on one side once in a swamp. It could not roll over because it leaned against a wall of mud. We had hard enough ground to bring a backhoe close and lift the buried side. I don't see how they well get that machine up but they will have to.

[barbender]

You can do about anything if you bring enough crane mats.

[Southside]

Is that actually lake, or bog right there?

It's sort of both that wind together, there will be channels with moving water even this time of year, some will be frozen solid.  When it's open you could walk across some of it with no problem, then one step more and you are up to your crotch.  

[thecfarm]

It's out!!!
Grandson just sent me the picture.

[newoodguy78]

Would be interesting to know what they used to recover it.
Probably just the picture playing games but that crew cab GMC in the background of the second photo looks like the backend found a bit of a soft spot as well.

[thecfarm]

A excavator on logs. They laid down some logs to get the excavator to it. It was a big one and they had to spread the weight out so that would not break through too. 

[Kodiakmac]

Getting it out will probably seem like the easy part compared to dealing with the environment bureaucrats.

[ehp]

Has no one not skidded across a lake ?  That use to be pretty common up north . I know I have done it lots up there , Not much water or ice around here other than that big bath tub beside me . When you come to shore slow right down cause the weight is going to cause a wave in the ice and when it hits shore its going to break , Come on to land as straight to land as you can , not on a angle . But the biggest thing is come to land slow , it always breaks the last couple feet of ice to shore and I left my hitch a couple feet behind me . I never said I ever liked doing it but have do it . And yes I have seen way more than a few skidders threw the ice but I never did one

[Jeff]

From the distant past. We called him Nemo

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?msg=1989

[Kodiakmac]

So, Nemo now has a government job? 

[barbender]

Dang! I think GaryC took the award though, he went scuba diving with a CTL processor

[Southside]

Mid '90s I saw a CTL tracked processor break through a cedar bog in winter, actually about 90 miles west of where that skidder went bobbing.  By the time they had enough logs cribbed under her and a hole dug around it the only thing above ground level was the head.  There was even talk of salvaging the head and leaving the rest of the machine there it was that bad. Took a week and several massive excavators to get it out. 

[SwampDonkey]

Up north of here it could easily get confusing on some bogs. They might be solid in areas. But with ice and a foot of snow they might be thin iced. There are lots of channels that might be 8 feet across and only 2 feet of water. But if you break through that ice into water, you might find you have several feet of sucking mud under the water.

I remember a very remote shallow lake we fished trout on, waded out to a floating moss island. Trout hid under it in shade. Water as cold as ice cubes. Water was maybe 16", 2-1/2 to 3 feet of mud below before it was solid. Stand and cast out to that island, the water boiled with trout. The fly hook would be chewed up so there was just a hook in no time. They would bite anything. :D Over toward shore, springs came out of the bank. One spot was 3 feet of cold water, maybe 4 feet wide and got shallower toward the lake. The sand there on the bottom sparkled like gold nuggets. Just all the vermiculite or similar minerals that weathered out of the granite. Far end of the lake was like a road of granite that lined the shore line and was sandy bottom. Where we fished at was the only spot we found any trout. I don't think the lake was more than 2 miles at it's widest and very shallow on most of it. First time I ever heard a lynx growl was on the shore of that lake. And just a few feat into the bushes to. Scare the wits out of you, besides the fact the truck was 3/4 a mile away. Of course visions of cougars in your head until you come to your senses. :D But nice thing about lakes over there in those days, was very nice deer paths to walk on. Woods full of rocks on top of the soil, but nice paths. I bet those paths are gone now, hardly a deer.

[Jeff]

So, Nemo now has a government job? 

That was probably 25-30 years ago, and I think nemo was in his mid 50s then.

[barbender]

 We have track bunchers and processors go through the swamps like that here, too. Where's the machine that is stuck? In the middle of all the excavators on mats!

 I'm not aware of any rubber tire CTL equipment going all the way through like that. Rigid track undercarriages don't float as well, I know I've been on jobs where the logger drove out into the swamp with a track buncher, was just going down, down, down. Backed straight up and called us to come in with the runner tire CTL equipment. I skidded the whole job right around the cuts the buncher tracks left in the swamp.