The "BIG" Ice Cubes crack like a high powered rifle shot.

[Sourdough]

A few of you may never hear a high power rifle shot down a long empty valley. It has a distinct sound. When I lived on Lake Clark which is 50 miles long and 5 miles wide, as it would freeze and the ice would expand, it sounded like a rifle shot, and some would vibrate the cabin. It goes on all winter as the ice thickens and expands. Enough snow will muffle the sound somewhat. I know who cares:)

[crashdive123]

The sounds in nature are often like no other. Describing them is sometimes difficult. Now I have an idea of what big ice in a big valley sounds like. Thanks. I wish I could describe the sound of being thousands of miles from land on the open ocean, submerged several hundred feet and listening to a pod of whales singing. It is truely a magnificent orchestra.

[klkak]

Hopeak, I was fishing on Big lake one sunny winter day. All was peaceful and cold. All of the sudden I hear what I thought was machine gun fire. I stepped out of the hut to look around but didn't see anything or any one. As I stepped back into the hut the water started to gush out of the holes I had cut in the ice. It totally freaked me out. I jumped out of the hut and into my truck thinking I would make a run for the nearest shore. That's when I seen the Peterbuilt pulling a lowboy with an excavator on it coming across the lake. Suddenly the lights went on in the foggy recesses of my brain. Unfortunately I was to shaken up to enjoy fishing any longer so I packed up the ice hut and went looking for snowshoe's and spruce hens.