'It really is like flying.' Explore wild skating on nature's ice msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
‘It really is like flying.’ Explore wild skating on nature’s ice Seeking a sense of freedom, outdoor adventurers lace up for America’s frozen rivers and lakes. ByJen Rose Smith Email It was cold, quiet, and well after dark when Matthew Baxley glimpsed the slumbering fish directly beneath his feet. He was ice skating in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, a Minnesota landscape of boreal forest and seemingly boundless lakes. Below him, black ice revealed an underwater world in crisp detail. Each stroke of Baxley’s skates sent vibrations across the lake’s solid surface. The weight of a single skater can trigger groans and pops, or the “pew-pew” sound of cartoon ray guns, adding to the otherworldly feel of gliding through space. The early winter’s cold, snowless weather had turned the Boundary Waters into a perfectly smooth, natural playground.