Mike Schnekenburger owns a house on Hopkins Bay Road, right by Rainy Lake. Nearly a month ago, a neighbour came by and told him the bog that had been sitting near Sunny Cove Camp had started floating around the lake.
It was coming north toward their bay, and they decided they needed to do something.
He and a group of others got their boats and began pushing the bog around with the intent of getting it out of everyone’s way. Their goal was to get it back to Haymarsh Bay, where it originally came from.
At about eight acres in size, having it anywhere out on the lake would be considered “in the way.”
“[The size] is an estimate based on people’s lakefront properties, and a rangefinder, and my drone,” he says. “Conservatively, that’s eight acres.”
During the August long weekend, Schnekenburger says they had it back in Haymarsh Bay, just a kilometre away from its original home. But they ran out of boats and time, and the bog eventually ended up in the middle of the lake again.
The bog has since ended up in the back of Hopkins Bay, where Schnekenburger is hoping it stays.
“For now, hopefully it’ll rest in peace,” he says.
That being said, there have been discussions about starting a GoFundMe to raise money for ropes and stakes to keep the bog in there, since in about three feet of water, it’s not secure.
“If we get a crazy storm with east wind, it’s gonna ping pong in that bay and then potentially pop out of there,” says Schnekenburger.
The fundraiser remains tentative for the time being.
“We call it a success that that’s where it is for now,” says Schnekenburger. “I go check on it every few days.”
The back of Hopkins Bay is already quite marshy, so the bog fits right in. Check the Watten Township Bulletin Board Facebook group for any further updates on the bog.
