When the ice was two inches (last week), I walked out there and bored holes (by hand) along the way checking the ice thickness. When I reached the reading coordinates I bored another hole and took the readings. That was all there was to that. I did have a safety rope tied around my waist and had my ice picks around my neck, just in case. Two inches of clear ice on the pond is plenty strong for one person.
This week I drove the Mule out there and power auger-ed a bunch of holes around the pound checking the thickness. It was 8.25" everywhere that I checked. The Mule is probably safe on 5-6 inches though I don't go out there unless it is 7 and I prefer 8.
So other than the modes of transportation and the need to bore a hole in the winter its pretty easy to accomplish. I have a lot of experience which helps.
