Category Archives: Long Lake activities

Long Lake’s Sports Illustrated cover nominee

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nick_ski1

This is Nick. (And yipes, if it isn’t, somebody quick set me straight). Nick is the best water boarder on the lake. Water boarding makes his sport sound like torture. It would be for me, but Nick doesn’t seem to think so. Wake board. This is wake-boarding.

Nick is jaw-droppingly cool to watch. He speeds around the lake, jumping over his speedboat’s wake and tapping the underside of his board before landing (as in this photo), or hanging on to his tow rope with one hand and waving hello to the awe-struck. He twists, turns, and inspires.

Nick is devoted to his sport. He is often out in the early morning before the potatoes, excuse me the tubers, get started. His boat’s driver, usually Mrs. Nick I believe, is always courteous and watchful around us unpowered boaters.

Nick will be the first person on the water in the early spring and the last one off the water in the late fall. We sometimes are out in our kayaks earlier and later, but face it, we aren’t getting wet and we aren’t working hard. We’re sipping our morning coffee in Ghost Bay. Or floating around hoping to spot snapping turtles.

nick_ski2

 

Long Lake is finally freezing over

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It’s been a warm fall. There have been cold days and nights, but not many. And the cold weather the lake area has seen has been followed by unseasonably warm days. Heck. We were kayaking in Ghost Bay on Thanksgiving afternoon, when it reached 60 degrees.

But on Sunday morning, December 9th, it was 27 degrees, winds were calm, and the lake was finally starting to freeze. Most of the way to the narrows was frozen over. On Saturday, three common mergansers were still dabbling around in the lake. But early Sunday morning  I saw them flying low over the lake, headed south. The goofballs. Leave it to the mergansers to be the last to leave a party and the last ducks to finish eating at the Long Lake buffet table.

Foggy fall morning

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Fall paddles are some of the best kayak times on Long Lake. These photos were taken early in the morning in late September, while the water was still much warmer than the air. The sun was partly obscured. We had the lake to ourselves. Even the two guys who fish so avidly in their maroon and gray Lund weren’t out yet. Belly Button Island was all spiffed up in a cloud of lake fog, looking something like the island in that early computer game, Myst.

This weekend, October 27th and 28th, we were out in the chilly morning (34 degrees) for what may be our last paddles of 2013. No fog today, except what we generated with our breath!

Back in late September, this gull seemed to be enjoying not having any competition for his perch. This late October morning, as with most mornings, a gull sat on the stone mound as we paddled quietly by. The adolescent loon is still on the lake, hopefully growing strong for his better-be-soon flight south.

 

Full moonset on Long Lake

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The full moon, late at night, was so bright and the sky was so clear that we were tempted to paddle around the lake. We didn’t, but it was tempting. We decided to wait until morning.

At 6:30am, as we readied for a morning paddle to Ghost Bay, the full moon was still putting on quite a show. We paddled out while the moon was setting. Moon set and a light breeze sent moonlight to dancing on the lake. And then came sunrise.

Foggy morning

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We set out across Long Lake in very thick fog about 7:30 in the morning. Steve’s kayak has a compass on it and we crossed the lake in fog so thick you couldn’t tell the water from the sky. Kind of creepy. I figured not even the fishermen would be out this morning, but I was wrong. As we left Ghost Bay, the fog had started to burn off and Steve captured fishing at its most peaceful.