Gi-Normous!

No sooner than the instant I opened my car door upon arriving at the Klode parking lot did I hear the deep thunder of waves crashing into the rock piles along the Klode beach front. Peering over the bluff expecting to see the lake surface lined with white capped serpents I was surprised to see none except for the typical white caps that adorn the sand bars just off the beach front.

Anxious to play in the waves, and to log another great swim adventure I dashed down to the beach....which as it would turn out wasn't much of one today. It was like high tide with waves occasionally washing all the way up to the tree line before receding back to the rock pile. Not leaving my gear to chance by placing it along the tree line I decided to place my bag and towel on top of the rocks...surely the high tide (surf) wouldn't rise to the top of a 5 foot tall rock....right?

At first glace from the beach I would have placed the waves in the 2-4ft range. As I waded out into the surf I would soon realize that these waves were bigger....much bigger. Instead of the continual onslaught of waves experienced in the past, these were sporadic...some measuring in the 2-4ft range and then after a pause, where the Lady of the Lake seemingly held back for a moment while reaching back to send forth a whopper of a wave, a series of 6-8ft waves would relentlessly pummel the shore before settling down to become a little more hospitable.

The water was cool but warm enough to swim in without a wetsuit. If I had to guess, I would place the water temp in the mid to upper 60's. The turquoise blue water could be seen just beyond the second sand bar. At first my goal today was just to follow the first sand bar up to the garage and back.

After about 5 minutes of attempting to swim by ducking under, through and over waves I finally conceded that swimming along the first sand bar was just not going to happen. Rather than give up, knowing that the water beyond the second sand bar would be more conducive for swimming I ventured out towards the second sand bar. After several futile attempts to swim over the waves cresting on the second sand bar the waves suddenly subsided...as if the Lady of the Lake was granting me permission to swim. ...as I would find out though...it was more of a welcome to the Lake Michigan thrill coaster.

The trip up to the garage was surprisingly smooth. After battling the waves along the shoreline the turquoise water was a lot more swim friendly....although a bit of a thrill ride. Never before have I experienced a swim where the waves were gentle yet steep enough to flip my stomach as if I were on a roller coaster ride. At first the sensation caught me by surprise but after a bit I found myself looking forward to the swimming down the backside of these waves.

In what felt like a blink of an eye I made it up to the garage. Ordinarily I would have claimed to have had the current pushing me but as it would turn out the return trip felt equally as fast. Perhaps it was the excitement of swimming the Lake Michigan thrill coaster that made time seemingly stand still.

My return trip to Klode actually took me out further from shore. Not sure if was the result of the current pulling me away from shore or the fact that I was getting carried away swimming up and down the huge swells of water. The situation actually turned out to provide quite the spectacle. While sighting the north beach rock pile a series of large (8ft?) waves rumbled towards shore. Amazingly they actually crashed near the TOP of the rock pile. ...so much for keeping my gear dry by placing it on the rock pile.

Swimming in to shore was an absolute blast! I quickly learned that trying to get past a sand bar in the midst of a series of BIG waves was no easy task....to put it lightly I was absolutely pummelled on both sand bars. It was almost as if the Lady of the Lake were playing gate keeper to the shore...allowing you only to come ashore when she was gracious enough to send forth a series of smaller waves.

In the end, my Lake adventure today lasted a little more than 25 minutes today...although it felt much shorter than that.

Anyone interested in swimming Monday evening? With the cooler morning air temps predicted we'll need to be quite hearty to venture out at 6:30am....but I'm game if anyone else is. :)

-Capt'n