It was the day after Christmas and the Jost family had had enough eating, sitting around and more eating. The temp was about 17 degrees fahrenheit and the good news was that the deepest lake in the Alexandria area was still open. Mostly open anyway. Mike and Jaime loaded up their truck with a couple SUPs they hadn't stored away for the winter yet and hit the road in search of a good access point to Lake Carlos.
Johnson Family from Lake Victoria, Minnesota
The public access is only a couple of miles away so that was the obvious starting point. Much to their surprise when they arrived, the parking lot was half full including their friends, the Johnson family, who had made their way from frozen Lake Victoria in search of some Christmas cheer. The Johnson's planned on doing a little waterskiing and taking advantage of the unseasonably "warmer" temps. You see, in northwest Minnesota the lakes are usually well iced over by the end of November so the die hard Scandinavians up there have been out setting personal records and earning bragging rights all month.
After exchanging pleasantries and deciding there was a little too much chop to depart from this side of the lake, Mike and Jaime headed up the northeast shoreline in search of an access point. Unfortunately without waves on this side of the lake, it had started to freeze over already.
Deciding to swing by the Caver's cabin for a warm beverage and a bathroom break; the lake looked different. No white snow on top of the ice and a grey, soft appearance gave Mike hope that it was in fact slush instead of ice. He and Jaime ran down and discovered it certainly was slush. A silky, smooth, soft consistency much like a slurpee you'd buy at the gas station. It was crazy! Apparently the point that the Cavers cabin is on created enough wind protection to eliminate the waves and create an "Eddie" of sorts that the wave's current was depositing all of the slush into. Well it was perfect for a unique paddle experience and some daring maneuvers from the Mrs.
Mike captured a picture of Jaime doing a headstand on a small 10'6 cruiser as well as some other shots of the wintery, slurpee SUP session. Try to say that five times as fast as you can. And then try to say it with ice cold cheeks.
Anyway, it was a fairly short outting. Only just over an hour of paddling but memories of an interesting day around the lake to last a lifetime.