Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Little Ice Cave

I wish I brought my camera. But, of course, I was "just going for a little walk to the lake." You know, nothing exciting ever happens there.

The first thing to catch my eye out on a north-facing shore of Lake Superior, was that pack ice had huddled together along the whole coast for 100 yards out! This is the first time I saw ice on the big lake this winter. Any wind will whisk it away, so I'm glad I saw it while I could.

When I look out at this ice, it always looks solid at first glance. But when I stand still and watch carefully, I can see the waves undulating slightly underneath, making the squooshy swishy sounds. Oh, is that marvelous!

To the east I saw a big boulder covered in ice. Nothing major. I had been there before in the summer. But it called to me, so I carefully travelled the icy shore.

When I got to my destination my eyes widened and my jaw dropped. Here before me was a beautiful natural wonder. This "boulder" makes an arc over the water. I remembered sitting on it in the warm months (one of my favorites!). But now, icicles hung from every part of this structure. It was an icicle cave!

I just had to go down into it. The ice below looked solid enough to hold me. I could definitely slide down into this cave, but I had to clear a couple hand-holds so I could pull myself back up.

After I slid down, I got my footing and just marveled at the wonder around me. I wanted so badly for someone to share this beauty with me because who knows how long it will last? White and blue and clear icicle hung 360 degrees around me. I was standing on ice and surrounded by it. I was truly enchanted.

I even crawled down more to the other side of the arc, but I didn't think the ice below was too trustworthy for too long. It was so calm in that hole, I could have had a tea party!

The way up was another story. My hand-hold broke off when I tried to use it, so I had to crawl up on some hanging ice -- fingers crossed that it would hold my weight. From there it was a quick scramble off the slickness to the rocky shore. Whew. I made it. And I'm definitely going back again. Want to come?

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