Hydroskiing at Apache Lake  -  Aug 21st, 2010 3:13pm

For about 6 years now I've had this crazy contraption sitting in my side-yard called a Hydro-ski.  When my dad bought a boat a few years back, the old owner said "take this damn thing with you" and threw it in along with some random other stuff.  Now I'm not saying it wasn't fun, but I definitely understand why he said that thanks to a trip to Apache Lake.

Back in August, my friend Jeremy was having a birthday camp-out.  I'd been looking for an excuse to go jet-skiing for a few months and this seemed the perfect opportunity as summer was winding down.  So I rented a couple of the devices, packed up my gear, and just before heading out decided to toss in the hydroski and an old tow-rope.

There was all kinds of silliness surrounding this trip.  Brian spent the night before fruitlessly driving around looking for the campsite, McCoy got in a yelling match with a park ranger, and I tried futilely resuscitate a jet-ski before calling it dead @10am.  In the end though what really made the trip was spending hours trying to ride that ridiculous hydro-ski and a beautiful day at Apache lake.

If you've never been there, Apache looks more like a river than a lake.  It definitely has a few wider parts where it gets to be about a mile across, but its mainly a narrow winding channel that goes on for miles.    We were camping at the east end of lake and had a nice calm cove to flail around in while we tried to figure out how to get on and stay on the hydro-ski.

The first step we found was to strap yourself in, and lean back so as not to drown.  The next step was to drag someone behind the jet-ski while they cursed for a few hours and fell off repeatedly while learning to balance the wretched contraption.  The final step turned out to involve 25mph, some serious clenching, more cussing, and a mix of joy and terror as we learned to let the ski rise out of the water on its foil but not shoot us up in the air or drag us down face first.

By the end of the day, I am proud to say I could ride that thing around the lake making basic turns, cutting in and out of the wake, and even jumping a bit.  Its an eerie device to ride as its completely smooth regardless of waves once your riding on the foil.  Its also violent as hell as both Brian and I learned.  We had to keep taking turns riding just to catch our breath and let the pain subside.

Props to Brian for never giving up and finally getting some ride time, and big thanks to Sean and Jessie for dragging us around the lake all day.  Oh and Happy Birthday Jeremy.  Thanks for the invite and a ridiculous day on the water.