Footstock 2020

The weather last week seemed more like mid-July than the last half of August. The lake temperature was more like June (73°F). If the air temperature holds, the water should get a little warmer and the swimmers a little less blue-ish.

Last Wednesday, the final ski show of the year was put on in front of Waters Edge.

The largest audience of the year witnessed the great synchronization and fearless pyramid-ship that has come to define the show in 2020.

The lake level has fallen about 4 inches over the last 2 weeks, but as some spectators can attest, it's still very high.

The warm, wet weather has pushed this year's crop of toads and frogs to record levels. They can get a little loud at night, but they eat bugs so we at knottlane hold a staunchly pro-amphibian perspective.

Area plants are loving the weather, too.

In addition to adding color on the shoreline, some plants are bestowing upon many itchy eyes and a running nose. Fortunately, ragweed season will be over before you know it. In the meantime Allegra is cheap and plentiful (and non-drowsy!).

Some on the lake took advantage of a few dry days to do a little cabin repair. Home renovation can be a bit of a gamble with the weather. They might want to put a tarp or something over the hole in the roof before the next round of rain.

The big event of last week was Footstock, the largest barefoot figure-8 endurance tournament in the world.

The crowd that gathered to watch and cheer on their favorite was one of the largest ever.

For the most part, the weather held off and many of the runs had sun and no rain.

It's the traditions at Footstock that set it apart from other sporting events. The take off fist bump is one our favorites.

The wave to the crowd at the end of each complete figure eight is another favorite.

The costume contest is always good.

The best is the pink "I got beat by a girl" shirt that gets awarded to every guy that takes the silver in a co-ed run.

And then there are the falls. There are three categories of crash. There's the foot up, back side smack.

There's the faceplant.

The faceplant seems to be the most painful to me.

Then there's the other. Every year there seems to be a new twist on the silver medal winner.

Sometimes a large wave will award the silver to both footers. When that happens, both are fished out of the lake and the judges declare a re-run.

The final run of the championship of the woman's division included a re-run.

Still, the faceplant looks to be the most agonizing.

The opposite of agonizing is, after a bad set of rollers, looking over and seeing a footer-less handle .

Three boats plus two spares kept the action going all afternoon.

At the end of the day, we are happy to report no major injuries, only light rain, and crispy fried food during the entire length of the tournament.

Congratulations to the winners in all the divisions (The Open, Junior's, Women's, Master's, and Senior's).

A special congratulations to Mike Netzer who has competed here for about 50 years (really!) and won first place in the Masters division this year. There will be poems and songs.

Back at Lucerne, we got almost 1.25 inches of rain with most of it falling overnight Saturday.

The yard puddles are back and seem deeper than ever.

On Sunday, not more than 2 hours after the sun set in a cloud free sky, a rogue storm baptized the lake with another 0.15 inch blessing.

Footstock is one of the last, and best events of the Summer. There's still some warm left, but the nights are trending cooler, and splashs of color in the trees are becoming more common. The Summer is growing short, but there still plenty of ski runs left on the lake. There'll be time to catch your breath after Labor Day.

-Nemo, trying to avoid faceplanting into Fall.

Footstock 2020

August 17th through 23rd, 2020