Even youngsters use the Old Man Rope!

We are reaching the midpoint of summer. It has been a season of unusual heat. The waters of Rainy Lake have had surface temperatures that arched over 80 F. The real water temperature is a much more modest 74F.
Even those who really are not into swimming in the lake, this year are welcoming the soothing, cooling soft caressing feel of the water. The lake is the perfect temperature. It is neither too warm, nor too cold. As “Little Red Riding Hood” might say, “It is just perfect.”
We do not swim off of our dock or off of a beach at our cabin. Instead, we wander down from the cabin and jump in from the granite rock that runs almost 100 meters across. Just below where we jump in is a ledge that is almost three meters wide and sits at a depth of just over one meter.
When we climb out, there is no sand or gunk and we can walk back up to the cabin and not track in any dirt or sand. It is one of the things that we really like about our location on the lake.
Up until last year we relied on our agility to grab a foothold on the rock and then springing upwards to get a second footing to climb up the rock. Being young, we were never bothered by the difficult maneuver. Slipping or falling back into the water didn’t matter. The scrapes and bruises didn’t matter.
My parents as they grew older began finding other ways to get out of the water.
We had constantly talked about trying to create a stair system to get out of the water there. Our family never reached a satisfactory plan and nothing changed in getting out of the water.
It took our friends from Missouri to come up with the solution. It is a practical solution. Last year when Phil and Melba and David were alone at the cabin, they installed a rope assist with knots about every two feet to pull ones self up and almost walk right up out of the water and up the slope.
The rope, which is about 2 cm thick and 100 feet long, is wrapped around a red pine at the top of the rock. The rope snakes back into the water.
When it was installed, I don’t think any of us really thought it was needed. We sort of frowned at the idea of needing an assistive device to get out of the water. I continued to resist using it. But one warm day in August of last year, when it had been drizzling, and the rock was slippery I gave in and tested the rope.
It blew me away. It made getting out of the water easy.
Someone after the installation had christened the rope as “The Old Man Rope” that only the old and infirm might use it. That August day made me a believer.
In fact, everyone now uses the “old man rope”. Even the youngsters take advantage of the rope.
–Jim Cumming,
Publisher