We lucked out yesterday morning in that we had clear skies and a mostly calm lakefront. Plus, as a bonus for coming out so early, Ma Nature gave us a slight bump in the lake temperature!
December is typically a rather dour month in terms of weather. More often than not it’s mostly cloudy or completely overcast – something which further detracts from our already diminished sunlight this time of year. But Sunday morning lived up to its name and gave us a bright sunrise that burned off the stubborn morning mist.
The lake temperature came in at a surprisingly upbeat 36.0F – almost a whole degree warmer than the prior week! The air temperature was more than palatable at 32F – especially since we had no wind to contend with before and after our swim.
I decided to keep the fullsuit in storage for the time being and went with my modified winter gear setup – i.e. neoprene short sleeve top, shorts, hood, gloves, and booties with a healthy topping of shea butter on my forearms, lower legs, and face. This seemed to work out fine as I didn’t really have much discomfort on my exposed skin this time (thank God).
We had some slight swells that created a southbound current, but nothing too strong to hinder us either to or from L1. All said, I did just under 1/2 mile before climbing out.
It really was a beautiful morning – more like late January than mid-December. If you missed out on the sunrise, below are some shots that give you some idea of how cool it was!
