Without a doubt the most intensely cold swim outing of the winter! We had an air temp of 16F and a lake temp of 32.5F that felt downright balmy in comparison. We weren’t able to get in at L1 as the entire area was encase in ice almost to the top. Fortunately, we found an area just south of L1 where we could get in an out much more easily. So we geared up and climbed down our makeshift entry point.
I was only able to get in 1/4 mile as I (literally) ran into an ice sheet at the 1/8 mile point. So I navigated around that and worked my way back to L1 just in time for the lovely post-swim purgatory.
Getting out of the lake and back into my civilian clothing was a harrowing ordeal as the cold air gnawed mercilessly on our exposed skin – especially our hands. I quickly ran out of hot water to pour on them and had to finish changing into my dry clothes using my newly non functioning numb clubs. So needless to say, it was a quick sprint back to the paradise of my heated car!
Still, even with the extreme cold and the dismal overcast skies, this was still a really fun swim – and definitely a challenge!
