We got a late start with our 2024 meetups thanks to me being out of town the first week and then unexpectedly coming down with the new and improved Covid shortly thereafter. But after a few weeks of laying low, I was itching to get back in the lake. Fortunately, all the stars lined up for me last Sunday!
The air temp was still pretty low at 6F, but we had sunny skies and almost no wind – something that made the post-swim experience much more manageable. Better than all this, the lake was mirror flat and mostly clear with only a few very thing ice floes meandering around the swim area.
I opted for a fullsuit this time as my cold tolerance was still very low post-illness. And this proved to be the wise move as I was completely comfortable in the 32F lake. I swam for about 15 minutes before climbing out, and the transition into my civilian clothes was not as bad as I was expecting. My hands were quite cold in the 6F air, and I had to pour hot water on them while changing to maintain manual dexterity. But I had no real afterdrop thanks to the full neoprene setup.
I hung around a bit and chatted with the others before heading back north. But I’m happy to be back in the game again after a bit of a rough patch!
