I was up very early last Sunday as we were just at the tail end of a significant snow dump. So I needed the extra time to clear off my car and to navigate the snowy streets on the way to L1. Getting to our world famous swim site turned out to be quite the ordeal as the plows hadn’t made much headway in the city – even on the major streets. But I eventually made it to North & Clark and was able to find a spot fairly close by.
When I arrived at L1, it was still snowing – albeit not as heavily. The air temp came in at 22F, and there was a steady wind from the west which I had feared would cause the lake to be quite turbulent. However, the area around L1 quite calm (go figure). Nevertheless, we still had a little issue of lake access – namely, L1 being completely iced over. So after getting the lake temperature, I got to work clearing the area.
Once L1 had been de-iced and the entry to the lake was now clear, I suited up and climbed into the 33F water. It was an easy swim in the placid lake, and I did just under 1/4 mile. I could have swum longer, but I ran into a barrier of ice just before reaching the 1/8 mile point. So I overshot L1 on the way back to get in the full distance.
All in all, another great swim – although most of the work took place before I even got in the water!
