Getting to the lake was much easier than last Sunday. Even with a colder 17F air temp, it was a breeze to get down to L1 as we had clear skies and no wind or snow. Plus I was able to secure rock star parking just on the other side of the pedestrian walkway – always an added bonus!
The arrival at L1 was bittersweet. The lake was perfectly calm and clear, but L1 was once again inaccessible due to complete encasement by ice. Luckily, I had brought my trusty gear, so we took turns chipping away at L1 to clear an entry point into the lake.
The official water temp came in at 33F – just above freezing. And while it took a while to clear the ladder, we were quite warmed up by the time we donned our swim gear and entered the lake.
Since the conditions were so calm, I reached the 1/8 mile point quite quickly. So I decided to extend my swim to 1/2 mile. However, I ran into an ice sheet just before the 1/4 mile point, and I had to swim under it to get to the open water farther away from the well. Fortunately, the swim lane was unobstructed over there, and I was able to get in my full 1/2 mile by the time I returned to L1.
Post swim was fairly easy, and I had a very mild afterdrop – certainly nothing uncomfortable. But the real treat, as always, was the magnificent show to the east as you can see below!
