After a rather blustery week, the late Spring heat finally came in during the weekend giving the lake a much needed boost back to its normal temperature levels. And everything seemed to come together Sunday morning to create one of the most spectacular swims I’ve had in a while!
Since we are closing in on the Summer solstice, sunrise is at the nadir time of around 5:15am. However, you have to get out there earlier to check out the pre-sunrise colors to the east and on the lake. So I was on the road at 4:30am, way sleep deprived but anxious to get out to the lakefront.
The conditions at L1 were nothing short of idyllic. The lake was calm and flat, and the surface temperature came in at 60F lake temp. I waited for the sunrise to crest, and I ended up delaying my swim entry a bit longer as the view to the east was simply out of this world. As I’ve stated before, the pictures below do not adequately capture the “live” version of nature’s show!
I went in with just my jammers, cap, and goggles, and eased into the tranquil lake. It was a bit chillier below one meter as the colder thermocline layer was still hanging around the shoreline. But it sure made the entire swim area crystal clear and an absolute joy to swim in!
Because the lake was so calm, I got in a very solid swim rhythm and made it to the 1/8 mile point very quickly. Since I really hadn’t expended much energy, I decided that this would be the day that I would finally make an official return to Oak Street Beach. So I kept up leisurely my stride and landed on dry sand about 15 minutes later.
The 1/2 mile walk back was my victory lap, although I had to contend with a slight afterdrop for about half the way. But it was well worth it, and well worth getting up so early!
