I woke up at 2:30 AM to the sound of rain hitting the tent. A steady, light rain continued to fall until noon today. Rain on December 10th in the Boundary Waters is a gloomy affair. We stayed in the tent all morning writing, eating, and doing inside chores. Once the rain stopped we were anxious to get outside and get a little exercise. We walked along the north-facing shoreline of the island we are camped on. The ice has been weakened by the rain, but we were able to slip and slide along the shore ice, splashing through the pools of water that cover the surface of the lake. On our way back to camp I decided to go for a swim.
So far we have gone swimming in September, October, and November. If we were going to swim in December, today seemed like a good day to do it. I chopped a big hole in the ice out in front of our campsite, stoked the wood stove in our tent, stripped down to my boxers and @darntough socks, and ran down to the ice hole.
Amy decided to film the whole affair and said she’d think about going for a dip later. In the end, she decided to take the plunge in her drysuit, stating that she had promised to swim in every month, but she never stipulated what she would wear when she went swimming! To add dramatic flourish after floating in the ice hole giggling for a few minutes, she hopped out and said, “I don’t know what all the fuss was about!” as she sauntered back to the tent.
So far we have gone swimming in September, October, and November. If we were going to swim in December, today seemed like a good day to do it. I chopped a big hole in the ice out in front of our campsite, stoked the wood stove in our tent, stripped down to my boxers and @darntough socks, and ran down to the ice hole.
Amy decided to film the whole affair and said she’d think about going for a dip later. In the end, she decided to take the plunge in her drysuit, stating that she had promised to swim in every month, but she never stipulated what she would wear when she went swimming! To add dramatic flourish after floating in the ice hole giggling for a few minutes, she hopped out and said, “I don’t know what all the fuss was about!” as she sauntered back to the tent.
This sharply contrasted to the hooting and dancing about that ensued after I emerged from a 15 second dunk.
I guess this is a perfect example of how we have slightly different strategies for our #wildernessyear and our work to @savetheBWCA. Amy is calm and calculated, while I can be more apt to plunge right in. Luckily, these traits seem to serve us well and today provided lots of opportunities for laughter.
Either way we hope you will help us #savetheBWCA! #onlyinMN #ice #polarplunge #BoundaryWaters #BWCA #minnstagramers #getoutstayout #fun
