Today is our 131st day in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. When we entered I thought it would be fun to swim in every month. Since today is the last day of January, it was now or never. We don’t have a good way to chisel a hole in the ice large enough to jump through. Luckily there is a large pool of slush right in front of our campsite. I shoveled away a kiddy pool size hole in the slush. Soon 3 inches of icy water filled the pool. With my swimming hole ready, I stoked up the wood stove and prepared for my monthly bath.
Amy offered to forgo the swim so that she could photograph mine. Thanks for taking one for the team Amy. She sacrificed her monthly bath so that mine could be properly documented.
I know some may find this hard to believe, but this improvised wintery bird bath actually felt really good. It was shocking when I laid down in the icy pool of water, but after my whole body was wet, it just felt refreshing and I certainly feel cleaner now.
Amy offered to forgo the swim so that she could photograph mine. Thanks for taking one for the team Amy. She sacrificed her monthly bath so that mine could be properly documented.
I know some may find this hard to believe, but this improvised wintery bird bath actually felt really good. It was shocking when I laid down in the icy pool of water, but after my whole body was wet, it just felt refreshing and I certainly feel cleaner now.
It is important to remember why we are out here taking icy dips in the Wilderness. Amy and I are spending a full year in the Boundary Waters to raise awareness about the threats that Twin Metals and other proposed sulfide-ore copper mines bring to the region. The edge of our nation’s most popular Wilderness is not an appropriate place for what the EPA calls our nation’s most polluting industry. Please follow @savetheBWCA , learn more about the threats, follow our journey, and sign the petition by following the link in our bio. Please share our journey and this issue with your friends and help us speak loudly for this quite place.
#wildernessyear #savetheBWCA #BoundaryWaters #ice #cold #swim #onlyinMN #wearethewild #exofficio @exofficio
