On January 22, 2022 I attended the Cabin Fever event at Grafton Lakes State Park specifically for the polar plunge. Never having done this before, I went, what I thought was prepared for a very chilly experience, turned out to be not as chilly as I expected. I had an absolute blast.
This was a learning experience and a half for me. Because of my love for winter in general, I’ve always said I was part Polar Bear. I’m pretty sure I am after this. TO ME, the water was comfortable and I felt like I could have stayed in the water for a lot longer than I was. However a word of caution to anyone who decides to do a polar plunge after reading this… SHOES FOR YOUR FEET!!!! Whatever you do make sure you bring a barrier for your feet to be between them and the snow. At best you have cold feet, worst case it’s frostbite.
Now I had been planning to do this since I found out about it in December. I wasn’t concerned about what I was going to wear into the water as expecting to alot colder, I planned for what I was wearing afterwards. I completely underestimated walking through the snow with wet feet barefoot. My personal expectations were that the warming/changing area was going to be closer than it was. Because of that I suffered from a mild to severe case of frostnip. I think I wasn’t too far from frostbite had I not got in the trailer when I did.
So next time I do the polar plunge, I’ll be taking a second pair of shoes to put on my feet as soon as I get out of the water. Speaking of, there’s is another polar plunge in my very near future.
In addition to the polar plunge, the event had several booths and activities to do throughout the day. There was dog sledding, snowmobile rides, demonstrations, etc. It was a good time for all ages. As said already, I was only there for the polar plunge so I didn’t stick around to check out anything else.if they do it again, I may go back and make a day outta it and get more pictures to share.
I recommend the following for anyone doing a polar plunge… I know alot of this list might seem like common sense to some, but this is to help everyone be better prepared for the polar plunge if they choose to do it.
- Towel to dry off with
- Underwear, clean and dry
- Some kind of thermal layer, wool, polypropylene, long underwear, etc
- Base layer pants, sweats, jeans, wool, etc
- Base layer top, t-shirt, long sleeve shirt, wool, etc
- Coat layer, any good winter coat will do.
- Socks, winter weight wool if you’re no allergic, however any warm dry pair will do.
- Change of shoes, these are not the ones you wore in, these are either water shoes to wear into the water or slippers if you go barefoot for after
- Plastic bag to put your wet clothes and towel in
- Optional: group of friends crazy enough to jump in with you
- Optional: costume to wear into the water
In conclusion
I enjoyed doing it, it was alot of fun.. How many times I do the polar plunge in the coming years is to be seen, but I’m definitely doing it again. Make sure you have something to put on your feet other than socks to protect them for after you get out of the water, I know I will. You never know how far you will have to walk to get to the changing area. For myself personally, I wasn’t as cold as I expected to be, it might be different for you, so plan accordingly,.
The Wandering Leatherneck 