This year I attended my first ever Lake George Winter Carnival. I went specifically to do the Polar Plunge. My girlfriend’s cousin, Richard, went with me. We initially decided we were going up on opening weekend and decided due to scheduling that first Saturday, February 5, 2022 was our day to go that weekend.
The plan was set in motion. Unfortunatly, all great plans don’t always pan out, and this is no exception. Upon arrival in the town of Lake George, parking was hard to come by, by the time we got there around noon. Then to our disappointment, we found out they cancled the polar plunge. After performing some investigative work, I found out that the machine used to prevent ice from forming in the area the plunge was to happen worked too well and was shut off to prevent the “open water” area from affecting the ice beyond and the other activities. Because this was done on Friday and not caught in time, ice reformed in the area of the polar plunge. I would like to thank Nancy the Co-Chair of the carnival and the rest of the staff I spoke with for putting up with my questions and annoyingly assertiveness because of my disappointment in not being able to do the polar plunge the day I intended to.
With tails tucked, we headed back home. And it was later decided that the following weekend we would make another attempt. On February 12, 2022 we began our trek back to Lake George. To our delight, everything was perfect and went off without a hitch. With air temps around 37°F and unknown water temps, I was psyched for my 2nd ever polar plunge. This time I was better prepared after my 1st one a few weeks prior.
Like last time, we got there plenty early to find parking and get signed in. In fact to our surprise, we we the 2nd and 3rd people to sign up for the polar plunge on this particular day. I had no idea how many people to expect to jump in the water with us. But after sign-up, we hung out and ended up meeting a few people from all over the area with a couple from out of state. I honestly don’t remember were exactly they were from as I am writing this a week after I was there. After the plunge, I met a few more nice folks, and while I, again, don’t remember his name, I got to befriend the owner of Fitzgerald’s Ranch not far from my house.
The actual plunge lasted less than a minute, yet felt like it was longer. As they counted down the last few seconds, everyone began running towards the water, most of us were in the water before the annoucer hit zero. I expected the water to cold, I was not disapointed. I expected my breath to taken away at the cold, again, not disapointed. What I was not expecting was the slight current formed by everyone running into the water that gave a bit of a challenge swiming against back to shore. So if you have made it this far and I have not scared you off from doing the polar plunge in your area, the next section I have some tips learned to share.
You think you want to do a Polar Punge…
I recommend the following for anyone thinking about 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
So if you are in an area where temps get cold and you have ice and snow, my biggest tip is to keep a barrier between the cold ground or snow and the wet skin of your feet. Frost nip is no joke, and God forbid you let it get to the stage of frostbite. After my first polar plunge and severly underestimating how soon I was going to get changed as well as the distance to the changing station, I got a severe case of frost nip on my feet that took almost 2 weeks to heal fully. It’s a mistake I don’t plan on making again.
Final Thoughts
So would I do it again? HELL YEAH I WOULD!!!! I had an emense amount of fun. Despite the water being colder than I expected, I am looking forward to planning next years polar plunge. Though, next time, I would like to better plan ahead and make a longer day of it to really enjoy everything the carnival has to offer. Fireworks every evening around sundown, outhouse races, and much more.
The town also has a Winterfest that goes on during the weekdays through most of the winter season. The area is rich with year round activities for all ages and ability levels. So come for the carnival, stay for whatever fnacies your attention.
The Wandering Leatherneck 