Polar Bear Plunge

The next morning, we engaged in a grand New Year's Day tradition: polar plunging. Don't be fooled by the palm trees in the background; it's been plenty cold here of late (as you can see by all the people not plunging who are warmly wearing coats), not to mention that the Morale,Welfare and Recreation folks tried to psych us out by throwing about ten bags of ice into the pool just before we lined up to get in. For me, it was a chance to relive the days of hiking into the alpine lakes in Idaho during May, when chunks of glacier and sheet ice still cover the lake and me and my brothers all jump in to relieve all the soreness from our tired muscles. There is something absolutely exhilarating about being immersed in frigid water. When you get out, you feel more alive than ever before, and you also feel amazingly warm (that's the early stages of frostbite taking over). Anyway, it was a lot of fun, and I think I'll try to make it a tradition. Maybe there'll be a polar bear plunge from Vandenberg into the chilly Pacific next New Year!!