Take the Plunge

As mentioned earlier, I planned to join the Polar Plunge as part of my Last Hurrah tour of central Oregon.  In the four years I've been here, I've swam in lots of really cold water, including Crater Lake (water and air were both around 50 degrees that day), the pool below Punchbowl Falls on Eagle Creek (where I realized that I could feel the difference between when I told my arm to move and when it actually responded), and Tamolitch Pool (on three different occasions; on the last two, I jumped from a 40 foot cliff to enter the water.  The last time was the coldest water I can remember swimming.  I'd estimate it was about forty degrees), so I figured a quick dip in the Deschutes wouldn't be a big deal, but I still felt a little nervous about it.  I give credit for that to everyone who reminded me how colossally stupid it was to seek out cold water and jump into it.

The thing is, I was right.  The Plunge was pretty simple, and even a little disappointing in its ease.  I would have happily spent more time swimming out there, but it was just a case of run in, trip and fall under water, get up, run out.  The worst part was standing in line in 28 degree weather with strong winds at our backs waiting to plunge.  Even afterward, soaking wet and looking for the friends who had my towel and dry clothes, I was more comfortable than I had been before, hopping in place to stay warm as a muscle in front of my right hip slowly tightened against the cold.

I was right for another reason, too: it's a great time, however brief it is.  I saw two Alices (of Wonderland fame), one accompanied by a Cheshire cat, Queen of Hearts, playing card person, Mad Hatter, White Rabbit, and what I assume was the Dormouse.  A family of large flowers included three generations of one family; two of those people were in their eighties.  Two women had decorated transparent umbrellas with glittering streamers, making them jellyfish (they won a costume award, and richly deserved it), and three others had transformed themselves into wine bottles (labeled Que Syrah Syrah, Chardonnay-Nay, and a third name which eludes me now, but is just as deserving of a real bottle as the others.  Seriously, winemakers: I appreciate a good sense of humor.  Just ask the nice folks at Maragas.).  Everyone waiting in line was cold, and we were all excited to be there.  I like how a community feeling can arise from such a small cluster of people who only gather for a very short amount of time.

A friend and coworker brought his son and father-in-law to watch the crazy people, and got several pictures.  Some of my favorites are below.

The Law Enforcement Team

Woody, Dora the Explorer, and one of the Alices.  I think this was the Fred Meyer Team.

Flower power!

My group was a bunch of individuals--no team affiliation, just a bunch of crazy people.

I love that when people hit the water, they laughed.  No screaming, no complaining--just lots of people having fun.  Even when we popped up out of the water, we were laughing.

The mouse on fire was one of the lifeguards.  Earlier, I saw one of them throwing rocks out of the plunge area so we wouldn't trip and smash our faces.  Thanks, guys!

Wet tech-shirt contest entrant.