It won’t be long now.  On the first day of the new year crazy paddlers from around Wisconsin gather at Lake Columbia near Portage, Wisconsin where the water is warm and the air is well. . , “not”.

This mid-winter’s paddler can be surprisingly brutal.  Air temperatures vary wildly from year to year but can easily dip below freezing.  The wind can also be a harsh reminder that even if the water is warm, it’s still the dead of winter.  To get warm a popular choice is simply to roll, especially up near the power plant where water temperatures can reach over 80f.  (Some folks still buy the “Piranha” stories and prefer to stay upright!) The downside of course is coming back up into the harsh reality above the surface.  As soon as you return to the surface the warmth is quickly sucked out and you are left wet and cold, which makes you want to roll again. . In the end it can be a losing battle.

Hitting the water by 9am, most paddlers are heading toward the local pub by noon.  There we thaw out, catch up with our friends that we may not have seen since summer, and enjoy fat filled greasy cheeseburgers.  Now what could be better than that!??

Related Posts:

1. Frozen Fog
2. Lull
3. december fog
4. frigid as. . .
5. You Can Put Your Hands Down Now. . .