the lake

The final part of the Michigan series documents the requisite swim in one of the coldest and greatest (puns are also great) lakes. Lake Superior is a must when visiting the U.P. A lake so massive that it doesn’t even freeze over in the winter, leaving it frigid for the summer with a sum temperature change over the year of about 4 degrees. Toes start to go numb when you dip in, and lungs gasp once you dive. We went to one of my favorite spots on Presque Isle, which you may recognize from my trip to Superior earlier this summer. A cliffside gives way to stacks of red and gray rocks, which gradually dissolve into pebbles then sand as you walk. The lake expands in front of you, so impossibly huge that you cannot see the other side. It is a perfect horizon of blue, a monstrous and icy current hiding beneath the rippled surface. On the 70°F day, we were able to spend longer than usual in the water. The soft yet constant breeze made me question whether it was colder to stay in the water or out of it. My body settled on goosebumps everywhere. But it wasn’t one of those experiences where you’re just waiting to get out of the water once you feel like you’ve had the required amount of exposure. You stop feeling the cold. We had swimming races and breath-holding contests. We dove under then floated. And when we got out and wrapped in our towels, the sun felt warmer than before.