This past weekend when we were on the north shore, we stopped by Sugarloaf Cove. My wife wanted to show me the geology of the area, and since we were half-way there when we finished our run we decided to stop by. Unfortunately, the flies were REALLY bad, so we didn’t get to stay very long. However, since I was muddy from my run, I decided to take a dip in the lake to wash the dirt off.

One thing about Lake Superior is that it is almost never warm. I can only recall one year, almost a decade ago, when I was up there and the water wasn’t freezing. Every other time I’ve been there, it’s been cold. Bone chilling, skin numbing cold. This year was no exception. I stepped into the water and started to wash my legs. The mud had caked on, so it was hard to get it to budge. As I stood there I started to feel the cold penetrate. I kept scrubbing.

Eventually, the chill started to hurt a slight bit. I got out and let the sun warm my legs back up. Once I had warmed back up I went back in for one more refreshing dip. I took a photo of my feet, enjoyed the memories of many years touching the lake, before heading to the car. Lake Superior is a special place, and one of those things that makes it unique is the frigid waters. I’m always amazed when people go surfing in it come fall. It takes a lot of guts to put yourself in such a cold bowl of water. For me, I’m happy to just dip the toes and enjoy the thoughts of many summers gone by on the North Shore.