Here is my trip report on this one. I set the alarm on my new watch. I set the alarm for 4:00 am. To bad my watch was 12 hours off and reading 4:00
PM! I woke up at 4:40 and just stared at the clock. I seriously considered calling in sick and not making the drive. I would be kicking myself if I didn't go. It's been 3 months or so since I've been in open water. Ugh...I drag myself out of bed.
Once I was up I was on a roll. I grabbed my dive bag, made sure my gloves and socks were in there and threw it in the truck. Grabbed my float, my speargun and polespear and hit the road. I got 10 to 15 minutes into my drive and I don't know what triggered it, but I realized I did not grab my wetsuit. I'm not doing this dive without a wetsuit I know that for certain! U-turn and back home to get my 5mil wetsuit.
So I'm back on the road, just thinking my usual random thoughts. Refining my script for my video for the Austrailia Dream job
and what have you. I decided to send a short quick text to Wreckrunner saying "A beautiful day to dive". A few minutes later my phone is ringing and it's Wreck telling me that he wishes he did not have to work...blah blah blah, we have all been on his side of the conversation, you have to feel bad for the guy!
During my conversation with Wreckrunner I said to him, "man, I hope the power is on". I'm driving 3.5 hours, the temps are around 10 degrees and as I get north there is snow falling. 45 minutes out I send a text to Jon "I hope the power is on!!". As I'm getting off the expressway I can see the stacks. I'm hoping that I am just not seeing smoke because it matches the sky. Right then my phone rings, it's Whopperhead "dude, the power is off and the lake is frozen". I'm crushed.
I get to the lake and we wait for Jon to arrive. Jon asks if we want to try here since there is a hole in the ice or do we want to go to the river. I'm still crushed, I wanted to see some fish and enjoy the outlet, I can't even answer... "I dunno, I don't care, whatever" The call is made to jump in here and give it a go.
Well these two live so close, they are in their wetsuits, I'm in street clothes. Jon was off to the water, Whopperhead was going to wait a bit for me. I'm hustling trying not to keep him waiting. Where is my conditioner....it's supposed to be in my back....no lube... I tell Whopperhead to go, I'm going to be a bit. I make the call to attempt the impossible. This is like a reverse escape magic trick. Getting into an open-cell wetsuit....DRY! I turned the suit inside out. I put my feet in the bottom of the legs and rolled the suit up my legs and got the bottoms on pretty easy. The top was a similar treatment, but the hood + bare neoprene + dry = scared. I had my arms in and started working on getting my head through the hole. I had a fear I would get stuck, suffocate and they would find me hours latter half into my wetsuit with a failed breath hold attempt.
I'm in my wetsuit and I look down to see Whopperhead and Jon finishing their path from the outlet out to the open area. The pool was 30 yards or so across? I made my way down to the water and finally got in. I made my way through the ice field that the cutters had gone out through and joined the other two playing in the 32 degree pool. After 30 minutes my fingers were burning and I was trying to move my arms and generate heat, but I could not get them warm, so I decided to head in.
On my way across the pool I see a small carp, about 5 or 6 pound swimming slowly. I holler back to Jon "live carp swimming over here". I keep an eye on it until they get over to me. Whopperhead filmed Jon plug the carp with a hawaiian sling. So we all got to share in the action of the first fish of the year. If I had a cooler I would have kept the carp. It was a good size for a carp and I could have tried the latest preperation I've seen and fed it to my mother-in-law.
I continued my way out of the water and back to my car. By the time I got my numb fingers usable again and mostly dressed Whopperhead and Jon were back up to the cars. The funny moment of the day: A lady walking her dogs says to Scott "You know your nuts right?" Scott replies "Where did all this snow come from? Jon! How long were we in!?" *everyone laughs*.
Jon headed home to thaw out with his family. Whopperhead and I headed to Gander Mountain to see what they had in Pontoon boats. We figured we would pick on out and someone else could buy it for us to use as a dive boat!
Then off to Applebees. My hands had recovered, but my feet were still tingling a little bit, but not numb....That's a good sign. Steak, potatoes... Whopperhead offered me my choice of Buffalo wings or Chicken wings. ??? Huh? "That's what is says!....*reads* eh...Boneless Buffalo wings...or Buffalo Chicken wings....SHUT UP!" rofl
We talked about the Freeze coming up, new divers joining us and hunting. Then we each went home. Any day in the water is a good day! Right??
