Walking Across the Iced Over Lake at Wawayanda

My son and I decided to take advantage of an unseasonably warm day earlier today in northern New Jersey. We went to Wawayanda State Park, with the intention of doing the usual loop walk, which is approximately two miles.

However, when we got out of the car, we noticed that there were a lot of people - at least a dozen people were on the lake while we were there, maybe two dozen - walking around on the iced over lake. I asked if he wanted to go on the ice, and he said yes. So, we went. 

He told me that he had never before walked atop on iced over lake. I was surprised that we never had done that, but I also could not remember any specific times having brought him. It was time. 

So we went on the ice, and we went farther and farther. There was an island that I once explored during a boating trip, but we were able to walk there this time. Once we got there, we did a little bit of exploring on it. There was the remnants of a chimney, but not much else. Few had been on it recently. But it was cool to explore. 

Both of us came close to slipping and possibly falling at points, although neither of us did. We just went slow and steady.

There was one incident. When I stepped off the little island on the far side (the one not facing the Wawayanda Beach), it was on literal thin ice. My foot went right through, but my momentum was already unstoppable, and I found myself suddenly submerging. It was my foot at first, then down to my knee, and then to my waist. My other leg went in, mostly on reflex to "catch" the fall before it grew worse. In the process of the fall, I banged my leg, and it did hurt. Also, the partial submergence in the cold water seemed to drop my body temperature, as I went from feeling comfortable to cold almost right away.

Another strange thing: suddenly, I felt hungry. We decided to go back and get into the car, so I could crank up the heat and hopefully dry off. We had a good meal together, and by chance, both my brother and my mom called within short order. So they got to speak to my son, and he was willing to talk longer than he normally does, which both of them appreciated. 

So, it was a good day overall. Took some pictures (more than just these), and also, both my son and I took some video. Will try and get that out in the near future. In the meantime, please enjoy these pictures of this cool day.

Even as I write this now (and am about to publish it), my toes are still cold from the unexpected dip in the cold lake on a February afternoon. That is one reminder of this day. These pictures are other reminders, and I am glad to have them. 

This was the picture of me taken just minutes after my little, unexpected dip in the waters of Wawayanda. As you can see, I was submerged up to my waste or so, even though I had expected the water to not be deep enough to go past my knees. Also, I fell onto some rocks on the side of the island that we were exploring, banging my knee in the process, but also allowing me to get out of the water before things ever grew more serious than they did. We basically turned around and went back to the car to warm up after this.