A Scare at the Lake
Bear or man, I wondered as I stared at the lake and the empty shoes.
I enjoy cold submersion, and you may have read about my hobby in my previous articles:
This hobby takes me to a nearby lake early in the morning. I have done it at a variety of places — in the ocean and different lakes. Currently, air and water temperatures are in the fifties.
I find it best in the morning; it wakes me up, and if I go too late in the day, I have difficulty sleeping.
As I neared the edge of my latest dipping spot, I spotted an empty pair of shoes and a bag indicating a swimmer.
I scanned the lake with my eyes but saw no one swimming. Weird, I thought. Normally, I can see someone in the water. My heart dropped.
Bear or man? was my first thought. The shoes were obviously a woman’s.
I did a dip, just a few minutes in the water, but could not fully relax. I kept scanning the top of the water and finding nothing. Not even a fisherman in a boat.
