Several hardy souls plunge into the frigid waters of Camp Kresge’s Beaver Lake in Dennison Township on Saturday afternoon to raise funds for the camp and Wilkes-Barre Family YMCA programs as part of the YMCA’s inaugural Polar Leap event. From front right to left are Sid Halsor, Lynn Nehila, and Andrea Butchko, with Nicholas Pincin behind.
Roger DuPuis | Times Leader
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Wilkes-Barre Family YMCA Aquatic Director Andrea Butchko warms up after her polar plunge into Beaver Lake on Saturday. The water was about 37 degrees, but the air temperature was about 14 degrees cooler.
Roger DuPuis | Times Leader
From left, Andrea Butchko, Nicholas Pincin and Lynn Nehila prepare to plunge into Beaver Lake on Saturday.
Roger DuPuis | Times Leader
Sid Halsor, left, dries off after plunging into Beaver Lake for Saturday’s fundraiser to benefit the Wilkes-Barre Family YMCA and Camp Kresge. ‘It was invigorating, bone-chilling,’ Halsor said of the water, adding: ‘the worst part was coming out.’
Roger DuPuis | Times Leader
DENNISON TWP. — If you’ve never visited the Wilkes-Barre Family YMCA’s Camp Kresge, understand that it is truly beautiful in all seasons.
Nestled in the woods nearly two miles off state Route 437, the camp is accessible by a winding one-lane dirt road that meanders through the trees and over a creek before the shimmering expanse of Beaver Lake emerges through a clearing.
Sharp winter sunlight glistened off the lake’s gently rippling waters Saturday afternoon as a light wind made the 23-degree day feel as much as 15 degrees colder.
Pretty as a picture, right?
Sure. Now go jump in the lake.
That is exactly what a group of hardy souls did shortly after the clock struck noon Saturday, as the YMCA held its inaugural Polar Leap fundraiser to support agency programs.
“Definitely invigorating,” said participant Lynn Nehila as she stood on the deck drying off after the plunge. “Not as cold as I thought it was going to be.”
A camp staffer who took the lake’s temperature before leapers hit the water confirmed that it was hovering between 37 and 39 degrees.
“Well it’s not frozen, so we know it’s at least above 32,” YMCA Aquatic Director Andrea Butchko said matter-of-factly before she waded into the chilling waves.
Indeed, warmer days that preceded the recent cold snap probably helped keep the lake temperature a bit above the ambient air temperature, as did Saturday’s sun — although a snow squall had moved through the area shortly before the dive, sending chills down many spines as preparations got underway.
Wearing only a bathing suit and flip-flops, participant Sid Halsor contrasted land and lake conditions as he toweled himself off on the deck after the plunge.
The water?
“Invigorating. Bone-chilling,” Halsor said, adding: “The worst part was coming out.”
Camp employee Nicholas Pincin, calmly waiting his turn to be interviewed on the deck post-swim, jumped into the conversation with a shrug of his shoulders and a smile.
“It wasn’t too bad,” Pincin said. “A couple minutes later? Fine.”
Nehila suggested another swim. “I was thinking about going back in, if anyone wants to go back in again,” she said to laughter from the group.
OK, then. What about a second jump?
“No,” Pincin replied without missing a beat. “Maybe next year.”
Pincin’s fiancée, YMCA Camp and Conference Director Steph Bewley, looks forward to it.
“Yes, we are definitely excited to do this again next year,” Bewley said once everyone was warmly gathered inside a cabin overlooking the lake afterward where doughnuts, s’mores, hot beverages and a crackling fire awaited swimmers and their supporters.
Bewley, who with Butchko was key to organizing the event, said part of the proceeds will go to help support aquatic programs at the YMCA and part will support camper scholarships. The total raised from the inaugural plunge had yet to be tallied Saturday afternoon.
“Steph and I are both new to the YMCA, and we’re really passionate about camp and all the outdoor activities, especially in the water,” said Butchko, a 2009 Lake-Lehman graduate who was a lifeguard in high school and college. She was named to her position with the YMCA after returning to the region from the New York City area.
“We wanted to create an activity that would raise some funds for the programs we’ve got going on and also bring people out to camp to see what it’s like,” Butchko added. “Even in the winter we’ve got things going on here.”
That was certainly the case this weekend.
Oh, and how did the longtime swimmer find the water?
“Wet,” she chuckled. “It was cold. Breathtaking.”