Preparing to Take the Plunge

Looking out over Chautauqua Lake makes me realize how insignificant I am. I am safe as long as I am on land, but once I enter the water, I am at its mercy. While the lake is not known to be dangerous, there is an eerie feeling you get when your feet cannot touch the bottom. But on a warm day, you cannot keep your mind from wondering how nice soaking in the heat from the sun in the middle of the lake would be the perfect combination of hot and cold. I can only speculate what swimming out into the middle of the lake would feel like, but soon enough, I will know. I won't have helped too far away for safety, but to achieve the feeling of loneliness in the middle of the lake, I will have my help keep their distance. I regret not attempting this feat last weekend when it was in the 80s. This week it will be in the 60s so that the warm sun's feeling might not be the same. Regardless of the weather, I will take the plunge, but it will undoubtedly affect how far I will go. I have always been a strong swimmer, so my problem is not there, but the water could be frigid. Another complication is the traffic in the lake. There are no huge freights obviously, but there are fast-moving speedboats that occupy the lake. An easy fix to this problem is being tailed by a kayak or jet ski. Having something like that tail me would ensure I am seen by boats passing by. As I said earlier, I do want the jet ski to keep its distance from me. The point of this swim is to be alone with nature. I am aiming to heighten my respect for nature. It is always easy to appreciate nature when you see something beautiful, but not everyone gives it respect. I feel that after my experience swimming, I will have brand new outlook on nature. Some of this idea came from Chris Mccandless. He obviously valued nature's beauty and knew he could reinvent himself, but he did not give it respect. By respect, I don't me cleaning up litter, but that is also good. I mean, he did not see the destructive power nature has. It is such a beautiful thing but ignore the danger, and you will pay.