Ice Fishing and Frostbite

Let's play a game. Never have I ever...... been so cold. In my life! I love the outdoors and I have been pushing myself to try as many new things as I can. Expanding my horizons and attempting the "yes man" mentality. So when one of my girlfriends invited me up to her cottage for a weekend of ice fishing, it was tip-ups and shanties on my mind.

Let me just say that it's not that I have NEVER been ice fishing before. My Dad tells this cute story about the *cough cough* one time he took my sister and I, when I was about 3. We were most excited about the lunch he had packed in the cooler, then traumatized by the huge jaw of razor sharp teeth on the northern he pulled up while Rach and I bent over the hole in anticipation. She managed to get away while I toppled over and could only squirm helplessly on my back. Picture Ralphie from A Christmas Story, when he is so bundled up he can't move. In the years following, while my counterparts went out fishing, I was much more content curled up in a blanket by the fire, doing just about anything else.

And let's not forget the other hindering factor, how much I hate being cold. I really try not to be whiny about being cold, but my body temperature is NOT 98.6. It just isn't. I am naturally more cold than everyone else and with horrid circulation, the first things to go numb are my fingers and toes, or more accurately my hands and feet.

We drove up Friday evening, after a last minute scramble to pack. My version of packing was throwing my warmest layers into my travel bag and a mass of hard warmers. Fashion out the window when im trying o stay warm. Plus my beautiful wonderful savior of a coat, my parka. I don't think I would be alive without it! When we made it up to the cottage, the driveway was obviously NOT shoveled, and there was about a foot and a half of snow we had to trek through just to get inside. I was kicked off shoveling duty almost immediately, fair enough, and reassigned to unload the things inside the cabin. Score right? Well being the first people there, it was about as warm inside as it was outside. But after unpacking and a mishap with turning on the oven to cook the pizza. Who knew "cook time" would shut the oven off when the timer went off..... We spent the first night resting up for our big day on the ice tomorrow. The cabin did heat up eventually and I'm not trying to be dramatic just setting the scene, but I SLEPT in my parka..... In the heated cabin. Spending an entire day on the ice was looking a little more daunting now.

The furnace in the cabin  became my best friend for the weekend! If I could have slept on top of it I would have!

Day 2. We woke up, packed for the ice, and the rest of the crew arrived. Into the truck and here goes nothing. We stopped at a gas station on the way there, thank gooooodness! I got a hot coffee, half hazelnut half extreme caffeine, necessary.

My breakfast before we headed out to the lake! Some double spice chia tea and PB2 on toast with banana slices! YUM!

Here were my layers;
3 pairs of wool, wicking, ski socks with hand warmers stuck between socks 2 and 3
Insulted running pants
North Face fleece pants
Snow pants
Insulated Under Armor top
North Face fleece top
Wool sweater
Parka <3
2 scarves
Head band
Industrial gloves with hand warmers

Bundled up on the lake with the Pups!

We drilled the holes into the ice, set up the tip ups, grabbed some snacks and waited. And waited. And waited some more. In the process got the 4 wheeler stuck in water on top of the ice. Oops. Lost some gloves. Went sledding. Waited some more. We ran around with the dogs. I am aware that I am decently uncoordinated but come on I can run in the snow... No, actually I cannot. About the third step I took while chasing the dogs. I became tangled in myself, yes that is in fact possible, and crashed face first into the snow. Good start to my ice fishing adventures. As the day wore on and the tip ups stayed down, the feeling in my feet become less and less.

The four of us girls on the four wheeler taking it out for a spin!

Then we stuck another on the front and took off!!

I only took TWO breaks in the truck! I am very proud of that! Unfortunately we didn't catch any fish. Not even a false alarm with the tip ups! So after 5 chilly hours on the ice we packed everything up and headed back to the cozy cabin to play some cards, and make some dinner. We spent the rest of the night at the local "establishment" playing pool, darts, dancing, and I learned how to play table shuffle board. All in all it was a great time with awesome company!

We were being sneaky and pretending to take some snacks :)

 Every cup needs a hand-made coaster obviously!

Fast forward to Sunday afternoon. After bringing in all of my things, I hopped into the shower. This is the first time I am taking off the full 3 layers of socks off. I have had cold feet before, and I have had blue-ish toes before. My toes were a totally different color, one that I have never seen before. In that moment I was completely TERRIFIED that my feet were frostbitten and permanently blue! Thankfully after what seemed like an eternity, they finally pinked back up and they now have complete feeling back in them :)

I have still felt a chill since I have been home so naturally a hot power yoga class and a BIG cup of coffee were in order this morning! It was the perfect way to start off my Monday!