The temperature of the Cowlitz River in Packwood hovered around 36 degrees Wednesday morning, according to a National Weather Service thermometer.

Last year, I volunteered myself to go for a brisk kayak trip as part of a “Free Hike Day” at Ike Kinswa State Park for a story to start off 2024.

To ring in 2025, I signed myself up for something a little more daring: a polar plunge into the glacier-fed river in East Lewis County.

I’ve done polar plunges in the past, but never in conditions quite this cold. As a kid, I did one in roughly 40 degree temperatures into Lake Washington. As part of a fundraiser for the Special Olympics, I took a dip into the Columbia River in Wenatchee.

But with fresh snow atop the mountains, I had never done one quite so cold.

As I checked into an Airbnb Tuesday, the host reacted with a mixture of surprise and amazement when I told her what we would be doing the next day.

As we drove to the site, I did a cursory Google search to see how long someone can survive in temperatures this cold, only to learn that serious side effects can occur in as little as 15 minutes, though I planned to spend nowhere near that much time in the water.

While not much of the winter outdoorsy type, as the youngest of three, I’ve definitely been dared to put myself into frigid conditions.

When my cousin graduated from Washington State University in the dead of winter, my brothers took it upon themselves to challenge me to leave the heated (and indoors) pool and jump into the fresh snow outside.

As we walked up to the site, the cold winter exhales of participants served as a reminder of how daring the polar plunge would be.

Roughly two dozen people waited on the banks of the Cowlitz River to jump, where a man joked that the water temperature was slightly higher than the air temperature, meaning people should jump in to get warmer.

The plunge brought together a mix of ages, and several said they had previously done one before. One group, in fact, said they frequently dip into the Puget Sound.

Hyping myself up, I tried to take deep breaths to calm my nerves to prepare. When the clock struck noon, a whistle blew, and the crowd slowly walked into the river.

Wading around, I worked up the courage to dump my head into the water before racing to the shore. As I quickly dried myself off, I was amazed that most of the group remained in the water.

My feet turning red, I quickly scurried back to our car to dry off. When our photographer, Ridley Hudson came back, I was shocked to learn several people remained in the water long after I left.

While not the worst assignment I’ve ever had, I can safely say it will be a while before I go for another dip in the Cowlitz River.