Scouts jump into 2021 with Polar Bear Plunge

SAGLE — “Aaaah hooo hooo!”

As the exclamation echoed in the cold winter air, a splash quickly followed as, one by one, members of Boy Scout Troop 111 jumped into a hole cut into a frozen Mirror Lake at Camp Stidwell.

While the annual Polar Bear Plunge was limited to the troop and a few members, and held at Camp Stidwell instead of its normal location of Sandpoint City Beach, the New Year's Day tradition featured the same screams, splashes and quick dashes for warmth as past events.

Troop leader Phil Voelz figures about 15-20 people took part in this year's Polar Bear Plunge — a big drop in the 100-plus who normally take part in the event. However, with social distancing and other restrictions in place due to the global novel coronavirus pandemic, the troop's focus was on keeping their tradition alive, and they knew the community would understand the reason for the changes.

Even some troop members opted not to take part, something Voelz and other troop members understand and support that decision.

The goal was to hold the event, but to do so in a safe manner while observing the guidelines, Voelz said.

While Sandpoint officials told the troop they could hold the event at City Beach, they were advised they would need to ensure there were no more than 10 people at a time in the warming tents and that everyone would have to be at least 6 feet apart.

The troop knew enforcement of the rules would be challenging and would make it difficult to have fun and maintain their own participation in the Polar Bear Plunge.

"The city was actually willing to let us still do things but they said you have to abide by the rules, right, and come up with a plan," Voelz said. "It just became a little too cumbersome to deal with, so we said, 'Let's just do our own thing at [Mirror Lake] and people are going to understand because of what's going on.' "

At the same time, Voelz said it's important to note the troop worked to say within Governor Brad Little's guidelines with regards to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

"I don't want to be like, 'I'm not going to follow the rules, we don't give a crap,' that kind of thing. That's not what I feel like at all," Voelz said. "So we said we can do this in a safe way and still keep up our tradition, right, and still make it happen instead of saying, 'Another thing we couldn't do this year,' you know what I mean, because there have been so many of those."

Voelz is appreciative of being able to hold the troop-centered plunge at Camp Stidwell, owned by their charter organization, the Sandpoint Kiwanis Club. The property's caretaker, Bill Ouimet, went out of his way to plow the area from the parking lot to the lake so that those dashes to the waiting fire could be done quickly and safely.

"I think it's cool that even though we're not having the huge group that we normally do at the city, we can still be down here and still do our tradition and be with the Kiwanis Club," Voelz said. "What better place? This is incredible spot."

The troop had just started meeting again when the state moved into its Stage 4 of Idaho's reopening plan. They moved their meetings outdoors and to the Bonner County Fairgrounds instead of their normal meeting spot of Sandpoint Community Hall. As the number of COVID-19 cases increased and restrictions were added back, Voelz didn't want the plunge to be another casualty for troop members.

"We didn't want this to be one more thing we couldn't do," he added. "So we went, 'How can we do it and still be within the parameters of what the governor wants. I think there are still people who might disagree with what we're doing, right, but, I think we're still being safe."

Doing the jump, keeping that tradition alive, was very important to the troop because it serves as a team bonding activity that allows them to build and maintain camaraderie.

"Well, I think we're definitely crazy guys," Voelz said, breaking off in laughter. "The troop is kind of known for that as well and we attract that kind of craziness, having fun regardless of your circumstances. Something the boys have heard me say a million times, is there is no such thing as bad weather, just poor choice in clothing. And so, you know, we got a fire, we can warm back up, we're not going to die — probably.

"This is kind of who we are. We do crazy things, you know. And in the midst of not being able to do things, we're still going to do them in a safe way if we can. We're going to find a way to navigate that and still do our crazy stuff."

In a way, Voelz said, finding a way to make the plunge happen for the troop was another example of a lesson he tries to teach the scouts: Adversity can be overcome.

In the Boy Scouts, leaders and scouts prepare and plan ahead on how to do things in a fun — but safe — manner. The plunge is just another example of that.

"You can do this and be stupid, right," Voelz said. "You can do this and be very dumb and somebody gets hurt going underneath the ice or something very bad happens. But we do it in a safe manner — or as safe as possible, I mean it is frozen water."

He laughs, then continues: "So it's maybe not totally safe but it's done in a safe manner."

For the troop, the plunge is in line with other things they do, from 50-miles hikes with a backpack on to camping in snow caves.

"People go all the time, 'What do you mean you guys go hiking for 50 miles every year with a backpack on. That's nuts,' " Voelz said. "Maybe. But if you do it in the right fashion, it's not. It's fun. It's exciting and we're pushing the boundaries and we're finding out what we're made of and what we can do and all these guys are better for it. There's no doubt about it.

That chance to bond, to have a chance to learn about and test yourself is important, the longtime scoutmaster said. It gives the scouts a chance to learn their talents, to push beyond what they think they can do, to find out what they really can do.

"That's exactly what we do in Boy Scouts, right," Voelz said. "You can say I don't know how to start a fire out in the snow. OK, well, let's figure out how to do that. Right? There's ways to do that and then you overcome it and you CAN do it and you know if I get stranded out in the snow, I can survive.

"[The Polar Bear Plunge] is a silly way of doing that, of course, but it still goes back to what we do here all the time."

Caroline Lobsinger can be reached at clobsinger@bonnercountydailybee.com and followed on Twitter @CarolDailyBee.