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Rain or shine, snow or sleet, a daring group of swimmers, ranging in age from 35 to 79, spend weekends at their favorite river in Northern California. They won’t tell you where exactly. But they will readily extol the benefits of cold-water swimming. Their secret spot hardly ever gets warmer than 55 degrees; the risk of hypothermia is real. But so is the boost in mood and well-being. “Getting into the river and realizing that I can do hard things has given me a lot of confidence and joy,” says Pamela Duncan, 57. The informal club came together in the spring of 2020, when the pools where they live were shuttered because of COVID-19. Within months, a collective of more than 30 women (and a few men) had formed, mostly by word of mouth. Clad in wetsuits, they cover distances of anywhere from a few hundred yards to four miles, encountering the occasional harbor seal or great blue heron along the way. sought them out in May, to witness their camaraderie and take a dip herself. “I was lucky to spend a week with them and capture those in-between moments—the anticipation before jumping in, exiting the river, pouring warm water on themselves after a swim,” Tompkins says. “I grew up swimming competitively, and after high school I pretty much stopped. But with this trip, I definitely caught the bug again.”