Walking through Riverbend Park on an overcast 37-degree afternoon bundled in a down jacket, it was hard to imagine stripping down to a bathing suit and wading into the Deschutes River.

That Saturday morning at 5 a.m., I’d impulsively signed up for a community social session with Gather Sauna House, then spent much of the consequent six hours steeling my nerves for the impending cold plunge.

Gather Sauna House, founded in 2019, is inspired by founder Halina Kowalski-Thompson’s Baltic lineage and the traditional bathing practices of the region, according to the website. The company’s Fern Sauna is in residency at Riverbend Park, a partnership which involves 15% of ticket sales benefitting Bend Park & Recreation District.

The mobile wood-fired sauna experience operates as a cycle, beginning with 15 minutes in the sauna, a cold plunge in the river and a rest period. The cycle is then repeated.

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The sauna experience

Our host, Brianna Wells, briefed us on best practices and what to expect. Before I entered the sauna room, she suggested I remove my necklace, adding the metal could become uncomfortably hot next to my skin in the steam room.

With six people in the wood-lined room, the temperature hovered at 200 degrees, warming us from the inside out. The heat was all-encompassing but not overpowering. However, it was so hot, I noticed if I opened my eyes too wide, my eyeballs burned.

One of the other guests had visited the sauna last week and was returning for another session with a friend in tow. She started one of the timers in the warming room, clocking the minutes until we would begin the next stage of the cycle. A handwritten note above the stopwatches reminded us of one the tidbits of information from the briefing, that the devices are intended to be used for the cold plunge in the river, but not inside the sauna because the extreme heat could be damaging. Once our 15 minutes was up, we slipped into sandals and hurried to the river.

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Embracing the chill

I remembered Wells’ counsel to take deep breaths as I entered the water. She had suggested imitating the pose of Riverbend Park’s otter sculpture by sitting on the floor of the riverbed and holding our hands and feet above the water. The extremities are at risk of becoming too cold, she said, and it’s not recommended to stay in the water for longer than four minutes, when hypothermia starts to pose a risk.

Sitting down in the river was the greatest shock to my body. Once I held my hands and feet above the water, I looked around, observing the Canadian geese with whom I was sharing the river. For a moment, I forgot how icy cold I was, then, I focused on taking deep breaths again.

I’m not sure how long I stayed in the water, but after I emerged, I felt the burning sensation of pins and needles in my legs along with a rush of adrenaline. The water had raised my heart rate and blood pressure as my body went into overdrive to regulate its internal temperature.

The session allowed enough time to complete three cycles, followed by a fourth and final visit to the sauna.

I left rewarded with a sense of accomplishment and the endorphins of overriding fear and temporary discomfort. And according to Gather Sauna House, there’s a litany of purported health benefits associated with thermal contrast therapy, such as reduced inflammation, nervous system regulation, increased metabolism, boosted immunity, improved sleep and more.

If You Go:

What: Gather Sauna House

When: Sauna sessions held 9:30 a.m, 11 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 2 p.m., 3:30 p.m. 5 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. daily thru May

Where: Fern sauna at Riverbend Park, 799 SW Columbia St., Bend

Cost: $45 from Wednesday- Jan. 5 (considered holiday dates) or $36 Jan.6 or later for community social sauna sessions

Contact: gathersaunahouse.com