52nd Lake and the last swim

August 2nd, 2010 - Today after running the girls to the dentist, I took McKenzie and we went to Willow to attempt to swim three lakes. Overcast day temperatures around 60 F. I decided to swim Lynne Lake which is next to Honeybee lake off the Nancy Lake Parkway at mile 67.3 Parks Hwy. The water temperature was 63 F in the shallow area. When you enter this lake the water is pretty shallow until you reach the island then it quickly deepens. I located a spot across the lake and I took off with no problems at least for me. Once i past the Island I had a loon flapping its wings and making a lot of noise just off my right side. It did provide me with a little entertainment as I breathed on my right side. Once reaching the other side I took a look where I needed to go and off I went. I stopped after 200 strokes to get my bearings and thought I was going in the right direction. Once I reeach the far side I was yet a gain lost. I climbed out onto shore and followed the trail to the road. 350 strokes and 26 minutes to do the swim. I was trying to find my location and just couldn't figure out where I came out in relationship to where I started. I determined that I had swam far to my right about 400 yards, thus I decided to follow the road back to the truck. 16 minutes later I reached the truck. Remember I was walking in my flippers and looking through my prescription googles to get back to the truck. McKenzie had no clue that I had got lost she was busy texting on her phone and not paying attention to the swim. A swim that should have taken 26 minutes ended up taking 48 minutes. I wonder how long I coud have been gone before McKenzie would have called someone. Thus, I was upset again for not finding my exit point. Thus I said screw it and headed home.

On the way home I determined that yes I could swim all these lakes it not a big deal I have swam 52 lakes to date. I just can't take a chance of getting lost anymore - it is not worth the effort. Plus, I can't get anyone to actually go out in a boat with me on each swim to assist in swimming the right direction. So today ends my swims and back to the pool I will go.

One plus is that I can get a couple of days fishing and take Morgan on her Dall Sheep hunt over the next two weeks before it is back to school .

For those that have been following - thanks

Take care and enjoy the rest of your summer.

No Swimming - Rainy and cloudy

July 25th - Sunday - Raining no swimming today! Off to Washington DC for a week educational workshop - grant - money!

49th, 50th and 51st lakes Point McKenzie (Lorraine,Twin Island, Carpenter)

Fireweed in full bloom along Point McKenzie Road

Lorraine Lake - Point McKenzie

July 23rd - Goal today is to get to atleast 50 lakes before my wife and her twin brother David 50th Birthday tomorrow. Before going out I stopped by ADF&G to clearify direction to some lakes and inform them of errors in the directions to past lakes. I made a good connection today with just the right person who asked me to e-mail her the correct directions to the specific lakes that had incorrect directions and she would make the changes. I had 4 lakes left to do in the Point McKenzie area thus I decided to go to the furthest one out which was Lorraine Lake. Of course the directions were incorrect the correct directions should say that the pull out area for Lorraine is located near mile marker 19 on Point McKenzie road. You will see that ADF&G put a boulder to block the trail down to the lake but several people had driven to the left of the boulder and hence the trail was open, muddy do to the recent rain so use 4 wd and you can drive right to the shore. My Garmin GPS came in real handy finding this lake. No sign was present so use the coordinates that ADF&G provide and you will find this lake, The water temperature was 68 F on the surface and few degrees cooler a couple feet deeper. The water was pretty clear and the lake was free of weeds. Total strokes there and back was 820 and the total time was 27:36. Today's swim was fueled by 2 bean buritto's from Taco Bell and a Mtn. Dew.

After drying off it was off to find Twin Island Lake. Again I used my GPS to find this lake. There was no ADF&G sign to indicate this lake. Thus, I pulled off the road mile marker 14.9 Point McKenzie roadwhen I saw a trail that I thought would lead me to this lake. After walking .25 miles the trail lead me to someone house but no one was there so I proceeded to the shore and found a wondeful deck. A little worried that when I came back my glasses, GPS and car keys would be gone, but I had to do it this was number 50. So I got ready and off I went and it was soon after that I had to swim through alot of weeds (about half of the lake). I did notice a couple of spots in the lake that must of had springs coming in to the lake, because the temperature of the water dropped a few degrees. After 497 strokes I reached the other side of the lake for a total of 994 stokes and a total time of 31 minutes 40 seconds. Once I reached the dock all my gear was still there and I quickly changed and walked back to the truck without any problems.

I still had time so I decided I would go try to find Carpenter Lake and this time ADF&G directions were correct and there was even a sign. This lake was a long skinny lake with a few zig and zags in it. I quickly got my gear on and decided my course and off I went, After about 367 strokes I found myself grounded in the middle of the lake. In fact I had to walk a few steps to get to deeper water, then it was back to swimming. I had a great house with a metal roof to use as a spot on the end of the lake to swim for. Once I reached this house I continued on to the end of the lake. After 779 strokes I was close to the end of the lake when I decided that I should turn around and head back. On the way back I must have missed the shallow area because I had clean swimming all the way back. I did have a head wind on the way back thus a few more waves than I wanted but I survived the ordeal. Total time for this swim was 54 minutes and 15 seconds and a total of 1558 strokes. Shoulders are sore so I decided I would have to save Three Mile Lake for another day. Totals lakes to date is 51. Off for the long ride home.

Hope for a clear weekend, if it is I will try swimming the remaining three lakes that I can drive to on the Glenn Highway (Ida, Knob and North Knob lake) before I have to fly to DC Sunday night for school.

1st document swim rash

July 22nd - After swimming Big Beaver Lake and Marion Lake a swim rash appeared on my right shoulder and left arm pit. See the photo above! I forgot to rise off before we went to the next lake. Usually I bring a gallon of water to rinse off if I know it will be a while to the next lake. Hopefully the rashes will disappear soon. Good news is that this is the first thing I got while swimming the 48 lakes and with any luck the last thing.

Summer is quickly disappearing so get out while you can and enjoy the outdoors.

Clear weather - 46th, 47th and 48th Lakes

July 22nd - Hamming it up to cheer up my daughter Morgan before I enter Marion Lake. Marion Lake is pretty weed free just becareful of the trees that are in the water. While swimming I could see the bottom is some areas. Total of 752 strokes to swim across and back. Total time 24 minutes and 1o seconds. No problems and todays swim was fueled by a 5 inch italian sub from Krazy Moose Subs and a Mtn. Dew.

A female Spruce Grouse with two chicks and Susitna Parkway between Diamond and Crooked Lakes. Diamond Lake was the coldest of the three lakes today probably 62 F . WARNING if you follow ADF&G directions you will not find this lake. Correct directions are Mile 52.3 Parks Hwy. West on Big LAke Rd. 3.6 miles to "Y" . Left at "Y" on South Big Lake Rd. 5.3 miles to 4 way stop. Right at stop on W. Susitna Parkway 3.2 miles to Raines Drive. Left on Raines Dr. 1.2 miles to end of road. Sign posted showing trail down to the lake shore. Since there was no boat access I had to swim to the end of the lake and back a total of 1, 067 strokes in a time of 35 minutes and 40 seconds. Some weeds in the shallow area but scattered and presented no problems for me. Water pretty clear.

We decided to check out Crooked Lake and as we got close to the lake we noticed Mr. or Mrs. Beaver trying to cut this tree up. As we stopped to take his picture he/she decided to leave but couldn't quite his job so he came back to finish cutting up this log. What dedication and commitment this beaver had. We decided not to swim this lake today and will save it for another day in the future.

Big Beaver Lake - Morgan is ready to take me across the lake so that I can swim back. By the number of boats, jet skies and other toys it appears that this lake can get busy on a hot summer day. According to my GPS this lake is a mile long and it took me 26 minutes and 803 strokes to make it back.

Total distance today is estimated at 3.25 miles. Unfortunately we ran out of time today and didn't get time to swim the last stocked lake (Crooked Lake) in the BIg Lake Area. I will come back and swim Crooked Lake before I go to Nancy Lake area to swimming those lakes.

Hope for some more clear and sunny days.

44th - Little Beaver Lake and 45th - West Beaver Lake

Saturday July 17th - Bright and Sunny day. Today I took Morgan done to Palmer Hay Flats to run a 5k race. The race was very interesting following the scout ridge trail system. Morgan finished fourth overall and the second female runner. The times were horribly slow, we all think the course was long. Several runners that was going to run the 5K ended up running the 10K race nobaody told them were to turn around. To say the least the race was not organized well from the course to the awards. The run is to support the Palmer Hay Flats which is a great cause but the need to work out the bugs if they want to continue with this race nexst year. Finally about 11 am we left and decided to go swim a few more lake in the Big Lake area. There are 8 lakes in the area that have been stocked. The last swim I swam two in the area and was hoping to swim 3 or 4 today. We decided to go to Little Beaver first since I have fished this lake and it was easy to find the public access point. The access point is right in the middle of the lake and since this lake is small I decided to swim a triangle. I am using my new precription goggles so hopefully I don't over shot by exit point. No problems with the goggles they worked great. Total strokes 579 to complete the triangle and a total time of 19 minutes and 8 seconds. One note on this lake their are weeds located at both ends and a few weeds around the shore. After swimming this lake we decided to drive over the hill to West Beaver Lake. We couldn't find the public access point to this lake we think it is at the end of the lake according to the map. Looking at this lake we noticed that the shallow end of the lake was full of lily pads and I had no interest of swimming through them. So we were driving along the lake and decided to stop at a house that was near the middle of the lake, but no one was home. We drove back up the road and next house we notice a lady working in her yard and we pulled into her driveway and asked her if we can have access to the lake through her property. Of course I told her what we were doing and typical response why and I reply why not nobody that I know has ever tried swimming all the lakes. She gave us permission and told us to watch out for the big rainbows (I already know this lake had large rainbows since it had been stocked with triploids) and leeches. Since the enter point was near the middle of the lake I decided to swim another triangle. I got my gear on and Morgan sat by the shore and watched me take off. 425 strokes later I reach the end of the lake and I swam another 425 strokes along the shore line passing my exit point which I can see because of the new goggles then it took me 96 more stokes to cross the lake to reach my original entry point. Thus, total of 946 strokes and 30 minutes 16 seconds to swim West Beaver Lake. We decided to drive over to Big Beaver Lake to see if i could swim that lake today as well. I have fished this lake before and knew it was a large lake. Once we arrived at the lake I knew that it had to be around 1 to 1.25 miles long. Thus, I decided that we should bring the boat the make the swim quicker since thenI would only have to swim one direction. In addition, the other remaining lakes are similar in size and would require the boat. So we headed home in hopes that Sunday would be like today.

Homer Run

Group Photo with some of the fish

Look at the stomach and head of the Ling Cod

Yellow eyed rockfish

July 14th I decided to take advantage of my free Homer Halibut trip I won at the Mat-Su Sportmans show with Big Bear Charters. Today the rain stopped and it is a great sunny day that I should have been swimming a lake or two but I needed to do some more fishing. Big Bear Charters requires you to report by 6:30 am and finally around 7 am we took off in a 35 foot boat with 4 other guys from the Lousiana Area up here doing some church work. These guys informed me more about the affects of the oil spill in their area and its ripple affect on many businesses and how the Obama's decision not to do any more off shore drilling could kill their state. They even enlighted me about how Obama's staged photo's shots of people in white suits clean up the oil along the shore. When the day before their was no one cleaning.

After three hours we reach our spot and started fishing. This was the first halibut trip I have gone on that we didn't use bait. Instead we jigged 16 oz jigs with orange, green or brown tails (look like larger versions of a mister twister tail. It wasn't long before we started hooking fish and landing several 15 to 35 pound halibut. I landed 8 halibut and kept two 30 pounders. In addition everyone on the boat caught 2 or more ling cod. The ling cod must be larger than 35 inches in order to keep them. Most of the ones we caught we 40 plus inches. The area where we caught the must ling cod we also had to battle 5 feet waves which was a chore and put us on the edge of being sea sick. We all caught atleast one yellow eye rock fish and many black bass or black rock fish. We caught the black bass on smaller jigs about 20 feet below the boat. What a blast if we weren't drifting we could of caught many more, but we had our limit and off we went back to Homer. The two halibut, 2 ling cod, 1 yellow eye rock fish and 4 black bass netted me with 65 pounds of meat. Thus, this trip and chitna dipnetting for reds have filled my freezer for the year. The rest of the fishing I will do this year will all be catch and release. Hopefully Friday will be clear so that I can resume my swimming.

Until the next time!

Rocky Lake number 43

July 12th - Rocky Lake is part of the state recreation park system, which means that there is a fee to use the area. You will find camping areas, bathrooms and pinic tables. The area seems to be pretty clean and busy. I parked the truck got on my gear and walked down to the shore, The shore is not muddy but full of gravel. The entry point is near the end of the lake so I decided to swim across the lake and followed the shoreline down to the end of the lake. About 425 strokes it took me to reach the end of the lake. I turned around and swam back over shooting my entry point by 25 yards. I got out of the lake and had the opportunity to inhale some unusual smoke which I knew instantly was pot. These two rough guys must have decided to have a joint or two away from there kids and significant others. This is one reason we have so many kids doing drugs in the Valley, their parent do! Enough on this subject matter I could go on and on. The swim took me 28 minutes and 40 seconds to complete. After the swim I used the bathroom to get out of the wet suit and into dry clothes for the ride home.

Today was a good day 4 lakes and about 1 hour 45 minutes of swimming, not to mention the good fishing on Willow Creek.

Off to Homer tomorrow to go Halibut fishing on Wednesday. A free trip I won at the Mat-Su Sportman show. But nothing is free - gas down and back to Homer and the tip you have to give the people on the boat if fishing is good. Wish me luck. Hopefully I can swim again on Thursday or Friday!

Take care -

42nd Homestead Lake

July 12th - Homestead Lake is the smallest of the lakes that are stocked in the Big Lake area. After I found this lake I had to park by the road and walk down to the lake about 200 yards. Be careful private property is posted on your left side. When I got done to the shore it was floating weeds again and a half sheet of plywood has been placed by the edge of the lake that you can stand on. To my left there was an older guy using a pitch fork removing weeds and placing in a trailor. I got my gear on and dived into the lake. 188 strokes later I reached the far end. The far end is full of weeds so I turned around and swam back to the shore. To get back on shore I swam right up onto the plywood like a beached whale. Total time for this swim was 12 minutes 3o seconds. After doing this swim it was still nice weather (75 F outside temp) and sunny, I decided to go check out Rocky Lake.

41st - Morvro Lake

July 12th - Morvro Lake - doesn't have an area that allows you to drive to the shore. Access for this like you make your own trail to the lake via the power easement. Once I bushed whacked to the shore there wasn't really any where for me to enter the water without getting into mud and bushes. So I followed the shore until I reach someone property. dropped my towel and gear by a canoe and entered the water to my surprise it was hard and only had a little mud. This access point was toward one end so I swam to my right until I reached the end of the lake. I turned around and followed the shore back until I found my access point than swim across. Once I reached my entry point they was an older women mowing and she had moved my stuff and placed them on top of the canoe. She politely asked me where I came and what I was doing. I gave her the story and she had mentioned that if I came to her house and asked to have access to the lake she would have given it to me. I told her I was sorry that I came onto her property and asked if I could cross her property instead of bush whacking back to the truck and she gave me the okay. Total time for this swim was 34: 30 seconds and I lost track of the number of strokes it took me to cross the lake. Total distance 1.4 to 1.5 miles for this swim. Overall not to bad of lake.

Off to Homestead Lake in the Big Lake area.

Loon Lake - 40th

July 12th - I decided to go fishing today on the upper Willow. The weather was great and the fishing was okay. I caught 4 graylings a couple of them were 13 inches not bad for the Willow. They all took a small fly that look like a fry. I also caught a nice rainbow around 20 inches on the same fly and missed a couple of others. On advice from a friend I put on a white fly and hooked up with two differnt kings and had the opportunity to fight them on 10 lb test and my 6-7 weight fly pole but they came off without braking my line. After the second king salmon I put the small fly on that resembled the fry. Also, had the opportunity to watch a mink swim cross the river through a log jam with a small fish in its mouth. After 3 hours I decided to walk back to the trunk and drive to Loon lake for a swim.

Loon lake has a nice path that you can drive right to the shore. I got my gear on and entered the water. The enter area is free of mud and has a gravel bottom. Since the enter point is near the middle I decided to swim a triangle. The water had to be around 64 F with the bright sun warmer the top few inches. Once you reach the end of the lake you will run into weeds about 50 yards from the shore. The swim was refreshing after fishing. Total time 28:40.

Off to Morvro Lake

Finger Lake 39 and counting

July 11th - The sun finally came out and temperature rose to 60F so I decided to grab Morgan load up the boat and we left for Finger Lake around 4 pm. Finger lake is in a state recreation park and there is a charge for daily use, camping and for launching a boat. Lucky no one checked us and we were able to unload the raft, inflate and hook up the electric motor and launched the boat. First thing I noticed about Finger Lake is that it looked like a southern swamp. The water was still and turbidity was terrible. Several people were in boats finishing and a couple of jet skies were flying across the lake and around us. To reach the end of the lake we stayed on the left side of the first and second island and then we went right around the last cove. The straight until we reached the end of the lake. According to the GPS it was 1.85 miles from the boat launch. Once we turned the boat around I got on my gear and entered the water and Morgan guided the boat back to the launch site. Again the clearity of the lake was poor and I just looked for the boat. Since I prefer to breath on my right side I had Morgan position the boat just infront and to my right. This way I can see the boat and watch the shore line giving me an ideal of where we are. The swim was pretty uneventful, Morgan got a kick seeing the expressions on the face of a boat full of fisherman and on a female jet skier as she slowed down so she could watch me swim by and smoke a cigerette.

1367 strokes later and 44 minutes we reach the boat launch.

Ravin Lake number 38

July 9th - Ravin Lake is the first lake you come to. If you drive past Ravin you will come to Bonnie Lake. Bonnie Lake is a large lake similar to Long Lake but it isn't on the ADF&G stocking list thus I will only need to swim Ravin. Back we drove to Ravin Lake. There was to easy way to get the boat down to the lake so I decided to leave the boat in the truck and let John be my spotter. We both agreed that Ravin Lake was very similar in size to Weiner Lake. Thus I got ready and follwed the trail down to the lake shore and off I went. 356 strokes later I reached the shore swimming pretyy straight. On the way back I stayed close to the right side of the lake and got surprized by the number of large boulder on the bottom of this lake. Like the other lakes the turbidity or clearity is great. Water temperature very similar to Weiner. There are lily pads near the ends of this lake that you have to swim through. Total time for this swim 23:20. Overall another nice lake to swim. Half way is getting closer. If we had more sunny days like today I could swim alot more lakes.

Thanks again to John for assisting today in my quest to swim 80 lakes.

We did check out Ida Lake on the way home but no gas motors are allowed and we didn't think we had enough left on the battery to complete this lake. Thus, I will have to do this one on another day.

Until next time - enjoy your Alaskan summer we won't have many more days like today!

Weiner or Wiener Lake 37th

July 9th - After swimming Long I knew this lake regardless of the temperature would be easier. We unloaded the boats and off we went to the end of the lake. After .5 mile we reach the end of the lake. Both of us sure thought this lake would be longer. John educated me on on the mtn climbing routes around Long and Weiner Lake and all the cool features of his I-phone on the way over. Again we removed the gas motor and hooked up the trolling motor. We did have a spectator (fisherman) watch me go over board and start simming. I would like to know what he was thinking when he saw me swimming. I had swam almost half way by the time John caught up with me. Since this lake is shallower than Long the water temperature was a little warmer. Some trash in the water near the enter area and lily pads. 346 strokes and 11 minutes 30 seconds later I reached the end of the lake. Again a pretty good swim. We loaded up the boat and off to the next lake.

Long Lake number 36

July 9th - Great Day - Sunny decided to go down the Glenn Highway to swim a few lakes with John. We took the raft, trolling motor and John's small gas motor. Our first lake was Long Lake. Once we arrived the wind was blowing across the lake so we decided to hook the motor on the boat and run across the lake. Once we arrived we took off the motor and hooked up the electric trolling motor. I got prepared and over board I went and the water was extremely cold. I didn't have my thermometer today but the water had to be 55 F. For the first time this year my arms never got warm even with the sun blazing down on the water. Instant head freeze similar to eating ice cream to fast, but slowly it went away. After 1050 strokes and 34 minutes 25 seconds I reach the end of the lake. Total distance on the GPS was 1.41 miles. Swimming in the lakes is so much better than swimming at Palmer Pool where the water temperature is 87F and it seems like a bath tub every time I go back. I am not moving terribly quick but I relate it to a LSD run (long slow run). Overall pretty nice lake. Off to Weiner or Wiener LAke depending on which sign you look at.

one down two more to go!

35th Lake Prator

July 6th - After checking out the lake Idecided to go ahead and swim it. Off I went! Note you better be careful the water is shallow, in fact it was about 50 t0 75 yards from shore before I could really swim. Once you get past this point the lake deepens and it was a pleasant swim across the lake. 325 strokes later I reached the other side and swam back. I tired swimming all the way back but I ended up putting my hands in two feet of mud and cutting my hand on a broken beer bottle. Nothing serious but something to be aware of. Total time was 25 minutes 30 seconds for this swim. After almost two hours of swimming I called it a day and headed home to celebrate my 19th wedding anniversery.

Until next time get out and catch a salmon.

BearPaw Lake - 34th

July 6th - I moved from Dawn Lake to Bearpaw lake thinking that this might be the last lake I would swim today. Once I found the lake after awhile - note the sign for Magic Avenue is missing and no sign was present by or near this lake. I was able to drive to within 20 yards of the shoreline. Once I got out of my FJ cruiser there was trash - fireworks, old fire, beach bowl and other trash in the water. I got my gear on and off I went - 225 strokes later I reached the other side. On my way back I pulled to the right of my exit point by about 200 yards. Total time for this lake was 18 minutes. I was feeling pretty good, but a little tired. i decided to go check out Prator Lake since it was only mile down the road. Off I go!

33rd Lake - Dawn

July 6th - Dawn Lake is located off of Parks Highway at mile point 51.6. Dawn is a small little lake that you will need to walk about 100 yards on old broken wooden pallets to get to the shore line. The water at the shore was about 2 feet deep with several lily pads and weeds located in the shallow area, It took 170 strokes to cross this lake. Total time to swim across and back was 11 minutes 11 seconds. The water temperature felt warmer - estimated temp around 64 F. No problems off to the next lake.

32nd Lake -Visnaw

July 6th, 2010 - Finally back swimming - Went to Chitina last week, then we had rain and wind, so it has been a week since I have been in a lake. I went to Visnaw today the last lake in the Meadow Lakes area. Water temperature was a chilly 60 F. Since I was by myself again I swam the length of the lake and back. For the first 400 strokes the water was very shallow with my hand almost or hitting the mud bottom. No weed or this could have been a night mare. The last 400 strokes I was in deeper water and just cruised to the end of the lake. There is a bunch of lily pads the last 25 yards to the shore and shallow. I turned around and headed back but since I can't see worth a damn I over shot my exit point and the water was getting very shallow. I decided to to get out on a dock. I knew I over shot the exit point but I decided to walk through the property and sure enough I ran into the owner. I told him I couldn't see very good and asked him where the public landing area was and he mentioned that it was four houses down, I thanked him and casually walk through his property to the road and down the road wearing my zoomers and wet suit. The whole swim took 56 minutes (not counting the walking) and 1600 strokes or 4,000 yards around trip. I rinsed off with tap water that I brought and off to the next lake.

Where is my spotter when I need one! 30th and 31st Lakes

June 29th - Once you arrive at Kalmbach and Beverly Lakes parking lots you will need to walk about .25 miles to get to Kalmbach shore line. I took a different trail and lot I would swim Beverly first but I ended up on Kalmbach Lake. Suggestion don't wear crocs they are a pain in the butt when they get water in them. Next time I will wear my teva's, much more comfortable. Once I selected my point off I went and 345 strokes later I reach the shore. I turned around and back I went fighting the waves and trying to locate my enter point but had no luck I under shot my location. Once I reach the shore I got out and followed the trail up to the road. I was totally lost and blind as a bat without my glasses. I walked down the street with my zoomers on and wet suit. After couple hundred yards I decided to turn around and ask a neighbor for direction. This lady said I just swam Kalmbach and that Beverly lake is behind her house. She had no clue where the trail head was. I can only imagine what she was thinking when she saw a guy with half a wet suit on walking down her street in flippers. Anyway back I went down the trail and into the water. I swam around the corner and followed the shore line until I found where I had entered the water, more important I needed my glasses. I guess that is what I get for not having a spotter or something bright on the shoreline that I can use as a guide. I survived thus down the trail I went about 200 yards and followed the trail over the hill and down to the shore of Beverly Lake. When I reached the shore I was at the end of the lake in a mud hole. I stayed positive and prepared for this swim. I looked to my left and here was a pair of swans with atleast one week old signet (baby swan). Right in front of me the water was swallow and several lily pads. I selected a path and off I went and 415 strokes later I reached the end of the lake. Coming back I was yet again going against the wind , which ment waves and harder to breath without getting water in my mouth. This time I put my shirt and towl on some trees at the shoreline that I hoped would work to guide me back to my entry point. Sure enough I over shot my entry point but when I stopped and looked up I could see my shirt and the swans. So I corrected my self and found my way back. Total time right at 30 minutes very similar to time I spent in Kalmbach lake.

Today I swam 4 lakes but the travel time, swimming and walking to the lakes took me 3.5 hours to complete. If you ever plan on swimming these lakes make sure you have time. It is only going to take longer as I reach the outer lakes.

Also, I picked up my first case of swimmers itch today. In the future I will need to bring some water so that I can rinse between lakes and before I drive home to reduce the chance of getting swimmers itch in the future.

Until next time!

Bruce Lake 29th

June 29th -- Bruce Lake parking area is located 200 yards past Beverly and Kalmbach lake parking area. Once you park you will need to wlak on the 4 wd trail for 7 minutes before you reach the lake shore. Once you reach the shore turn right and walk 50 yards until you see the rocks. This is the best area to enter the lake to avoid the mud. This lake like Golden is small. It took me 162 strokes to cross the lake. Total time around 11 minutes. On the way back the wind had picked up making small waves which forced me to pay attention to my breathing technique or I would end up with a mouth full of water. This lake has a few weeds in the shallow areas. The biggest problems was the slime on the rocks makes for slippery walking with zoomers on (small flippers). Off to the truck and on to Kalmbach lake.

Rain or No rain the swims must go on! 28th Golden LaKe

June 29th, 2010 Light rain and clouds today but if I am ever going to reach 81 I need to start swimming more lakes. The girls got back last night but had no interest in coming with me today. So after lunch I took off to the Pittman road about 30 minute drive from Palmer. The first lake is Golden Lake. THe lake you can drive right to the shore line. You will find a small parking area and an area to camp. When I got there thier was a family fishing but not catching. The gentleman proceeded to tell mw that he used to catch large rainbow from this lake but last year several kids came in and fished the lake out. Which could be true since this is a pretty small lake. I asked them if I could enter and off I went. 152 strokes later I reached the end of the lake and turned around and swam back. Weeds and lily pads are located at each end of the lake. I forgot to start my watch so I don't have a time but I would estimate around 9-10 minutes if that. No problems with this lake, I did notice that the temperature of the lakes dropped do to the rain. Off to the next lake.

PS forgot the camera so no pictures today

27th Lake Seventeen Mile

June 25th - the third of the lakes that I schedule myself to swim. Once I arrive at seventeen mile lake I was able to drive right down to the shore line. This lake is pretty unusual in that it has a island in the middle of the lake. When you swim by yourself it is real important that you make land marks so that when you swim you have something to aim for. The goal for this lake was to swim straight across the lake then turn left swimming between the island and the shore until I reach the other side than follow the shore line back to the vehicle. The entry point has a gravel bottom with little mud. Which is great less chances of picking up a parasite (leech). The lake was pretty clean, with a few weeds in the shallow areas. Total time for this lake was 27 minutes and some change. When I got back to the shore I had was greeted by several young boys playing in the water. Had a nice conversation with the boys mother. Kudo's to the mom the boys were wearing life jackets and she was close to shore watching th boys play just in case something might happen.

26th Lake Slipper (Eska)

June 25th - I drove from Coyote Lake back down the road to mile 2 of Jonesville road and turned right and drove .2 miles to get the Slipper Lake. As I got ready for the swim it is pretty cool to watch people expressions as I get into and zip up the wet suit. I am still without flippers haven't had a chance to go purchase a new set. As I approached the trial down to lake I quickly noticed some cans in the water and some boards. I quickly started my watch and off I went and 215 strokes I reached the other side. Once I reached the end I turned around and swam back across the lake. Total time for this lake was 13 minutes 20 seconds. The water visibility was good. A good choice to swim this lake now because in 3 to 4 weeks the weeds will be thick. Overall not a bad lake, off to Seventeen Mile Lake. I forgot to take a picture of this lake. You can always go to ADF&G web site to get more information on this lake.

4-wheeling to get to 25th Lake - Coyote

June 25th, 2010 - Today was a solo adventure since the girls are still in Colorado. I decided to do three lakes are Sutton area. First on the agenda is Coyote Lake. The last .5 miles to this lake you will need to use 4-wheel drive and the toyota FJ Cruiser handled the terrain great. Once I got to the lake I was able to park at one end of the lake. Water temperaure was 64 F about the same temperature as the air. It took 90 strokes to cross the lake in one direction or about 225 yards. Total time to swim across and back was 5 minutes and 30 seconds. This lake has a gravel bottom where you can enter and exit the lake. Weeds are growing at both ends of the lake. I did notice that at each ends of the lake there was a slight smell. Overall a good lake. Off to Slipper (Eska) Lake.

24th Lake - Barley

June 24th, 2010. After Farmer Lake I didn't know what to expect from Barley Lake. I found the access point and drove to within 20 yards of the shore. I found that the the bottom was lightly graveled. So I put on my gear and off I went. Since the access point was near the end I swam to the left side of the lake than across the lake to about 20 yards from shore where the weeds were getting thicker. It took 225 strokes to get me back to the entry point. Total time 14 minutes. This lake was pretty clean except it has weeds growing at both ends.

After swimming these lakes it was time to go home. I dried off and unzipped the wet suit. Once I got back to Point McKenzie paved road I wanted to get home and take a shower. I apparently wasn't watching my speed and before I could slow down the trooper got me. There was no one on the road but his radar must have been working great because he picked me up .25 to .5 miles away. What the poop! I loose my flipper, swim in goodly bad lakes, stooped by a trooper who I know. The trooper name will be withhold. He didn't even give me a warning. He said I was going 70 in a 55 mph. After he came back I knew it could get any worse so I told him about my swims and he seemed to be interested. Then we had a conversation regarding his daughter and students that I coached at Palmer High School regarding being recruited to play sports in college. Finally off I drove with one flipper and a $130 ticket and 4 points off my driving record. I have been up in Alaska 20 years and never had a ticket until this year now I have two. I won't go into details about the first one. Just say another stupid mistake.

Until next keep the goggles on and flippers on your feet.

23rd Lake - Farmer

June 24th, I thought nothing could get worse than Brocker Lake I was wrong it is Farmer Lake. Once I found the lake and the access point there was trash everywhere. But I remained positive and walked down to the lake and found another mud hole just like Brocker. But this time there was pop and beer cans in the water and flies and insects swarming over the shallow water just as if something had just died! I quickly got in and swam across and back. Very shallow lake total time 5 minutes. One more lake to go and I am glad this one is over.

22nd Knik Lake

June 24th after swimming Brocker Lake I was off to Knik Lake. I know this lake should be good, since this lake has been used as a site of triathlons and it didn't disappoint. This lake was pretty clean and had a nice gravel bottom to enter and exit the lake. This lake I had to swim a triangle and the total time was 30 minutes without flippers, since I lost one in the mud at Brocker Lake. Temperature of the water was 64F.

Off to Farmer Lake down futher on Kink-Goose Bay Road.

21st Lake - Brocker Lake

June 24th, What a terrible lake this one was. I found the access point walked down to shore. Someone had put wood down to go across the weeds. As soon as I put my flipper down in the mud I sank to my knees. The pressure built around my foot and I tried for 5 minutes to get my foot out of the mud with the flipper still attached. Finally the mud wouldn't give and the flipper is now left in Brocker lake for some archeologist to find in hundred or more years. I went ahead and swam the lake about 15 minutes. Of all the lakes this one has to be one of the worst for swimming. With the deep mud located around the shore it could be a very dangerous situation for young kids. Off to the next lake! Hopefully it will be better than this one.

Missing Lake - Three Mile Lake

June 24th, 2010 I tried finding this lake today with no luck. It is next to Togowoods Girl Scout Camp. I couldn't find it, thus I will need to talk with ADF&G to get the exact location and will try swim this lake on a later date. Off to the next lake

Fish or fisherman

I decided to catch fish instead of being a fish and flew to King Salmon for a week of rainbow trout fishing at No See Um Lodge www.noseeumlodge.com . Had a great time and caught some very nice rainbows and lake trout. Unfortunately I had to come home today. I will need to wait a week until I have someone to assist me in my goal of swimming all 81 lakes. Thus, I will have to go back to the pool for a few days unless I can find someone to help.

Take care

Orphan Moose Calf fundraiser

Due to prior engagement of working the Alaska Moose Federation fundraiser to help save orphan moose calves I didn't have time to swim today. I am hoping that I might get in a swim tomorrow before I fly out.

20th Memory Lake

June 12th, 2010 After swimming wolf and reed lakes we drove to Memory Lake. Memory Lake can be found off of Wasilla-Fishhook Road. For more specific directions check out this web site: http://www.sf.adfg.state.ak.us/Statewide/LakeData/index.cfm/FA/main.lakeDetail/LakeID/377

This particular lake has a parking lot that goes right to the shore. Thus, I parked the truck right by the shore so that McKenzie could watch me swim and avoid the light rain we were experiencing. Memory Lake is shaped like an hour glass and the access point is located at the bottom. Air temperature was 53F and water temperature about 62 F. Thus off I went and 100 strokes later I was in the canel and I was staying left to avoid the lily pads but apparently I was too far left. The water was getting shallow and suddenly I was beached on the racks just like a small whale, I wuickly readjusted my body position and I was off again. This lake vers left and 200 strokes later I was in the lily pads and about 25 yards from shore. I decided I didn't want to swim through the lily pads so I turned around and swam back. Total time 21 minutes. This lake seemed to be pretty clean. The first part of the lake is shallow the second part is much deeper. Also the access point is gravel which makes it a lot easier to enter and exit the lake.

This lake unlike all the other ones that I have swam contains Northern Pike fish. Since it has pike I was having some concerns that a 30 pound pike might latch on to my flippers with their lazor sharp teeth or some other part of my body. But that never happened and like all the other lakes I still haven't seen a fish on any of my swims.

Since this is the 20th lake I have reached the quarter mark and only have one lake to go within the core Palmer-Wasilla area - Finger Lake. Hopefully I can swim Finger Lake either Sunday or Monday. Once I have swam this lake I will start reaching the outline lakes which I have divided into catergories: Sutton lakes, Lakes on the Glenn Highway, Lakes off of Pittman, Lakes near Big Lake, Lakes on Parks Hwy, Lakes near Willow and Lakes near Talkeetna.

Until next time go out and enjoy 75th Colony Days Events.

19th Reed Lake

June 12th, 2010 Reed Lake is located on Wasilla-Fishhook road at 7.3 milepost from Wasilla then turn left on Welch road and drive about .4 miles. The ADF&G says that there is access to this lake but I couldn't find one. Finally we see a trail so I left McKenzie in the truck and off I went. About 50 yards down the trail I see yellow tape that has been torn. I can't make it out since I am not wearing my glasses. As I get older I am becoming as blind as a bat. I finally make out the words on the yellow tape and it says stay out "Crime Scene". Since I wanted to swim this lake I proceeded with caution. As I got closer to the lake I noticed an old junk house that has all the windows broken out. Someone must have broken into the house or it might had been used as a meth house one could only guess. Another 20 yards down the trail and over some fallen trees I finally reached the lake. I quickly got on my cap and put on my goggles and off I went. Since I was located in the middle of the lake I swam to the far side to my right than across the lake and then back to my access point, basically a triangle. The whole swim took me 9:30 minutes and 130 strokes to cross the lake. The lake has a muddy bottom and seemed to be pretty clean the right end of the lake is full of weeds. If you have access to this lake it would be okay to seem in. Later in the summer it will have more weeds. After I finished I quickly got out of the lake and walked back to the truck. Since we had time I wanted to swim the last stocked lake (besides Finger Lake) within the core Palmer - Wasilla area thus it was off to Memory Lake.

Reed Lakes information can be found at

http://www.sf.adfg.state.ak.us/Statewide/LakeData/index.cfm/FA/main.lakeDetail/LakeID/539

18th Wolf Lake

June 12th, 2010 Today myself and McKenzie went to Wolf Lake. Wolf Lake is located about 2.5 miles off of Bogard - about a mile from Colony High School. You will need to park along the road and walk along the trail to the lake about 100 yards. Once you reach the lake you will be located at the end of the lake, which makes it perfect if you want to swim the length. Water temperature cold probably around 60 F. It took me about 325 strokes (800 yards) to cross the lake. Total time was 20:30 minutes. This lake is real shallow with numerous weeds located throughout the lake. About the only place you will find weedless is in the middle and lily pads can be found on both ends. I wouldn't recommend swimming in this lake do to the weeds, which will only get worse throught the summer. After drying off we drove to Reed Lake located off of Wasilla-Fishhook around mile 7.3.

For more information about Wolf Lake check out the web site listed below:

http://www.sf.adfg.state.ak.us/Statewide/LakeData/index.cfm/FA/main.lakeDetail/LakeID/56

16th and 17th Klaire and Victor Lakes

June 11th, 2010 Today me and Morgan decided to go to Kelpler-Bradley Recreation Area and finish swimming the lakes in this area. I didn't notice that Victor and Klaire were in this state park until I started looking closely at the maps. Access to both of these lakes is from the parking lot by Long Lake. From the parking lot you will need to take the trail to long lake then turn left and follow the trail to Victor about 15 minute walk. Bring the mosquito repellant, they are pretty bad. After about 15 minutes you will find a trail down to Klaire Lake. Klaire Lake will be located on our right side. Once we reached the shore I could see lots of scuds (shrimp) swimming in the water a favorite food source for fish and a good sign of a healthy lake. Since the bottom was muddy I put on my gear - flippers on the shore and jumped in. Since this a small lake and the access point is right in the middle of the lake thus I decided to swim a triangle. The length of the lake took me 220 strokes or about 550 yards. Total time to complete the triangle was 15 minutes. Then I quickly got out of the water and walked 50 yards down the trail and found a trail on our left that took us down to Victor lake. Our access point was right in the middle of submerged trees. Again this lake is small so I decided to swim another triangle. Total time was 12 minutes. The water temperature of both of these lake was around 64 F and felt pretty good. I would recommend swimming in these lakes but finishing out of a float tube would be fun.

Suggestion if you plan to swim these lakes don't wear your wet suit put it on when you get to Klaire and take it off when you finish both swims, otherwise you will heat up to much. Thank god it was cloudy.

Also, I forgot to use vaseline on my neck and the wet suit rubbed another mark. The first time the suit rubbed on my neck it looks like a vampire bit my neck and now it looks like they came back for another feeding.

The trail system that connects all these lakes are used for hikes, mtn. biking -single track or for running. Be careful and watch for bears, because an occasional one have been seen in the area.

Take care

15th Lalen Lake

June 10th, 2010 After swimming Seymour we drive a mile to Lalen Lake. Since the public access is at the end of the lake and the lake wasn't too large I decided to have McKenzie be a spotter. Thus, off I went and the first thing I noticed was that the smell was real fishy on shore but the water was pretty good. Like all the Meadow Lakes these lakes are shallow with a central area that is about 15 foot deep. After 465 strokes or an estimated 1200 yards I reached the other side. Coming back I had to avoid the lily pads that I didn't see coming across and a very large loon. Overall pretty good lake. Total time for across and back was 32 minutes. My shoulder was a little sore for some reason and I decided not to do the third lake Visnaw and will save that one for another day.

No health issue have arisen yet, but giardia is always on my mine.

Until next time, go catch a king salmon while you can.

14th Seymour Lake

June 10th, decided to go to Semour Lake out in the Meadow Lakes area, just past Pittman Road in Wasilla. I brought the boat and McKenzie. Once we reach the lake we unload the boat, inflated it, and put on the trolling motor. McKenzie doesn't like to be in boats, but after a little convincing she was in the boat and off we went. We both took the boat to the far end which is ablout 100 yards from shore water level low. Got out of the boat and tried to give McKenzie her first lesson of how to stear the boat. The first thing she did was send the boat in a circle. After I corrected her stearing off we went. 27 minutes later we reach the far side (about 50 yards from shore) again water level was getting pretty low. In fact I was touching the bottom. I wouldn't say that this lake is the cleanest ran into weeds several times and the smell wasn't very good in the shallow areas. I climb into the boat and back to launch site we went. The reason I didn't want to swim back across was that I wanted to swim atleast one more lake. We loaded up the boat and off to Laleen Lake.

Day off

Wednesday June 9th, decided to take the day off since the girls went to Anchorage and had no spotter.

13th Long Lake

June 8th, 2010 Cloudy today with temperatures in mid 50's and no wind. I decided I needed to swim another lake today so I recruited my youngest daughter 14 year old McKenzie to come with me and watch. Long Lake is located in the Kepler-Bradley recreation area just off of the Glenn Highway. Once you reach the parking lot (fee area) you must follow a trail down to the lake about 300 yards and lots and lots of mosquito's so if you come here to fish (catch and release only) or to swim bring the bug dope. Water temperature 60 F. After getting zipped up, cap on, off I went. Keep your eyes open and watch for trees as you get close to the sides I almost hit several. Looks like some beavers dropped the trees or maybe it was mother nature. Once I reached the end of the lake and finally warmed up I decided to swim the whole length of the lake (665 strokes). McKenzie was wondering what was going on when I just kept swimming past her. Once I reached the end I had to swim back couple of hundred yards to where McKenzie was waiting. Since the enter area is hidden along the trees I had to stop after 25 strokes and yell for McKenzie finally I found her after I past her. Total time 45 minutes. Overall the lake seemed to be pretty clean I could see the bottom as I moved into the shallow water.

More info on Long Lake http://www.sf.adfg.state.ak.us/Statewide/LakeData/index.cfm/FA/main.lakeDetail/LakeID/123

Back to the Pool

Weather and other situations developed today thus no lake swim today. Actually I miss the lake swim. I felt that I had to do something today so back to the pool I went. I swam a total of 3100 yards and felt good. The workout consisted of 1500 swim (500 warmup, 500 fartlek alternating hard/east 25's, 500 fartlek 25 hard/25 easy/50 hard/50 easy/75 hard/75 easy/100 hard/100 easy). Then I stopped and put on the flippers and did another 500 fartlek -(25H/25E, 50H, 50E, 75H, 75E, 100H, 100E) in time of -6:17. Rested for a minute and did 1000 swim ( easy 250, followed by 250 (hard/easy at 25's) followed by 500 (25H/25E,50H,50E,75H,75E,100H,100E) in a time of 12:44. Both of these swims were my fastest so far this year. The lake swims must be making me stronger. I ended my swim with 100 easy.

Until next time

12th Irene Lake

Sunday June 5th we moved on from Canoe Lake to Irene Lake another lake within the Kepler-Bradley Recreation area. You can park right at the end of Irene and it is a short walk on a nice trail to reach the lake. The wind is picking up and I will have to swim into the wind to reach the other side, but will have the wind coming back across the lake. Since these three lakes that I did today are small, we choose not to bring the boat and have Morgan just watch me conduct the swims. This lake is larger than Echo but smaller than Canoe. The lake is pretty clean, but lots of weeds as you reach the far side. Total time 18:50 to swim cross the lake and back and 278 freestyle strokes to cross the lake in one direction. This lake is alot better than Canoe which has a terrible odor when near the weeds, but more subject to winds. One lake left in this lake system called Long Lake, but that one will have to wait until another day. I would imagine that the total distance to swim across and back Echo, Canoe and Irene lakes is around 2 miles and total time of approx. 50 minutes. One note after swimming these three lakes it took me a couple of hours to warm back up even after a hot shower.

For more info visit http://www.sf.adfg.state.ak.us/Statewide/LakeData/index.cfm/FA/main.lakeDetail/LakeID/464

Take care and get out and enjoy the outdoors!

11th - Canoe Lake

Sunday June 5th, after swimming Echo Lake we decided to swim two more lakes within the Kepler-Bradley Recreation area. This is a state parks area and they will charge you for daily use, unless you are gone within 30 minutes. Canoe Lake is located behind Kepler-Bradley Lakes and the public access is located at the end of the lake. When we arrived we found abour 30 people from Alaska Pacific University conducting some bizarre activities associated with rubber tubes and making them float with a person in them. More than likely science and team building activities dealing with bouyancy. As Morgan said very loud and annoying! I proceeded past the APU students and into the water. The beginning of the lake very weedy and smells real bad, same thing once you reach the other end. The middle of the lake was fine. Total time to swim across and back was 24 minutes and 365 freestyle strokes to cross the lake in one direction. I felt pretty good after doing this lake, so we decided to go swim Irene which is located right up the road about half mile away.

For more info http://www.sf.adfg.state.ak.us/Statewide/LakeData/index.cfm/FA/main.lakeDetail/LakeID/201

10th Echo Lake

Sunday June 5th, Morgan and I went to Echo Lake located off the Glenn Highway across from Kepler-Bradley Lakes. There is a public parking area above the lake. Be careful it is a step down hill trail (20 yards) until you meet up with the trail that goes around the lake. We walked to the end of the lake and found a trail that would take us to the lake. Most of the shore line on this lake is privately owned. Bring bug dope lots of mosquito's. Water temperature near the shore was 61 F, but it felt much colder. The water seemed pretty clean and didn't smell. Since this is a small lake I had to swim across and back. Total time 16:20 and 250 freestyle strokes to cross this lake. On to the next lake -- Canoe

Echo Lake info found at http://www.sf.adfg.state.ak.us/Statewide/LakeData/index.cfm/FA/main.lakeDetail/LakeID/341

9th Loberg Lake

June 5th, 2010 since we ran out of gas and not much left on the trolling motor we decided to go to Loberg Lake on the way home. Loberg is located next to T & J Gravel just off the Parks Hwy access via Truck Road. This lake is small thus we didn't use a boat to guide me. The water temperature 62.5F. the first section has weeds then it drops off quick then as you get close to the other shore it gets shallow again. Overall a good little lake and offers some good fishing. Total swim time 11 minutes.

For more information check out the follow web page: http://www.sf.adfg.state.ak.us/Statewide/LakeData/index.cfm/FA/main.lakeDetail/LakeID/351

Until the next swim!

#8 Lake Lucille

Today June 5th weather good, temperatures high 50's with light winds. Decided to swim Lake Lucille, located near downtown Wasilla. John and I decided to try using his small motor (1950's) so that we can get back faster after swimming across. The water temperature was 62 F and according to John's GPS I would need to swim 1.6 miles to reach the other side. Like the protocol for the other lakes John led me across the lake. I soon found out that this lake is shallow. Majority of the swim today I could see the light colored mud bottom inter mixed with weeds, it reminded me of swimming in Costa Rica without the fish. When we were about half mile from the shore I got to watch a float plane come down and land just off my right shoulder. Remember I am only seeing the plane when I take a breath other than the plane pretty uneventful swim. Total time was 40 minutes and according to the GPS total length of 1.61 miles. On the way back we took off the trolling motor and used John's gas motor. On the way back we decided to see if we could see Sarah Palin's house and her new 14 foot fence. Sure enough it is just to the right of Lake Lucille Inn. As I am entering this blog I am also watching the Belmont Stakes Horse Race and guess what Sarah Palin is at the race to watch the horse First Dude named after Sarah's Husband Todd run the race and is a 6-1 favorite to win. Back to the lake when we got abotu .25 miles from the shore we ran out of gas and switched back to the trolling motor to get back to shore. We wanted to go to Finger Lake but without gas and little left on the trollong motor I decided to go to Loberg Lake. (see next post) For more information about Lake Lucille visit this web site: http://www.sf.adfg.state.ak.us/Statewide/LakeData/index.cfm/FA/main.lakeDetail/LakeID/145

Other notes; if you plan on swimming this lake do it early I would suspect that this lake will be full of weeds in August. Also, you should know that this lake has been on DEC bad lakes list for many years for its poor water quality.

Update on the horse race First Dude led the whole race until the final stretch were he just couldn't keep it going and ended up third. I will just leave it at that!

Take Care

June 4th - Weather Delays

No swimming today, still rain and cool temperature. Will try tomorrow, if weather decides to cooperate.

No Swim Today

June 3rd, 2010 with wind gusts to 20 miles per hour and rain I decided to put off swimming today and will wait until better weather.

Take care

7th - Wasilla Lake

June 2nd - Decided to swim Wasilla Lake today even though it isn't a stocked lake. Mogan wasn't available so I enlisted one of my fellow teachers (John)from Mat-Su Career & Tech High School to follow me in the boat. It was the perfect day to swim one of the longest lakes that I would have to swim. Tempertures in the high 60's and no wind. Water temperature was 64 F. Wasilla Lake is located off the Parks Highway in down town Wasilla. Wasilla Lake is made up of two lake and upper and lower with a small canel connecting the too lakes. In the middle of canel it can't be more than 4 feet deep. The public access is locted by the swimming beach on the side of lake near Pizza Hut. Float planes have been known to land here and the pilot would walk up to get a pizza. While swimming across the lower lake had the opportunity to watch several seagulls and loons swim or fly by. Actually only could watch them when I took a breath. Lake seemed to be pretty clean only few weeds in the canal. Of course John was trying to video tape me swimming through the canel but ran the trolling motor into to shallow of water and had to stop and clean the blades thus the video didn't happen. The first half of the upper lake was clean of weeds but the second half is much shallow (4-6 foot deep) and hence as we got closer to shore the more weeds i had to swim through. Total time 53 minutes and according to the GPS it was just of 2 miles as the crow flies. But if you have ever swam in open water you know that you don't swim straight. Thus, I would estimate my total swim distance more like 2.25 miles. Once across now it was time to enjoy the boat ride back across the lake. Unfortunately the battery was dieing and John decided to oar and it took us 70 mintues to get back to the truck. In future swims that John goes with me on we will bring a 2 hp motor so that we can get bck across the lake quicker. Overall good experience.

5th and 6th Lakes (Kepler and Bradley Lakes)

June 1st 10:00 am Kepler and Bradley Lakes are part of the parks system and hence they will charge you a daily fee to either camp or just to go fishing. But fortunately we were there before the office opened and hence didn't have to pay. I decided to swim Kepler Lake first and like Matanuska Lake it is deep around 75 feet at its deepest part. Since it is deep the water temperature had to be in the high 50's. It took me about 8 minutes to warm up. If you plan to swim this lake start about 25 yards from the bridge. This area is very shallow and has a very muddy bottom. We didn't have a lot of time today so I placed Morgan on the Bridge so that she could keep and eye on me. The public access is right between both lakes thus I had to swim across and back both lakes. On the way back across Kepler I was a little bored so I decided to count the number of freestyle strokes it took. The result was a total of 475 strokes. Total time was 33 minutes. Once I reached the shore I climbed out and walked over to Bradley Lake. The first thing I noticed was that Bradley was warmer and it should be since the depth is only 30 feet. Once I reached the end of the lake I decided to count the number of strokes on the way back. This time it took only 333 strokes and a total time of 22 minutes and 25 seconds. For a total time of 55 minutes and 25 seconds, thus the longest swim to date. Overall the lake was pretty clean as long as you avoid the section on Kepler side near the bridge. Unlike the Kepler side Bradley side has more gravel.

Fourth Lake - Cottonwood Lake

Technically I can't count Cottonwood Lake since ADF&G doesn't stock this lake. This lake has a natural population of rainbow trout. I decided at 4 pm that I would swim Cottonwood Lake, when we arrived there was several boats and several kids playing in the water and with leeches. Since this is a larger lake we took out the raft with the trolling motor. We drove the raft to the far end of the lake, from there I swam the length of the lake then back about a third of the way to the boat launch the whole trip took around 30 minutes. This time I started the watch but myself and Morgan forgot to stop our watches. The water was refreshing since it has been warm all weekend with temperatures in the mid 70's. A 300 acre fire in Ekultna provide a haze to the sky. No problems today just had to watch out for the other boaters ( a few additional waves), but I should have known better since it is memorial day. Just remember if you swim this lake stay out away from the shore line to avoid the weeds and swim on the far side of the Island where it is deeper. The side closest to the boat launch is only 54 to 5 foot deep and has a few lily pads. Later in the summer more weeds will be present.

Thanks that is it for today.

Take care!

3rd Meirs Lake

May 30th, 2010 after swimming Matanuska Lake we decided to swim a small lake nearby off of outspringer. From the parking area you will need to walk about 25 yards down hill to reach the shore line. The water temperature was a little warmer than Matanuska Lake. I proceeded into the lake without any problems and swam across the lake. As usual without a guide boat I have a tendency to veer right. The whole swim took about 7 minutes to complete.

Only people seen on this lake was a couple of guys paddling a canoe and attempting to catch a fish.

Until next post have a great day and enjoy the 70 degree weather we have been having in wonderful Palmer, Alaska

Second Lake a chilling experience

Sunday May 30th, 2010 decided to swim two lakes today. First lake was Matanuska Lake. This particular lake see many recreational swimmers throughout the summer, because the water is cool, and clean. Forgot our thermometer today but the water had to be in the mid 50's. I didn't think I could handle the water today, but with the wet suit I began and by the time I was half ways across I began to warm up. One reason that this lake doesn't warm up is because of its depth. Matanuska Lake is 70 to 80 foot deep in spots. Like most lakes in the valley this lake is man-made and I would suspect that gravel was removed to make the highway. I choice not to have Morgan use the Kayak today and had her watch me swim across and back. I forgot to start my watch but I can estimate that it took me around 25 minutes. Great lake to swim, little smell and alot more enjoyable than Walby Lake was.

Local bystanders looking on are left speechless. They just don't know what to say about an old man that is overweight and wearing a wet suit.