Round Alice Lake Swim

Today was the annual get together with our friends at Alice Lake near Squammish, B.C. The weather at home was thunder and lightning and plenty of rain, but we decided to go anyways. Once we had picked up friends in Ladner, the weather looked like it was improving.

The closer we got to Squammish the better the weather was getting. Driving up the Sea to Sky highway, I noticed that they have a long way to go before they are finished, if ever, on this road. It seems to be in worse shape than it was one year ago. Of course we had to look at the slide that happened a couple of weeks ago near Porteau Cove. It was all cleaned up, with new railroad tracks and pavement.

By the time we had arrived, the sun was out and it was nice and toasty. It did not take long for everyone to hit the water. Once the kids were in, it seemed that they did not come out. I had to drag them in to have lunch.

As I was looking across the lake, I thought, now that would make a nice swim, to go across to the other side of the lake. Then I thought that it would not be too much of a stretch for me to swim all the way around the lake. So when a couple of kids decided to go to the playground on the other side of the lake, I had my opportunity to actually do it. So the kids and Amber started walking over to the playground, and I waited for a little bit before heading out.

I told some people what I was going to do, and off I went. If you stayed in the sunny area of the water the temperature was not bad, but if you went into the shadows, burrrrrrr. So I skirted the border between the warm and the cold water. This distance was good as it was not too far from the shore. The only thing you had to watch for was the snags in the water. You definitely did not want to get caught in those, or you were going to get in trouble real fast.

As I approached the shore at the first corner, I saw a couple of guys diving off a log. I swam up to them and asked what direction was the playground. They pointed to my left and said it I was just over about 100 meters. I saw an area where I could get out of the water with ease, so I swam over to it, and got out. From there I walked the 75 meters down the trail to the playground, and met up with Amber and the kids.

Chatted for a little bit, and then it was off to finish my swim. Along the shore to the main beach, and then along the west side of the lake, back to where I started. When I managed to find a map, it turned out that my swim was 1.45 kilometers long. Not bad for a old guy.