Life modifications.
Earlier than retiring final spring I spent a lot of the previous 5 years in north-central Montana, educating science and training archery at Hays-Lodgepole Excessive College. Since returning house to Helena full-time I’ve continued to do a variety of climbing however have stayed fairly near house, and haven’t taken many new adventures. Essentially the most attention-grabbing factor about this summer time is that I’ve gotten into one other out of doors exercise – It’s open water swimming, and it has turn out to be one in all my new favourite issues to do.
A.ok.a. Wild Swimming.
Merely put, open water swimming is the observe of swimming in lakes, rivers, oceans, and reservoirs. Within the Helena space there’s a small group of people that frequent Canyon Ferry Lake for early morning swims, and within the Flathead area there’s a bigger neighborhood of swimmers who reap the benefits of the lakes there. Most open water swimmers swim longer distances, and a few take part in races of 1-mile, 5 Km, or 10 km. As an illustration, this previous summer time there have been races in Whitefish Lake (8/10) and Flathead Lake close to Polson (8/16-18), and there was a 1-mile race in Lake Elmo as a part of the Large Sky State Video games (in Billings, mid-July). The world’s most elite open water swimmers check their mettle with larger challenges such because the the 21-mile swim throughout the English Channel. Diana Nyad is probably the most well-known open water swimmer. In 2013 at age 64, she swam over 100 miles from Cuba to Florida! (watch ‘Nyad’ on Netflix)
Taking the plunge.
I’ve at all times been a good swimmer. I swam competitively on the Harlem (MT) Swim Workforce throughout summers as a teen-ager, after which coached the staff throughout my school years (1978-1981). Nonetheless, over the previous few a long time my swims have been restricted to occasional albeit very satisfying outings in lakes across the state. In addition to the truth that I REALLY like the sensation of swimming in lakes, there have been a number of elements that enticed me to lastly decide to the game this previous summer time. For one, I needed to discover a type of train that will give my legs a break from my each day climbing routine – Swimming has been excellent for this. Additionally, ‘The Swim the Fish’ race in Whitefish Lake has been on my RADAR for a number of years however I haven’t been capable of take part as a result of early beginning date for varsity in Hays. Now that I’m retired that’s not an issue. Moreover, I like the concept of getting an occasion to coach for. I’m not super-competitive however an upcoming race motivates me and makes me really feel a bit like an athlete once more, which helps me really feel youthful – and that’s an excellent factor. One other issue that made it MUCH simpler to spend time in our chilly lake waters this summer time was the acute warmth we skilled in late June and July. After which there’s the Olympics – Swimming is at all times sexier throughout an Olympic yr!
Let the video games start.
I began making ready for the 5 Km (3.1 miles) race in Whitefish in early June by coaching twice per week – as soon as weekly in Spring Meadow Lake on the west finish of Helena, and as soon as per week within the pool at Capital Metropolis Health Middle. I hiked most different days. My swims at Spring Meadow ranged from 1.5 to three miles, whereas in the course of the pool classes I focussed on velocity work. Because the race date approached I began taking weekly swims in Canyon Ferry Reservoir, a 19-mile drive from my home. The race ended up being an actual ‘character-builder’ however nonetheless an awesome expertise. To see highlights of the Whitefish occasion and different open water experiences I’ve loved because the then, take the picture tour (see hyperlink beneath). You’ll want to learn the captions!
FYI – I’ve an Instagram account. I’ll attempt to put up one thing attention-grabbing not less than as soon as per week. Test it out: rodbenson406
Beneath: This map marks hikes which have been featured on bigskywalker.com to this point, together with a number of in Glacier Park – Choose full display to develop, zoom in for extra element, or click on on a marker for a hyperlink to the put up.
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