Arctic Swimming

Traveling to Nash Harbor was an adventure in itself. We left Bethel on a small plane, flying for roughly 40 minutes to almost the furthest point west in the U.S. Upon landing I realized what I had gotten myself into. It was like stepping back into May. The temperature was at least 10 degrees colder and it was raining. We drove from the airport to the dock where we loaded all our gear onto a boat. The boat was to take us 40 miles or so to Nash Harbor. The ride was very similar to a roller coaster. For almost an hour we bobbed up and down. Many got sea sick, but I enjoyed it.

When we first arrived at Nash Harbor, my thought was how beautiful it was. We’re located at the farthest inland point in the bay, giving us a view of the whole harbor. Right next to our camp is a fresh water stream that flows into the ocean. On both sides of us are huge bluffs that have almost sheer drops into the ocean. There is still snow located at the top of these bluffs. We have participated in many outdoor activities in the few days we’ve been here, including hiking, setting fish traps, fishing, fish dissecting, and my favorite…swimming.

Upon returning from a hike, my friends and I were burning up. It was actually hot! So I sarcastically suggested that we go swimming. Doug and Daniel surprisingly agreed to enter the freezing water. So we changed and forced ourselves to enter the water. It wasn’t bad after your feet and legs went numb. The water was only up to your thighs throughout the lake. After playing for what felt like 20 minutes we decided to head back. We left the initial lake, and had to cross the last stream to get home. Even though the stream was only knee deep we thought, to make it worth while, we would dive in. So I went first and dove. As soon as I dove in, my boxers came off! I struggled to stay submerged enough that no one could see my family jewels while also trying to pull my underwear up! I regained my posture but now I was freezing after being under ice cold water for at least 5 seconds. So I took off towards shore. Not aware of the rocks underneath, I tripped and once again engulfed in the freezing water. While this was going on, my friends could not stop laughing! I admit, it was funny.   –Kyle

This entry was posted on Friday, June 22nd, 2007 at 8:22 pm and is filed under Summer Science. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.