Pool Withdrawal

Normally at this time of the year, I am loving our little backyard pool. Typically it would have been up for over a week, and the water will be cool but crystal clear. This year, the pool is gone, replaced by grass seed and the hope that the seeds sprout.

I’m already missing my June pool. If I can stick it out another month, I’ll be fine. By July, I am usually in an epic battle with algae, killing it with chemicals, and then having to vacuum out the dead algae. By August, I feel waterlogged and stop caring how clean the pool is, content to swim in filth out of habit. And once September hits, I am always eager to tear it down. But for now, I’m missing it.

My plan was to swim outdoors in rivers, lakes, and ponds this summer, some legally and some not. I have to admit that it was disappointing that my first outdoor swim of the season was here.

That’s right, in a creek … under a bridge … with a state highway above me … in the same water where I had just seen a snake. It wasn’t supposed to be like that. I was hiking in and along the creek to find this secret swimming pond.

There it was on the Google map, just a bit west of the bridge along the creek. I swear my oldest daughter told me about a secret swimming pond, but she denied it. Maybe “they” got to her to keep the secret. Anyway, I couldn’t find it and was filthy from slogging through muck, so I figured a quick swim in the creek would lift my spirits. All it did was rinse me off a bit with murky creek water.

I am pleased to announce that just yesterday I did finally find the secret pond through the miracle of GPS. I am sorry to say that all I needed to do was follow the creek west until I spotted/smelled the rotting deer carcass in the woods, and then turn right through those dense woods. While pretty, the pond was almost inaccessible and full of lily pads.

On my way out, I stuck to walking in the creek and enjoyed the sights and sounds of nature.

I did locate a couple ponds close to my house that appear to have some potential. This one looks very pretty.

I immediately ruled that one out. Storm drains bring water runoff from the street into this retention pond which means the pond is likely polluted with gas, oil, etc. But this one close by looked very natural to me.

I was about to try it out when I slipped a bit. No problem. I gently went down to the ground on my butt with my hands breaking my fall. Except when I lifted my right hand from the ground, there was a stick protruding from it. Again, no problem. I pulled it out, but more stick came out of my hand than I expected. And then the blood started gushing out. I couldn’t explore the pond any further with a deep puncture wound, so I got on my bike and rode home leaving a trail of blood drops on the street. I do plan on returning for a second attempt. At swimming, not bleeding.

Not to be denied an illegal outdoor swimming spot, I decided to use my new sit-upon kayak to scout out river locations.

It’s very stable, unlike me, and I was thrilled to use it to locate all sorts of little sandy beaches just upstream from where I access the river.

I’ve found one beach that I particularly like, and I can access it by kayak or a short hike along the river. Swimming across the river while battling its gentle current does provide a good workout. So, that makes two outdoor swimming spots I’ve explored so far this summer, and it’s only the first week of June. More to come, and my youngest daughter and I are planning a Great Lakes tour later this summer where we may visit three of the five Great Lakes, likely Michigan, Erie, and Huron. The best thing for me about open water swimming is that I don’t have to keep the water clean. Algae? No problem. I’ll swim through it. Hopefully, I’ll have more secret and not-so-secret swimming holes to share with you later this summer.