Within the last few years I have become fascinated and intrigued by the benefits of cold water therapy. As someone who does whatever they can to manage autoimmune flare ups, the idea of dipping ones body into frigid waters makes sense to me as a way to mitigate inflammation. When my water heater broke last November I took a cold showers (in the middle of winter) for over a month, and while the initial process was not fun, I felt amazing.
Alas, when the water heater was fixed I was happy to go right back to warm showers.
I didn’t always embrace cold water. When I was in my 20’s I used to avoid going into the ocean when at the beach, or alpine lakes while hiking, but in 2020 I submerged my body into an Austrian alpine lake after a very, VERY hot day of hiking and I was sold. The last few summers I have done my best to get into the water at the beach at least once during beach visits, and this past August I managed to swim in two alpine lakes.
First up: Lake 22
A modest, beautiful hike in the Snoqualmie National Forest area, clocking in at 6 miles RT with an elevation gain of 1500′. I embarked on this adventure with my friend Caitlin and her sister Christina. In an attempt to beat the crowds and the heat we left at 0500, arriving at the trail head by 0700. We were the first car in the lot, quickly followed by one other guy. He beat us to the lake, but as we were arriving he was leaving, giving us the lake to ourselves for at least 45 minutes,
I had never done this hike before, but I can see why it is so popular. There is a well maintained boardwalk system that circumnavigates the entirety of the lake, and the reflection of the surrounding mountains are stunning. We found a spot in the sun and started swimming around 0900. I kept my body submerged in this cold, yet refreshing water for at least 25 minutes before we headed back down. This was a perfect introduction.
Next up: Snow Lake & Gem Lake
Heading East of Seattle towards Snoqualmie Pass is one of the most popular summer hikes in the Seattle area. Snow Lake is a 6.7 mile RT, 1700′ elevation gain hike that hundreds of people flock to. The waters of Snow Lake are some of the most blue and green I have seen in this area, and this is one of my favorite hikes. It had been years since I hiked this trail, and I wrangled Caitlin into hiking this, with the intention of continuing on to Gem Lake for a swim.
Gem Lake is an additional 3 miles, with an extra 1000′ of elevation or so, and I was hopeful we could find a pocket of solace as most people stop at Snow Lake. We arrived at the Snow Lake trail head around 0700, and there were a LOT of cars in the lot already. People likely staying in the nearby cabins, and we saw a few parties starting their ascent up to Snow Lake. We were able to pass some people, giving us the trail mostly to ourselves on the way up. We stopped for our first snack once we reached Snow Lake, appreciating the quiet of the early morning ambiance.
The final trek to Gem Lake was easier than I anticipated. It was getting warm, the high of this day was in the 90’s, but with a cold lake to look forward to it was easy to push on. Thankfully with the early start we beat most of the heat, until we were going down. More on that in a minute. We passed a few people who had camped along the way, we weaved and bobbed through the trees, we scrambled over a rocky field (my ankles were sore for days after this), until finally we reached the lake.
There were more people than I expected at this lake, but we still found our own spot to swim. We were in the shade, which was chilly, but it only took a minute before my body acclimated to the water. One of my favorite things to do after sitting in cold water for a bit is to crack my knuckles. My joints swell when it’s hot and when I am hiking, and twisting my back to pop as well was such a relief. We stayed in our section of water for probably 30 minutes.
Across from us on a rock higher up were two guys listening to music. This smaller cove like lake area carries sound incredibly well, and although they were too far away to normally hear them, with the water carrying their sounds we heard not only their obnoxious music, but their voices. At one point one of them said: “those girls are staying in the water.” Clearly they were being outshone by us women, and they jumped one by one from their ledge into the water.
This made my sphincters tighten, I don’t like watching people jump into possibly shallow waters.
Caitlin and I both stayed in the water cooling off, but once I felt my fingers turning white I knew it was time to get out. We moved ourselves into the sun to eat our second snack before heading back down to the car. Caitlin and I sneakily took similar photos of each other while we were snacking, great minds think alike.
I couldn’t tell you what exactly went wrong for me as we made our way back down. Maybe it was the RX bar I ate (those never sit the best, but man I love them), maybe it was the heat getting into the 90’s, maybe it was fatigue, but I started to feel incredibly nauseous as we descended the switch backs after passing Snow Lake. The traffic was stop and go at times because there were so many people coming up (whoever decides to start a hike at 1300 in 90 degree weather is a certified psychopath in my opinion) making the hike down slower than I’d have liked.
This was a one step at a time descent for me, and I was so thankful when we reached the car. Unfortunately I was sick the entire 2 hour ride home, but thankfully Caitlin drove to this hike. I had my eyes shut most of the the way home focusing on my breathing and doing my best not to hurl on my newfound hiking pal. I made it home unscathed, took a shower, ate, and finally started to feel better.
Sickness aside, this was my favorite hike of the year so far. It was a beautiful day, and I loved swimming in Gem Lake. Swimming here was a full circle moment for me, because the last time I hiked to Gem Lake in 2014 my hiking pal swam, but I did not. I was overheated then too, but wasn’t comfortable with my body (the irony, I was at my thinnest then – typical female brain) so I did not swim.
These days I could care less what people think of my body, I’m getting in the damn lake.
As I say goodbye to summer the weather is turning colder, and the pumpkin products have hit the shelves. I don’t see many alpine lake swims for me the rest of the year, but who knows maybe a true polar plunge is in my future. Fall hiking is my favorite, and I cannot wait to watch the leaves change. Crunchy walks here I come.
Q: Do you like swimming in cold water?
Blissfulbritt 