I Swam 9 Miles Across a Glacier Lake

One of my favorite places to hang out in my hometown of Pinedale is Fremont Lake, which is a really big glacier-fed lake right at the base of the Wind River Range. It's nine miles long, a mile wide, 600 feet deep, and it's pretty cold. I first swam across the nine-mile length of the lake in 2016 when I was just a teenager and set the overall swim record of 5 hours 34 minutes. I've swam across the lake every summer since for a grand total of four crossings. This would be my fifth year swimming across the lake, and I was so stoked to get back in the water. But in order to have an amazing swim, I needed an amazing crew, and that's why I was bringing along the best in town. My name is John Kelly, and I grew up here in Pinedale, Wyoming, and I have swam the length of Fremont Lake three times. The first time I did it was in 2011, and then I did it again in 2016 and 2017. When I was in grade school, we didn't actually have a pool in Pinedale, and it wasn't built yet, and so we learned to swim right here when I was eight years old, so that was 49 years ago. When I was in high school was when I heard somebody talk about possibly swimming Fremont Lake, and they were talking about swimming the width of it. And I thought, oh my god, that width is like a mile long. There's no way anybody could do it. But I was a little bit haunted with the idea of swimming Fremont Lake. Back in 2016, I'd heard that David Ruhl was a really extraordinary endurance athlete, and I thought maybe it would be really great to invite him. So I ended up running into David's dad. He passed on the message. We had coffee, and I said, hey, do you want to swim Fremont Lake? And he thought it meant the width, and I'm like, no, I mean the length. And I think he was thinking, OK, this whole thing is crazy. But we ended up doing it. So then I did it one more time. I've done it three times, and then have been happy to prove for David and witness him do it. He's done it four times, so we're planning to do it again on Thursday. So that'll be five times for him. I was in a coffee shop once and ran into David, and he was with one of his friends. And he's like, John is like a Jedi master of swimming Fremont Lake. He's like the OG. And I was like, yes. And like all Jedi masters, our greatest hope is that our students grow to become better than us. So I'm very proud that David has become a better swimmer than me. There are a number of different lakes here in Pineville that are really beautiful lakes. You know, Halfman Lake, Green River Lakes, New Fork Lakes. But since I was swimming here as a child, I fell profoundly and deeply in love with Fremont Lake. So for me, just to get deeper into a relationship with Fremont Lake was where my passion was. And I kind of feel like when you're swimming, it's really good to listen to your body and follow your joy and follow your passion. And this is where my joy has been, and this is where my passion's been. This is my love for Fremont Lake. My name is Sierra Hatton. I'm 16, and I'm a swimmer at the Pinedale High School. The thing about swimming is it's always been a part of who I am. And when you swim, you really don't think about anything. And I feel like that's just really relaxing. You don't have to worry about anything. It's not a worry in the world. And what inspired me to do Fremont Lake Swim is actually David Bull. When I first heard that he did it, I was really, really intrigued, but also terrified at the same time. And then when I learned that no other woman has done it, that really kind of, it just, it made me have an epiphany almost. I kind of wanted to go for it, you know. I'm not afraid of failure. No matter how far I go, it's still getting somewhere. I'm still lapping everybody that's sitting on their couch at home. Going into this year, I feel a lot more confident than I did two years ago, because now I actually know what to expect for the lake. You know, it's a challenge. And I accept that I may not make it the entire way, but that's okay. I'm all right with that. It always psychs me out because the morning of the swim, it always feels like really cold and kind of frosty. But the thing is, the colder the air is, the warmer the water will feel. So, yeah. Let's do this. Yeehaw! You ready to swim this lake? Let's do it. This is Mike right here, and he's going to attempt to ride this thing across the whole lake with us, so. Maybe first time paddle boarder across Fremont Lake, who knows? There's the captain of the ship right there. What is up? Another day in paradise. Oh yeah. Living the dream. This is Jolie right here, and she's coming along. I just found out she's going to attempt to swim too. So when did you decide to do this? Two days ago. So she decides to do a crazy swim across Fremont two days ago. That's awesome. So we loaded up in the pontoon boat that Lakeside Lodge generously gave us to use for the day and set off across the lake. Boating up to the inlet really made us realize how big this lake is. It takes nearly an hour to get there on a pontoon boat, and we'd be swimming that entire distance in reverse. The barren southern end of Fremont slowly turned into the beautiful mountainous northern end. We finally made it to the inlet, took in some of the scenery, and prepared for what would be a five to seven hour day of swimming. So your plan is to ride this thing across the whole lake? That's the plan. Right on. Sierra and I have full on wetsuits, and this is what Jolie's swimming in. You worried about hypothermia? Nope. I asked my parents this year to bring me some sweet and sour chicken at the beach, so a straight line from here to my china gourmet. That's what's going to get me through the day, all right? You take that first stroke and it's just like, man, I am not going to be on land for a long time. So it's a total commitment. From the inlet, I'd swing around Moosehead Bay and cut right over to Box Bay, which is usually where I take my first break. From here, I'd cut to the east side of the lake just past the upper boat dock and stick along the shoreline all the way down the southern end to my finish at Sandy Beach. My awesome neighbor Martin volunteered to kayak alongside me for the swim, and he'd be throwing me food and making sure I didn't die. Stroke by stroke, I made my way through the northern end of the lake, and before I even knew it, I hit Box Bay and had my first break. I've been swimming for like two and a half to three hours. We're here about halfway through at Box Bay. I'm feeling pretty good so far. My shoulders are feeling a little bit sore, but yeah, I got a little bit of snackage in me and let's keep on going. Up until this point, the waters were pretty calm and it was all smooth sailing. But once I hit the southern end of the lake, the wild Wyoming wind picked up and with it came a whole minefield of waves, which made swimming much, much, much harder. So in addition to the rapids being kind of crazy, I'm also starting to feel pretty cold right now. For the first part, I was feeling pretty warm and stuff, and I still go through a few warm patches, but as a whole, yeah, I feel like my body temp's lowering and just feeling kind of chilly. I feel like this last section right here is always just so long. It just feels like it takes forever. I have some sweet and sour chicken waiting on the beach down there, so that's all the motivation I need. How much further do you think we have? People always ask me what I think about during a six-hour swim like this, and honestly, I have no idea. I just kind of shut my brain off and relax. All right, this should be my last break of the swim. Just getting a little Laura bar. As the beach houses on the southern end of the lake came into focus, I knew I was getting close, and before I even knew it, I swam around the three rocks signifying Sandy Beach and washed up onto the shore. Made it to the beach. Mama rule coming in hot with the Chinese food. Oh, yeah. Through this whole swim right there. I'm feeling so cold right now. So, what was the time for today? Oh, I had it on a GPS, so I have it on my instinct, but it was about 6.30. Oh, really? Exact minutes. All right, that's actually better than I thought it was going to be. Yeah, I mean, it was cold. When those waves came up on the last mile, the last, you know, they were like 20 to 25 mile an hour winds. Even the boat was having trouble going in the winds. Waves were about one to two feet, and you were just crushing. I was like, wow. That was sweet. That was so horrible. Like, yeah, that as soon as we passed the upper dock, I went to those waves and I was looking at the side of the lake and I was just like, am I like going anywhere? Sierra and Joe Lee had to cut the swim short, but that's totally okay. Today's goal was just to go have a fun time swimming in the lake, and if you happen to swim across the whole thing, that's just a bonus. I'm sure they'll be back. Mike ended up finishing all nine miles on his SUP, possibly a first for Fremont. As for me, well, I just had a fun time going on a nice little swim with some cool people. So why do I do this? Why do I year after year work every muscle in my body just to do something that I could easily accomplish with a boat? Maybe it's just to prove that I'm fit and feel cool, but I could do something more. All of us have a little bit of crazy on the inside, aside to us that's wild and not afraid to take on the world. Everyone has their own way of bringing that out, maybe by skydiving or surfing, and for me, it's swimming across this big glacier lake. This lake helps me bring out my true self and shows me that I can do anything I set my mind to. So my challenge for you is to go find your Fremont Lake and start swimming. Yo, if you've made it this far, thank you so much for watching. Swimming across Fremont Lake has seriously become such a huge part of my life these last several years, and being able to share my journey with you means the world. First off, I just want to say thanks to everyone who supported me on all my swims. I definitely wouldn't be able to do most of the things I do without the support of the wonderful people of my little moose village in the mountains. So yeah, thanks. Also, thank you so much to Lakeside Lodge for donating a pontoon boat for us to use on the swim. Not only is Lakeside an amazing restaurant right on the shore of Fremont Lake, but they also have cabin rentals, boat rentals, and make for an amazing wedding venue. One last thing, if any of you want to join me for the swim this year in the summer of 2021, you are more than welcome to. You guys saw how much fun I had last year, and this year I want it to be an absolute party. So if you're interested in making the 9-mile swim across Fremont, shoot me a DM on Insta, and I'll send you some more info once we get closer to swim day. Thanks again for watching, and I hope to see you on the lake this year. Bye. I don't know how to work this GoPro thing very well, but it looks like it's running. I was planning on battling this thing out, but now I got safety boat duty, and I'm going to film some shit for David. So this is an Instagram takeover. See how many shots I can get without dumping this in the lake.