Today I went for another early swim at Fallen Leaf Lake. I was grateful to Patrick for braving the early morning on a Sunday to swim with me; it was just what I needed before setting out on a long drive.

It was raining when we arrived, a light drizzle that made the lake look even more magical than it did yesterday. I was excited to swim in the rain since it’s something we rarely get to do in California. Despite the rain, the birds were singing, chirping, and twittering a chorus of welcomes to the new day.

The air and water both felt colder today. It took me a while to warm up and I spent the first few hundred yards backstroking to avoid putting my face in the water. It was a lovely feeling, backstroking, with a light drizzle on my face, swirling gray clouds above, and a canopy of dark green pine trees in my peripheral vision. After a while, I flipped over, put my head down, and had a good swim across the lake in the cold, clear water.

It’s kind of an amazing place, small for a lake, but much bigger than any pool so it’s like a giant secret swimming pool with the cleanest, freshest of water. We swam from one end to the other as the rain fell. At one point I stopped to take my usual video with my GoPro and realized it wasn’t working. I set aside my distress at the fact (I haven’t picked it back up yet and so I still don’t know what’s wrong) and went back to swimming. Then, after we were done, I stood on the mossy shore and took pictures with my phone. Not for long, though; the air was cold and my hands immediately felt incapacitated and I hurried to warm up. 

It was a lovely swim and I’m so glad to know about Fallen Leaf Lake. I’ll be back!