Woman swims Glacier Park, Whitefish lakes for a cause

Nearly perfect conditions met Emily von Jentzen on Sunday morning as she quietly slipped into the water at Lazy Bay on the north end of Whitefish Lake.

Only waves from a passing boat would disturb the placid conditions as von Jentzen swam the lake's entire 6-mile length with little fanfare. She only stopped once, treading water while she ate a quick bite alongside her support boat.

"It felt really good," von Jentzen said, water still dripping from her swim cap after emerging three and a half hours later at City Beach. "My pace picked up right before halfway, probably because I knew a feed was coming. It was a good swim."

Whitefish Lake is just one of 30 lakes the Kalispell endurance athlete will swim this summer as part of her 30:60:90 fundraising challenge to benefit two local girls in need of assistance with medical-related expenses.

That's 30 lakes in 60 days for a total of 90 miles. The Whitefish Lake marathon swim represented lake No. 18 of the challenge.

"Only 12 to go," said von Jentzen. "I'm on my home stretch."

Von Jentzen, 32, is well-known as being the first woman to swim the 30-mile length of Flathead Lake in 2010. She took on the challenge as a fundraiser for a young girl battling Leukemia, which brought in nearly $10,000.

She's taken on several fundraising swim challenges since then, including a non-stop swim of Lake Chelan in Washington in 2011 to raise money for a Kalispell girl fighting cancer.

In 2013, she established the nonprofit Enduring Waves Foundation to assist in her fundraising swim attempts.

"That first charity swim on Flathead Lake, I thought that was going to be a one-and-done kind of thing," she said. "But we raised so much money and I would have done that swim anyway. To discover that you can use something you absolutely love to do to make a huge difference in someone's else's life is a really cool thing."

She took on the 30:60:90 challenge this summer to benefit two local girls.

A noncommunicative Bigfork girl diagnosed with significant global delays will receive assistance with needed equipment and physical therapy not covered by insurance. A Ronan girl with a rare blood disease will receive assistance with travel costs so her family can visit during her treatment in Seattle.

Von Jentzen says the girls have been an obvious source of motivation during the 60-day challenge.

"The kids and families we've met through the foundation are incredible and so inspirational to me," von Jentzen said. "When people tell me they think I'm inspirational, it pales in comparison to these little kids."

The complicated logistics of the 30:60:90 challenge has been somewhat alleviated by a fleet of volunteers who have stepped up this summer to assist in the mission. On Sunday, a crew in a pontoon boat followed von Jentzen across the lake and shielded her from boat traffic.

Some of the swims have been in obscure lakes with little access, and still, volunteers show up.

"Some days I meet up with a friend of a friend of a friend and they hike to the lake and kayak with me," von Jentzen said. "A lot of people are willing to do what they can to help the cause."

Two of the most arduous lakes of the challenge came back-to-back.

"Friday night I did Bowman then Saturday morning I did Kintla," von Jentzen said. "I was really grumpy Saturday morning, but as soon as I got into the water I was fine."

She has already checked off her list a few Glacier Park classics: Lake MacDonald (10 miles), Avalanche Lake (0.6 miles) and Swift Current (1 mile).

"The shorter lakes don't involve logistics at all," she said. "I even brought me dog on one swim."

During the marathon distance swims, she will count strokes to keep a rhythm and enter what she describes as a meditative state.

"You get to this point when it's a complete calm and totally peaceful," she said.

"And every now and then I'll see a fish."

Her energy picks up when the first glimpse of shore comes into view.

"The best part is when your hands start to touch the bottom," she said. "Most of the lakes around here you get pretty close to shore before you can even see the bottom. That really picks you up."

A big two days await von Jentzen as she plans to tackle eight lakes in the Swan Valley next weekend, including Swan Lake (10 miles) and a handful that are less than a mile long.

Her final swims will be Aug. 28 in Upper and Lower Stillwater Lake, Woods Lake, Echo Lake and finally Mud Lake, a 1-mile sprint near Bigfork.

To learn more about the 30:60:90 challenge or to donate to the fundraising efforts, visit online at www.enduringwaves.com.