Snorkeling mountain lakes

[vlad]

Last two weekends I spent hiking and snorkeling some mountain lakes in Cascades. The water is amazingly clear and not that cold this time of year, 50-60F. The lakes are quite deep, more then 100 feet for sure. Getting some scuba gear there will be a treat, I even thought about bringing 30 cu ft pony bottle with me, glad I didn't. This would add 20 pounds to my pack. It would make travel quite miserable and wouldn't give much bottom time any way. There is not much life in those lakes, except some fish, but underwater-scape is very special - boulders, trees, steep vertical walls, all that with 60+ feet visibility - it's simply awesome!

Any way, here are a few pictures, the rest can be found on Flickr:

Snorkeling Mountain Lakes

[CaptnJack]

Love the trout!

[riversnorkel]

Very nice!
Lakes are overlooked as possible venues for snorkeling adventures. I would like to join up and explore them. Look me up if you are looking for a swim buddy. I mostly swim rivers and creeks but a lake is great fun.
By the way, that does not look like a trout, it looks to be a grayling, which is surprising since I did not think they were in washington.

[spatman]

that over/under shot with the trout is fantastic. thanks for sharing.

[John Rawlings]

Is that a chunk of ice in image # 3?

[sheahanmcculla]

Very Cool! What lakes?

[airsix]

Very cool!

[Penopolypants]

Beautiful shots!

[ArcticDiver]

Thanks for sharing the very nice images.

[riversnorkel]

I second guessed my species call all day at work, but it does appear that it is indeed a grayling. Note the spots and large dorsal fin. All the cooler, as these fish are exceedingly rare. Great stuff!
Now, it's off to go fishing for grayling of all things, working in northern Alaska does have an some small perks.

[vlad]

Thanks for the kind words! These pictures are from several trips, multiple lakes. Check my Flickr stream for more info. I'd rather not name them here to avoid creating direct searchable page with complete information. Those lakes are in prestene (mostly) condition, the less people they see the longer they will be that way. One of them indeed has reproducing population of grayling, which is quite unique in this state.

Yes, it is floating ice, or rather snow, on one picture. There was some last year snow sliding into the water and creating micro icebergs, which were fun to take pictures of. The water wasn't that cold.

I'm done with snorkeling mountain lakes, at least this season, may continue next year. I'm also entertaining the idea of diving with scuba there. This should be quite an experience, getting the gear in and out being the major part of it.

[Jeff Pack]

Did you dive with a wetsuit then I take it?

[vlad]

Did you dive with a wetsuit then I take it?

Yes, I had 5 mil wetsuit with additional 3 mil t-shirt, hood, booties and gloves. It was plenty warm for 1-1.5 hours in the water.

[Jeff Pack]

I have both a quad, and dirtbike, so can get up to some pretty cool lakes.