River snorkeling

[scubareen]

I agree, it's a bummer I can't live on a coast line but rivers are awesome!
Great pics!

 

[Blue Sparkle]

I just noticed this thread for the first time. Wow, this sounds really neat! I've been getting into diving the past year or so, but I've always loved swimming, I like snorkeling a lot, and I used to do quite a bit of whitewater kayaking. I loved the exploring/backwoods part of the kayaking.

In the latter sport, "taking a swim" is a bit of a failure/problem, so it never occurred to me to swim a river on purpose. Now I'm thinking it sounds pretty sweet, and would combine a lot of things I like

I'll be checking out your YouTube channel. Thanks for posting this thread!

Blue Sparkle

 

[covediver]

Happy New Year everyone!
Here's to getting out and exploring your local waters in the coming year.
I started this thread in the hopes of raising the interest in swimming rivers, but the real message is to explore your own back yard, take interest in your local area using the most basic dive gear possible. No thousands of dollars in gear and travel and no tour boat operator trained fish.
It's murky, gritty, potentially dangerous and not for those who demand a pampered dive experience.
Get out there and come back and tell us about your adventures!

A few years ago, I had the chance to snorkel up a creek on Baranoff Island at Basket Cove in southeast Alaska. Salmon were in for the spawn and brown bears (that's a grizzly for you '48ers) were in the area but cleared out when they heard us. Great experience. Most of our rivers here in south central alaska have too much glacial till to be snorkelable.
I recently came across a book entitled "Sea Hiker" written in 1972 that pretty much describes that which you do, set in Great Britain.
I also tried riverboarding in colorado this summer. same thing you describe except from the surface.
I recall a story in national geographic for kids from a few decades ago that related about snorkeling in midwestern rivers and finding old firearms.
Lots of stuff out there. Get a mask, pair of fins, wetsuit and go.

 

[covediver]

sorry

 

[David Wilson]

I recently came across a book entitled "Sea Hiker" written in 1972 that pretty much describes that which you do, set in Great Britain.

Covediver:

I live and snorkel in the North East of England. Can you please provide me with more details of the book you mention, Sea Hiker, which I can't locate in Amazon? Coincidentally, a book entitled Swimming Free: On and below the surface of lake, river and sea by Geoffrey Fraser Dutton was also published in 1972, by Heinemann in London:

It's about the author's "swim hiking" (or as he calls it "adventure swimming") experiences around the United Kingdom as he walks, then swims across expanses of water using fins, mask, snorkel and wetsuit. Two schools of "swim hiking" or "swim trekking" appear to be emerging here in the UK in the new millennium, purists who won't use any aids or thermal protection and pragmatists, like myself, who prefer our open-water swimming in comfort.

 

[Riversnorkel]

I bought Dutton's book and found it to be eloquent and very interesting, opening my eyes to a whole new side of swimming.
The local crew is planning some distance swims of rivers our area this summer.
Using the current to our advantage we estimate traveling up to 20 miles a day, current and difficultly dependant.
We plan on being self supported via inflatable whitewater kayaks to stow our camping gear.

On a side note I managed several days swimming this January in somewhat cool temps.

 

[Roy McKinney]

This is a great thread! I love to fly down the little Pigeon river in Gatlinburg TN at the foothills of the smokies. A great place to treasure hunt.

 

[chazrich]

I know it's a little off topic, but I've dove a few rivers in Texas and loved it. Of course in scuba diving you can sometimes duck out of the current for a break, probably more than you can in snorkelling.

 

[Riversnorkel]

Not off topic at all, it's great to hear about your adventures.
Rivers can be a lot of fun, post up some photos or a trip report about your local rivers our creeks. There is a whole world of exploring under the waters of even the most humble stream.

 

[Niz]

Amazing idea never thought of this