Fred Mydske stands next to the Snohomish River which he frequently swims.
Photo courtesy Fred Mydske
SNOHOMISH — Rain or shine, below-freezing temperatures or above, Snohomish resident Fred Mydske still makes his way to the river for a swim.
After facing a sciatic nerve injury a couple of years ago with advice to ice it, Mydske turned to the Snohomish River to ease some of his pain.
“I am a mountain climber so I have beat myself up pretty hard,” Mydske said. “And I am a carpenter, so I have been very active.”
He began with just standing in the river to ice his sciatic nerve, until one day nearly two years ago he decided to swim while there. After years of intense activities, Mydske found swimming in the river to be the perfect low-impact physical activity with profound mental impacts.
“When you are swimming in water that is 40 degrees, it gives you confidence,” Mydske said. “Swimming in that sort of environment is as profitable physically as it is mentally.”
Dr. Christopher McMullen, a sports medicine physician at University of Washington Medicine, said swimming is a valuable aerobic exercise that is oftentimes more comfortable on joints and may show some benefits when looking to reduce inflammation and pain.
“Swimming, like other forms of exercise, has been shown to improve one’s mental health,” Dr. McMullen said. “Swimming in a river has the added benefit of being outdoors, and we know that being in nature is also great for our mental health.”
The Snohomish River’s water temperature ranges between 40 degrees in the winter to 68 degrees during the summer months. Given these cold conditions, Mydske has a detailed routine, specific clothing he wears, and ensures his wife is aware of when he goes swimming.
Mydske always enters the river at the Pilchuck Julia Landing boat launch and stands in the water to get adjusted before swimming. He always swims about 20 yards offshore and begins swimming upstream for about a minute. Mydske then pauses and lets the stream carry him back to his starting position. He repeats this process multiple times.
“Water is extremely powerful, and currents can be deceiving. What seem like simple items in the rivers can be very dangerous obstacles with very little current,” Snohomish Fire Chief Don Waller shared how rivers can be risky. “We encourage everyone to be careful, have safety devices and partners, and not to swim in areas they are not experienced with.”
Depending on the time of year and given temperature, Mydske’s swims last anywhere between 6 minutes to 15 minutes.
“I bring my music down there and I try to play three songs,” Mydske said. “Last week my hands got so cold I couldn’t even make it through two songs.”
Despite the great mental and physical impacts of swimming in the river, Mydske has never seen anyone else swimming in the river but is always looking for new things and obstructions. Mydske is typically on the lookout for jet skis and various boaters, sea lions and trees growing in the middle of the river while he is swimming.
“The sea lions frighten me to be perfectly honest,” Mydske said. “I have seen three or four sea lions out there going after the salmon, I see them year round.”
If Mydske sees that there are sea lions he makes sure not to swim to the side of the river that they are on. As far as the trees go, Mydske is left puzzled.
“I am not pulling your leg, there are trees sticking up out of the water,” Mydske said. “In the middle of the river might I remind you.”
After nearly two years and a trip to the river that was simply to help ease sciatic nerve pain, Mydske has found countless reasons to keep going back.
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To be safest in rivers, Snohomish Fire Chief Don Waller said to always wear a properly sized and fitted personal floatation device such as a life jacket, and that the temperature of the water or the outside does not have to be that cold to be very dangerous. Through winter, spring, and even early summer, the temperature can be deadly in a short amount of time.
