Mile 11-13.5 | Swimming the North Shore

Mile 11–13.5 | Ogden Island → Sand Point → The Sphinx

The last few strokes through Johnson’s Bay were earned, and as I rounded Ogden Point the waves became my next battle. I fought to stay moving in the super-shallow water around Sand Point, every stroke scraping close to bottom. Chop slapped my face. Waves shoved me sideways. We knew this stretch would be bumpy, and honestly, I didn’t mind. At least I had something else to focus on besides the cold.

Then Aubri slid in with the kayak. For the first time that day, it was just us. She pointed me around docks, corrected my line, and brought me calm. Each breath, I could see her legs kicked up and relaxed on the bow. Each crew member gave me something different — Logan’s chaos, Ian’s steadiness and boldness, Rikki’s strength and love. Aubri’s stretch gave me peace.

And then the Sphinx appeared, looming — and with it, the truth: this wasn’t going to be a 14-mile swim. GPS showed more. By the time we reached the Sphinx at mile 13.5, there were still miles left to go.

The realization crushed me — for ten seconds. I looked at the crew, and we all knew it at the same time. But the truth was, nobody else on the lake cared about the number. Nobody but us even knew. I sat with that for a few buoy lengths, and then I let it go. I couldn’t change the distance, and I wasn’t going to stop. So I clocked back in. Distance didn’t matter. Commitment did.

Check out the next blog and my trip across the North Shore here:

https://www.jacemorgan.com/post/back-in-my-home-waters-mile-13-5-15

Takeaway: The lake can strip you down, but the right people can build you back up. Commitment is stronger than distance.

Thanks for reading 💜

Jace