Kalispell swimmer takes on Lake Chelan

Kalispell long-distance swimmer Emily von Jentzen will start swimming at noon today for what she hopes will be a historic swim across the 55-mile-long Lake Chelan in northern Washington.

If she completes the swim — expected to take up to 28 hours — she will become the first person ever to swim the long, narrow expanse of Lake Chelan, the third deepest lake in America.

Von Jentzen is taking on the challenge not only for her own personal record book but also as a fundraiser for Katelyn “KK” Roker, a 5-year-old from Kalispell who is battling Stage 4 neuroblastoma, a high-risk cancer.

Her progress can be tracked online once the crew leaves Chelan at 8:30 a.m. to take a boat to Stehekin on the northern part of the lake. The online link is:

 http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0vhF4eMA2qDL9XZ8L7XQSGEEBuamVFtuK

 Last year von Jentzen swam Flathead Lake in 18 hours, 26 minutes, covering roughly 33 miles, making her the third person ever to swim the length of that lake. Flathead is 27.3 miles long, according to Flathead Biological Station, but Jentzen accumulated some extra mileage when the wind put her off course.

Lake Chelan is twice as long as Flathead Lake and also can be prone to wind and rough water.

The temperature of Lake Chelan is comparable to Flathead, where the water temperature was in the 70s when she swam the lake last July. Lake Chelan’s north end is colder, about 65 degrees this time of year, while the water temperature in the southern end is about 10 degrees warmer.

Von Jentzen, a deputy county attorney for Flathead County, decided on Lake Chelan because she’s got family members in the area who can help with the crew and lend their support. She has kept a blog about her training program.

To learn more about her effort and to donate to the fundraiser, “A Lakke for Katelyn,” go to:

 http://alakkeforkatelyn.blogspot.com/