In February 2021, when I first laid eyes on Lake Mead, I knew I wanted to swim her. She was beautiful and sparkly and the air was clear and bright. When I visited again in March 2022, I could tell that water levels were significantly lower than the year before and news stories were starting to talk about how drought conditions were severely impacting the water supply in both Lake Powell and Lake Mead. The news showed miles of dangerously muddy shoreline. Dead bodies from the 1960s were uncovered.
I started to fear that a swim across this amazing lake would never be possible.