PRIEST LAKE, Idaho —
Kim Bowler just swam the length of Priest Lake.
That’s more than 24 miles, and it took nearly 20 hours.
She endured choppy waters, headwinds, an aching right arm, then an aching left arm, bumped into things in the night and wanted to quit more than once.
She didn’t.
Her husband, Chris Bowler, who kayaked alongside her, said that somehow, she got stronger in the final hour.
“She suddenly started digging,” Chris Bowler said. "I don’t know where the strength came from. It was pretty amazing. Mentally, she shut off. Her arms just went and her legs went.”
Kim Bowler began her quest at 1:55 p.m. at Upper Priest Lake and swam through the night to finish near Bishop’s Marina in Coolin about 9:45 a.m. Tuesday.
The Liberty Lake resident became the first woman to swim the length of Priest Lake and the second overall to do it.
“It's something special to be the first,” Bowler said.
But why do it at all?
Bowler chuckles at that question. It wasn’t because she’s the fastest or the best.
“I just know I can go longer. I kind of wanted to prove it to myself,” she said, then adding, “I can do something.”
Indeed, she can.
Swimming long distances isn’t new to the 41-year-old.
In 2022, she swam the length of Lake Coeur d’Alene, starting at Heyburn State Park and finishing on the shores of Tubbs Hill. It took her 16 hours and 38 minutes to cover the 24 miles.
To read the full story, visit our news partner, the Coeur d'Alene Press.
