40 Carried For 10

This is not a 10mm vs .40S&W post.

Instead its about the challenge I did today:  Rucking 10 miles carrying 40 pounds.

In one word:  Ouch.

Ten miles was a lot.

We drove out to Pontiac Lake Recreation Area and met up at 7:45 am.

We then did a little warm up stretching, and hit the trail.

 Beautiful clear and sunny day in the 30s, and we were soon more than warm enough as we rucked on.

 I had on a lot of safety orange as did some of the others in the group as this was an active hunting area, as well as a jogging and mountain bike area.

We passed by a few hunters and while we saw deer tracks we never saw a deer.  We were more in danger form the mountain bikers barrelling away on the trail than anything else really. The hunters we passed by all had excellent muzzle discipline and good situational awareness that there were other people in the woods, which is always nice to see.

The trail was quite rugged with many rocks and roots hiding under the leaves to trip you up. lots of slipping and recoveries from hidden roots occurred.

Switchbacks, and climbs, and dips added to the challenge, and we had an elevation gain of 1,219 feet during the walk.

We did a short break at 3 miles in and another at the 6 mile mark.

About 8.5 miles in,  I asked for a break as my feet and legs were killing me, feeling every rock underfoot and always fighting to maintain balance took a toll and I was starting to hit a wall. Others indicated they appreciated and needed the break as well.

A few minutes sitting down helped and I got up and carried on.

The last miles felt like they were forever, and the last was the hardest, with a lot of elevation change and even more damn rocks and roots.  The last mile was really the last mile plus making it a 10.46t mile ruck. But, no one gave up and we did it.

 

Afterwards we had a campfire and hot dogs to celebrate.

The group lead brought Teton Grass Fed Beef Hot Dogs for the group to cook over the fire, and while the hunger and effort of the ruck certainly made everything taste great, those were really amazing hot dogs.  I mean, best tasting hot dogs ever. Highly recommend.

 He also brought some non-alcoholic beverages and a pumpkin pie. All great stuff.  It was a great time with great camaraderie hanging around the fire after all the hard work.

Feet and legs are all sorts of sore right now.  But the accomplishment makes it worth it.