Tis weekend brought us great weather, and I decided to take advantage of that by continuing my exploration of one of our County's hiking trails, the Ice Age trail. I started exploring this trail last year, and this year I am adding a new element, rucking. I am also setting a stretch goal for myself, to do an "out-and-back" hike of the entire 8-mile West Bend segment of the Ice Age trail (16 miles total) by early fall. I hope I can meet this goal.
Rucking, or backpacking, helps build leg and back strength, and can double the calories you burn while hiking. You throw 15-25 pounds worth of weights and stuff in your backpack, and then hike as normal.
The West bend segment is an adventurous hike, with elevation changes and a rocky terrain. Long term, the goal of the Ice Age trail Alliance is to connect the West Bend segment to the Kewauskum and Slinger segments.
Today I started with an out-and-back hike of a 2.8 mile segment, from Ridge Run park (By UWWC) down to Paradise Drive. The last mile or so, I was struggling, but I made it.
