Test Hike
Taking advantage of the unseasonably awesome weather two weekends ago, Lola, Milo and I packed up for a long-ish test hike along Segment 3 of the Colorado Trail to try out our gear and see if our bodies could take the punishment. We planned to hike 12 miles out, camp for the night, then hike back to the Jeep in the trailhead parking lot. First day was nice with sunny skies. Most of the trail was in the trees so we didn't have to really worry about sun protection too much. The air was cool and we never got overheated. Lola had some calf cramping by the time we arrived in camp and her backpack was giving her some grief on her shoulders and hips. She was carrying 19 pounds. Mine felt better than I'd hoped at 21 pounds, only giving me some soreness in my left shoulder, which is probably more me than the pack since it's only one shoulder. An average day on the trail will have me humping 24 to 25 pounds next summer. It took us 6 hours with a few short breaks to tra