Hiking Training Plan: Week #17 Recap

Week: October 8 - 14 (7 Days)
Miles Hiked (Week): 6.97
Miles Hiked (October): 8.80
Miles Hiked, (October Goal): 30
Miles Hiked (Yearly Total): 79.73
Pounds Lost (Week): 2.6
Pounds Lost (Total):  19.8
Weekly Goal Met: No
Nights Camped (Week): 1
Nights Camped (Total): 8
Nights Camped (Backpacking): 1

This week was a big week for my hiking training plan. Not because of the mileage, which wasn't enough to keep up pace for the monthly goal. It also wasn't because of the weight I lost, which was welcome after last week's setback, even if I didn't reach my perhaps overambitious goal. No, it was a big week because for the first time in over fourteen years I camped only with what I could carry on my back.

Granted, this backpacking trip wasn't exactly a backcountry climb into the mountains. It was a 1.6 mile hike over mostly flat ground at Newport State Park in Door County, Wisconsin. Still, the campsites were fairly primitive, and very private, with only the sounds of the wind and the waves from Lake Michigan. It was definitely a backcountry experience, even if the you really weren't that far from civilization.

As I said above, I didn't get as much hiking as I would have liked in during the weekend. On Saturday, I spent much of the time driving to the state park, getting there in the late afternoon as it was raining. Because of a lack of experience with the heavy pack, and being extra cautious because of the wet rocks and roots on the trail because of the rain, it was almost dark by the time I reached the camp site, so I only got the 1.6 miles in that day. The next day I had intended to do more, but the 1.9 miles I walked back*, plus the .6 mile walk through sand at the Newport State Park beach and the 2.86 mile hike through a boreal forest took its toll (and time). I had intended to walk part of the Ice Age Trail near its eastern terminus, but I didn't get to Potawatomi State Park until late in the afternoon. I did get a picture of the terminus marker, and walked up a 75' observation tower. to get a beautiful view of Green Bay, Sturgeon Bay, and southern Door County. Unfortunately, the walk up and down the tower stairs was not enough to count as a hike.

All in all, it was a pretty good week. I'm hoping to get some miles in this weekend, and am hoping this week will be even better, even if it won't match the backpacking experience of this past week.

*I took a different route that extended the hike back to my car by about a third of a mile.