AT's AT 2015 Hiking Training Plan, Week Two

Week: April 8 - April 14 (6 Days)
Miles Hiked (Week): 7.7
Miles Hiked (April): 9.2
Miles Hiked, (April Goal): 30
Miles Hiked (Yearly Total): 16.7
Pounds Lost (Week): N/A
Percentage to Next Milestone: 5.67%
Pounds Lost (Total):  0.6
Weekly Goal Met: N/A
Nights Camped (Week): 1
Nights Camped (Total): 2
Nights Camped (Backpacking): 0

This week doesn't have a weight update, because I have yet to weigh in properly. I overslept Monday morning at my parents house on the way back from my weekend camping and hiking trip with Erin (more on that later). And as for today, I chose to come back in the morning instead of last night, so I wouldn't have to deal with the April snowfall. Because this is supposed to be a regular feature, I figured I would just do one without the weigh-in this week, and save it for next week's post.



I don't know what the result of the weekend will be, weight wise, but I was (with a couple exceptions) pretty good with staying away from calorie overloads. Erin and I hiked four different trails, although only one was longer than a mile. The longest hike was the 6.1 miles I walked on "Snake Road" at the LaRue-Pine Bluffs Nature Area in Shawnee National Forest. It wasn't a difficult trail, as it was gravel and flat in several places. However, other places it was rolling, so there was a bit of an up and down action. One of the other trails was mostly flat, but the other two at Giant City State Park and Garden of the Gods were short, but with significant elevation changes*

The other significant event of note was our night of camping at Giant City State Park. I actually did get some sleep, although I used a sleeping bag and pillows that are most certainly not backpacking friendly. Still, it was good to sleep out beneath the stars. We also tried out a gravity based water filtration system, and used my JetBoil stove to great effect to boil water for our oatmeal.

As for the rest of the upcoming week, it's all about a return to some sort of normalcy. This weekend I'll be going back home for Easter, which can always be precarious because of candy and yet another big meal. However, I am confident I can build my successes of this weekend, while cutting out at least some of the excess that can hamper my efforts.

*Well, significant for Illinois.