On Sunday, Tara and I met up with some friends from Unleashed for a hike. This would also be my first training ruck for my GORUCK Light I have coming up in October. Tara was just coming along for the hiking portion and carried her own regular hiking pack. One of the women that came along brought one of their extra rucks and bricks. They recommended I start with only 2 bricks, instead of the 4 bricks I will have to carry during the actual challenge. They thought I should just get used to the weight before anything too crazy – and after the hike we took, I’m glad they told me that.
We went to the Long & Ell Ponds Trail in Hopkinton, RI. We carpooled in two cars (there were 7 adults and 2 kids) and drove the roughly 30-40 minutes down. Originally, it was thought we wouldn’t do too much because the kids would be with us, but they proved to have more energy than all of us combined. What we estimated would probably end up being a 2-3 mile hike turned into about 5 miles and 3.5 hours (including breaks).
We were warned that this was a pretty technical trail with some climbing, but I wasn’t sure I expected SO much climbing. I had buckets of sweat flowing all over me and we weren’t going that fast, nor was it that hot out. The beginning, and unfortunately the end, was very heavy on the climbing rocks to continue on the trail. In the beginning with plenty of energy – no big deal. Talk to me again after walking for a few hours and then having to come back that same way! I was very glad to only have 2 bricks in my ruck instead of 4.
I promise there is a trail there somewhere
This trail had some absolutely breathtaking views and I think it’s one that Tara and I would definitely come to again for a hike. We’d probably plan on bringing a lunch and stopping more often to enjoy it or rest. There’s apparently a lot more down there that we didn’t explore, so maybe next time we’d do a loop. The only reason we did an out and back instead of a loop this time was because one of the women said that it was about a mile on a dirt road, which is kind of boring (and if anything like the drive in, would be dangerous walking on). It was definitely one to add to our list of favorites.
Don't blink. Just run. 
Hey!! Some really cool pictures!! I love them!! Looks like it was a great adventure!!
Thanks! It was lots of fun.
Wow looks great!
Wow that looks like a gorgeous trail! Man I wish we had nice hikes like that around here!
That is definitely one of the perks of living in New England. No shortage of beautiful nature.
That is a spectacular looking trail!
Ps I can’t believe you are doing a race where you will be carrying that many bricks…ahhhh!!!
I know, right?!? It’s not technically a race though. The whole idea behind it is one team. Everything you do is as a team, or you keep doing it until you are.
And the trail was awesome. We have tons of great ones down here.
That looks tough, but the views would be so worth it! Is rucking just like hiking with a weighted backpack. (Sorry if it’s something way different and I just offended you haha I’ve heard of rucking before but have no idea what it is!)
The views were stunning!
So, GORUCK is basically an event where you carry a rucksack filled with either bricks or sandbags. You have to have a certain amount of weight per event and per your bodyweight. Basically, I’m doing a beginner GORUCK, so I have the least amount of bricks possible, except for the fact that I weigh over 150 lb. This means I carry 4 bricks instead of 2, like the people under 150. We then do team challenges. Everything is done as a team for the entire event. Where we go and what we do changes from event to event and based on who the Cadre is that’s leading it (and how much they like to torture people).
Here’s a video: https://www.goruck.com/light#.U_U29EtYZKo
Wow that looks so tough! Props to you. Thanks for explaining it to me!
Ok, the trail looks awesome but the carrying bricks scares me! Particularly when you have to use your hands on the trail. Good luck!
The bricks are in the ruck so our hands are still free for climbing
But don’t they effect your balance?
I didn’t find that they affected my balance at all. Today was a different story. When I was doing bear crawls, the bag fell forward onto the back of my head and made me fall forward.
What a gorgeous spot to hike! Looks pretty intense with all that climbing, but fun!
Awesome spot and great people = amazing fun