We decided it was time to do a long hike and start increasing the carrying weight to simulate what we would be doing for real by carrying all our gear.
My backpack was probably around 7kgs and Kim had a weighted vest around 4kgs.
The new Vango Sherpa backpack I had purchased was actually quite comfy, and it’s curved style means it’s actually not pressed against your back, thus keeping you a bit less sweaty than traditional backpacks! A good purchase I think.
We started off our hike in mixed sunshine and clouds, which soon gave way to some beautiful blue skies as we headed into Cookham at mile 2.
Lunch stop was after around 7 miles in the woods at the top of Woburn Green. Nice to get the backpack off for a bit and have some food and drink we had purchased a little earlier, although there were one or two drops of rain in the air as we departed.
As we hit mile 8 the rain became a little heavier now and quite constant. Gone were the lovely blue skies from earlier. Very much regretting not bringing my wet weather top; note to self, be prepared for all types of weather!!
The rain stopped after about 25 minutes, and with about 2 to 3 miles to home, we picked up the pace a little, mainly to try and get warmer. A cheeky stop at the Jolly Farmer Pub in Cookham with about 1.5 miles to go for some well-earned refreshments was very welcome 🍺 before the final push home. Even had some blue skies again.
Overall a very successful hike, 14 miles in the bag done and first big test with some reasonable additional weight being carried. Also some good lessons learned in the process!
Relive our hike here: https://www.relive.com/view/vXOdme2Ld46
