A ruck in the woods

YHC was glad to see that it was a full 4 degrees warmer this morning than it was at the boondocks yesterday. With the right gear it didn’t seem that bad today, as long as you were out of the wind. So, the plan was to get in the woods. 5 of us were ready to roll at 5:15, when Couch potato came screeching in on 2 wheels. Soon as he was out of the truck, we took off. It was great to see another gazelle posting the cold ruck today!
A very quick mission statement and disclaimer was given on the fly.
Buttoncap has lead some rucks at the tideland trails, but YHC wanted to show the Pax some of the Singletrack trails in the woods. Headlamps were necessary this morning to avoid the occasional branch to the face, or a toe-busting root.
We logged just over 3 miles total, stopping at mile 1 (with packs on) for:
Alternating lunges x 10 IC
Merkins x 25
Copperhead squats c 10 IC
Somewhere before mile 2, We hit the picnic tables (with packs on) for:
Step up and overs x 10 each way
Urkins x 25
Uneven squats on the bench seats x 10 IC each side (these created some entertaining mumblechatter)
We came out of the woods near the cars with 3-4 minutes to spare. The wind hit us head on As soon as we were on the road, and it made us realize what a great wind-blocker the trees were. We did an out and back  on the road until a hard stop at 0615.
It was cold and windy, so announcements were kept short today. No need for a count or namarama. YHC took us out in a brief prayer to remember how blessed were are with what the Lord has provided for us. We lifted up those that are less fortunate, struggling with cold, hunger, or sorrow.
I thank buttoncap for having me get out of my normal workout comfort zone and head up a ruck. As usual, it lead me to some great second F with guys like pillbox, Laettner, and lunchbox. We can quickly go from shallow topics to deep topics, which usually doesn’t happen with a group of guys in other settings. Good stuff! I thank the Lord for introducing F3 into my life.