JOE’S 300KM HIKE WITH A HEAVY LOAD!
Midnight strolls saw dad-of-two finish a 300km charity trek in just eleven days
Dad-of-two Joe Boote has completed a 300km hike – with a 35lb weight strapped on his back to raise cash for poorly children.
The 34-year-old trainee personal trainer, raised money for The Rainbow Children’s charity.
The 186 mile challenge finished at the end of November, and raised £750.
Joe said: “it feels good to do something for a cause I’ve not been affected by. Having kids myself it’s just something I wanted to try to raise money for, the support for families is great. When kids have a bad start to life it’s horrible to see”
He aimed to complete the challenge in 15 days, but after some midnight strolls, he managed to get it done in 11.
Joe said: “I’d get up at six or seven, complete a 10-mile walk, get home, have dinner, relax a bit, put the kids
to bed, then set off back out at around 8pm for another 10 miles.”
Mr Boote, from Rushton Spencer, near Leek, clocked most of his miles around Rudyard Lake, as well as covering some at Tittesworth Lake in Leek and The Cloud in Congleton
With the stand-alone 300km hiking not enough for adventurous Joe’s appetite, he did it all with 35lbs (15.8kg) strapped to his back.
It wasn’t dead weight though. Joe, who has tackled Snowdon and Scafell Pike, filled his bag with hiking essentials such as water, boil in the bag meals and a pop-up shelter.
Over the last three days of hiking, some friends joined him: “I think when they came along it helped a lot, because it’s quite mentally challenging, being on your own, with your own thoughts for hours at a time, it can actually get very boring.”
The Rainbow Trust Children’s Charity helps families who have terminally ill children to make the most of their time together.
Joe’s fundraiser is still open for donations: https://www.justgiving. com/fundraising/joe-boote2