GR MONSTER HIKING PACK + DAY RUCK 13 Years in Development. Monster’s Final Approval. This past Friday, we were finally ready to sign off on a rucksack that we’ve been working on for 13 years, aka Monster’s whole life. He was sitting under the table on his bed at Scars, never far from the action (or Christian’s treat bags). We approved the final sample, celebrated a quiet win, and moved onto the next task. That’s when Angel came around the corner and said Monster had fallen on his way outside and couldn’t get back up. No matter how ready you are, it always comes too soon. Monster passed the next day at home, surrounded by our family and all the love in our hearts. Monster loved serving as your President of GORUCK Nation and he loved you all with his whole heart. Thank you for loving him back with yours. Next steps are never easy and the grief comes in waves — but there are no coincidences in the universe. The rucksack we approved together on the last full day of his life is now and forever called GR MONSTER. Emily and I both used it for a week on the John Muir Trail in California, and when we were going to see Oasis in Scotland last summer, I used it there, too, all around Edinburgh. It slimmed down enough that they even let me wear it in the Scottish National Gallery of Art - surrounded by other works of beauty. It’s a dayruck, a hiking pack, you can strip it down to the essentials or add enough accessories to live out of it basically forever. It’s tough and beautiful, like Monster. This will be the first run, marked with a special internal label, and it’s a pre-order. The patch it comes with is exclusive to the GR MONSTER, and at a deeply personal level, I’m always looking for more meaning out of the things in my life, or else they’re just things. The GR MONSTER is full of the spirit of the dog who served us all faithfully, with loyalty and above all love. We honor him with this ruck and the adventures we’ll take it on, for all the days of our lives. Monster Forever. — @jasonjmccarthy