Back to freedom, back to Gasing Hill

The hills are alive … with the sound of music …. Ok. Ok. I am exaggerating. But Gasing Hill has definitely been calling out to me for months now since my old buddies have temporary quit our weekly workout.

But yesterday, I was back at my beloved hill with a new trekking buddy in tow. And it was exhilarating. It beats any workout in the gym hands down. Here, we breathe in fresh air, not recycled ones. And I could actually feel my pores breathing again. : )

Like a child with an old beloved toy, we scrambled across the monkey bridge and started the short but steep ascent up the hill. We wasted precious seconds trudging and sliding through the muddy terrain. But reached the top we did in less than ten minutes. (We could have made it in less if the terra firma had been drier. Yup! That’s my “competitive spirit” speaking! So sue me! :p) From there on, the terrain flattened out before sloping downwards on a pretty steep descent. Luckily I had my trusty “Salomon” trekking boots and was quite nimble footed as I practically hopped, skipped and jumped my way downwards. My dear buddy was not as fortunate as he had on an old pair of sport shoes. He had to gingerly pick his way downwards; although it looked more like a slip and slide job. Hahaha ….

Up and down went the terrain. And on and on we went ~ sliding across some places, running freely across others, almost falling into a puddle of water at one instance but luckily my buddy managed to pull the brakes before he ran smack into me. It was truly exhilarating. I have not felt so free in a long while. Perhaps it is the outdoors unhampered by walls or air conditioning, or perhaps it’s the terrain that provides surprises along the trail every now and then. Or perhaps I am coming back to something old and familiar that is much loved. Whatever it is, I am a happy camper! It is a bonus that my new buddy could keep up with my pace and actually pressures me into pushing harder forward. We finished the trek in an hour; which was a much better timing than I did with any of my old buddies. And yes, my new buddy is “very” competitive! I can now look forward to exploring new trails and improving my timing on old ones.

My new buddy seems to have taken to the hills like a duck to water. In fact, he was raving about it the whole of last evening. Much as I loved Gasing Hill, I certainly hoped I have not created a monster in my new trekking buddy! :p

Gasing Hill ~ here’s to you and many more exhilarating weekly workouts!