Reaping the rewards
"Sedikit-sedikit lama lama jadi bukit" = Little by little it grows into a mountain (rough translation)
I like Malay proverbs or what we call peribahasa. When I was a student, I had to memorise them and impressed the teachers by using appropriate peribahasa in my essays. As a results, years later I still remember some of them even though I don't speak the language as often as I used to. I've digressed. This post is not about peribahasa per se but how small efforts can lead to large rewards.
I have never been athletic. It is something that I regret and now I am trying to change. Over the past weekend at Yosemite I surprised myself with my own performance. All in all i did 5 hikes which covered about 22.5 KM in 2 days. Definitely an achievement in my book and I am very pleased with myself :) Even though Stvn and I do enjoy hiking and we've done a few since we relocated here we've always stuck to "easy" hikes, which were under 2 hours. As such, i was never confident if I could push myself beyond that.
This trip to Yosemite, we had a friend with us and he is pretty hard core. He goes hiking by himself weekly and apparently when he was back in Singapore he had covered most of the hiking trails there. He planned the itinerary for the weekend and informed us that we were going to do 2 fairly difficult and long hikes. I was a little nervous but I told myself that I would just do my best. My confidence was also bolstered as a result of all the walks I did in NYC. Surely it must count to something, i told myself. True enough it did! I also realize that all the easy walks that I have done over the past year have also contributed to my improved stamina. Yay! This is definitely a great motivation for me to keep going.
This is for my own record - hikes that we did:
1. Bridalveil Fall (0.8 KM easy hike). We saw the most intense and spectacular rainbows here. Amazing.
2. Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoia (8.9 KM moderate hike). The road was still closed so we had to walk 6.4 KM (round trip) just to get to the start of Grizzly Giant trail.
3. Lower Yosemite Fall (1.6 KM easy hike). Finally saw how gorgeous it is! It was dry when we visited last August.
4. Hetch Hetchy Lookout Point. (3.2 KM easy hike)
5. Wapama Falls (8 KM moderate hike - challenging terrain)
What made the hikes easier was really the scenery. It is so amazing and peaceful out there and I love the hike to Wapama Falls the most. The weather was not on our side that day and it drizzled on and off. It was difficult and when we finally arrived at the falls we were rewarded with such incredible sights that all aches and pain were forgotten, at least for that moment. There weren't many people as well and I felt totally at peace with nature. The sound of nature - the wind, the falls, the leaves, the birds - was so delicious. Love it!
Having shown that I can manage the hikes, Stvn and decided that we shall do this more frequently. Definitely a great and inexpensive way to spend our time. We are truly blessed in the Bay Area because we spoilt for choice since there are so many gorgeous places we can check out.
Taking a break. Don't you love the gorgeous scenery?
P.S. More pictures to come, I promise. This is only a preview :)
I like Malay proverbs or what we call peribahasa. When I was a student, I had to memorise them and impressed the teachers by using appropriate peribahasa in my essays. As a results, years later I still remember some of them even though I don't speak the language as often as I used to. I've digressed. This post is not about peribahasa per se but how small efforts can lead to large rewards.
I have never been athletic. It is something that I regret and now I am trying to change. Over the past weekend at Yosemite I surprised myself with my own performance. All in all i did 5 hikes which covered about 22.5 KM in 2 days. Definitely an achievement in my book and I am very pleased with myself :) Even though Stvn and I do enjoy hiking and we've done a few since we relocated here we've always stuck to "easy" hikes, which were under 2 hours. As such, i was never confident if I could push myself beyond that.
This trip to Yosemite, we had a friend with us and he is pretty hard core. He goes hiking by himself weekly and apparently when he was back in Singapore he had covered most of the hiking trails there. He planned the itinerary for the weekend and informed us that we were going to do 2 fairly difficult and long hikes. I was a little nervous but I told myself that I would just do my best. My confidence was also bolstered as a result of all the walks I did in NYC. Surely it must count to something, i told myself. True enough it did! I also realize that all the easy walks that I have done over the past year have also contributed to my improved stamina. Yay! This is definitely a great motivation for me to keep going.
This is for my own record - hikes that we did:
1. Bridalveil Fall (0.8 KM easy hike). We saw the most intense and spectacular rainbows here. Amazing.
2. Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoia (8.9 KM moderate hike). The road was still closed so we had to walk 6.4 KM (round trip) just to get to the start of Grizzly Giant trail.
3. Lower Yosemite Fall (1.6 KM easy hike). Finally saw how gorgeous it is! It was dry when we visited last August.
4. Hetch Hetchy Lookout Point. (3.2 KM easy hike)
5. Wapama Falls (8 KM moderate hike - challenging terrain)
What made the hikes easier was really the scenery. It is so amazing and peaceful out there and I love the hike to Wapama Falls the most. The weather was not on our side that day and it drizzled on and off. It was difficult and when we finally arrived at the falls we were rewarded with such incredible sights that all aches and pain were forgotten, at least for that moment. There weren't many people as well and I felt totally at peace with nature. The sound of nature - the wind, the falls, the leaves, the birds - was so delicious. Love it!
Having shown that I can manage the hikes, Stvn and decided that we shall do this more frequently. Definitely a great and inexpensive way to spend our time. We are truly blessed in the Bay Area because we spoilt for choice since there are so many gorgeous places we can check out.
Taking a break. Don't you love the gorgeous scenery?
P.S. More pictures to come, I promise. This is only a preview :)