The Climb

I haven’t realized how much I missed nature.

Suffice to say, I have been mostly ignorant of Mother Nature due to the fact that we live in a concrete jungle nowadays.

It proved to be a refreshing wake-up call/eye-opener when I randomly agreed to my friends’ crazy plan to go hiking in the wee hours of the morning in order to capture the view of the sunrise.

Broga Hill was selected as the choice of destination due to its convenience and proximity. The bonus was that the difficulty level was rated as ‘relatively easy’ according to sources.

What was supposed to be ‘relatively easy’ turned out to be quite a handful!

The journey uphill was so tough! I could barely keep up with my ultra-fit, sports enthusiasts pack (pack, as in a pack of wolves) who kept encouraging the rest of us, couch potatoes/barely fit ‘indoor-lifestyle’ girls to keep moving.

Not trying to exaggerate, but with every step I take, the exhausting feeling intensified, my breathing turned heavy, you know you can no longer go further, yet you keep pushing on because you don’t want to be left behind and be branded as a loser. Well, my group of friends/acquaintances was pretty considerate actually and we took many short breaks to keep me alive.

Did I mention it was around 3 to 4 am at that moment? Yup, the lot of us were trudging around in complete darkness in the jungle, armed with torchlights to illuminate our way.

Contrary to popular belief, the pitch-black darkness does nothing at all to weaken my resolve! There is really nothing like being ‘scared of the dark’! All that fear is totally evoked by listening to crappy ghost stories or Hollywood horror movies! The only threat to worry about is the stamina/endurance challenge! You are only afraid that your body will fail you and refuse to listen to the commands of your brain to keep moving!

The long and arduous task uphill…

But when you reach the top... What a relief!

King of the world!

And conqueror of Broga Hill.

It dawned on me that this was just child’s play, for the seasoned hikers, Broga Hill serves as a good warm-up.

For me, it was definitely a challenge! But then, there are so many more challenging terrains out there waiting to be explored!

Wouldn’t it be a waste if we don't utilize the ‘power of youth’ right now?

Or else, it’ll be too late for you to climb Mount Kinabalu or Mount Everest before you know it!

After all, we only live once. There should be no holding back for us to live life to the max!

*Curiousplayfan is not yet into extreme sports for fear of coming out battered and bruised, but loves trying out recreational activities amidst relaxing natural surroundings.