23 months old - Hiking up Bukit Gasing

Meera and Adhi invited us to join them on a hike up Bukit Gasing. My last hike was on a smooth path up the Bukit Timah hill in Spore. The track up Buikit Gasing was a forest mud track, not the smooth pavement I was expecting. At first I was a bit apprehensive because I wasn't sure if Sean could do it, but I had my Ergo sling with me, so if he couldn't do it, I thought I'll just sling him.

But children surprise you all the time. Sean had no fear and readily climbed the muddy steps up the hill. I held his hands, of course. He would rather not me hold him at all because Adhi could already walk the trail by himself. But Adhi is slightly older at 2 1/2 years old, and he had hiked up the hill several times, while Sean's mummy is a worry wart. =P

There were many people hiking up and down the hill. A few were training to go up Mt. Kinabalu. Quite a lot of people were walking their dogs. There was a group of girls with their 5 very well behave dogs. There were also several large groups of Health Science students doing first aid training, as well as several families having their regular Saturday family hike. We also met a group of very fit looking older people who were carrying what looked like ski sticks. Their fitness put me to shame. =P

Sean walked up most of the hill himself (while holding my hands), with me carrying him here and there when the steps were too steep or difficult for his short legs.

When we reached the top of the hill, the boys enjoyed themselves playing with sticks and stirring up dead leaves. Sean was so enthusiastic hitting around with his stick that he didn't want to leave. We saw spider webs, a tiny caterpillar climbing up an invisible line, a yellow ladybug with web-like patterns on its wings.

Going down was slightly harder because some of the steps were rather steep for Sean, so I carried him in the sling until we reached a smoother path. He was rather tired too and didn't mind a break from the hike. But after a short rest in the sling, he was ready to walk again. He really enjoyed his nature walk. =D

Here are photos of Meera and Adhi, and myself and Sean. You can see how pink my cheeks look after the hike up the hill. It felt really good to have a cold shower when we arrived home. =D