hiking

The past few mornings I�ve gotten up between 4:30 and 5:30 with the intention of hiking the small mountain near my apartment. Well actually, I�ve gone to bed with the intention but 50% of the time it is no longer with me when I wake up.

3 times this past week, I�ve succeeded in making it out the door of my apartment and up the mountain and back before going to work. The hiking course is virtually the perfect exercise for me. It allows me to be productive during what is usually the most unproductive�but coolest�part of the day.

Currently, it becomes light out between 4 and 4:30. Going up, the course amounts to little more than 45 intense minutes on a stair-climber [note that I have never actually been on a stair-climber because I think they make people look really stupid]. Coming down, the course is quite jolting, but it is also quicker.

I first hiked the course in March. The first hike was nothing short of a spiritual experience for me [not in the religious sense of the word of course]. The air was fresh, the colors were vivid, and the sounds were of birds and insects I�d never heard before. Every step I took introduced me to new territory. It was fascinating. I was so enthralled by that first hike, that I thought that there was no way it would ever bore me.

I was wrong. The last time I hiked it, I was a little bored. And I assume that I�ll probably have less and less interest each time following. The prospect makes me rather sad. It�s hard to find such convenient and stimulating ways to stay healthy.

Maybe I wasn�t actually bored, but just severely preoccupied?

Preoccupied or otherwise, the fear of boredom has me brainstorming for ways in which I can make the hike more interesting. Unfortunately, no ideas have come to me.

I already time myself. But I�ve found that I�m not much in the mood for competition at 5:30 in the morning.

So�anyone have any ideas?