For the longest time, we have been talking
about walking from our Bukit Batok home to MacRitchie Reservoir. It was all
talk for at least 10 years or maybe more, if the timer starts from the time we
even thought about it.
We may live within walking distance to many
trail heads, but we mostly ignored the call of the wild because weekend sleep
is a precious commodity. That is, until the good doctor told me that I am in
dire need of exercise.
I have been walking parts of the Green
Corridor off Rail Mall and making countless ‘summits’ to Bukit Timah Hill. The walks quickly
gathered steam to 10km walks and our forays went from our backyard to the
central catchment area.
Recently, I did a solo 10km walk from Venus
Rd to McRitchie . I raved about it until Pat felt compelled to join in the league. Soon enough, he
became my weekend walking partner. It must have brought back a bit of army days
to him.
These walks paid dividends handsomely. We
are now fitter and trimmer.
This morning had an ominous start with
overcast sky. Despite a sudden shower , we were not deterred. We made our way
to Hindede Rd and found that half the population around the area has descended upon Bukit Timah Hill. The Kampong trail starts from the Monkey business placards. Among ruins, we traipsed along the disused road before coming to a crossroad of
sorts. Upon the sign post that points to
MacRitchie Reservoir, we did a right and
continued the dirt track until it hits Rifle Range Rd.
We made a left on the uphill Rifle Range Rd
that was devoid of cars since it was a holiday. It was about 9am and walkers
from MacRitchie were already at their tail end of their walk, soaked in rain
and sweat.
Rifle Range Rd extended over the BKE and at
long last terminated before ST Kinetics. There was no guessing where the dirt
trail towards the reservoir was; scores were emerging from a sign posted track
at our right.
We took the obligatory selfie to prove our
accomplishment and hit the dirt track again. After a long walk on a proper
road, it was tedious stepping on gravel and stone embedded in red clay. My
$10 walking pole bore my weight reliably as it provided relief for my right
knee.
We passed countless water tanks and made
slow progress because of the terrain. Youthful runners zipped past us
both ways making a mockery of my slow progress.
At the Sime track, we headed towards the
Treetop walk. The treetop trail is a one way trail so we gave it a miss and
used the bypass to head to Venus Drive. We couldn’t bash our way to the treetop walk even if we wanted to –
scores of walking folks of all scribes were pouring out from the treetop trail
making a celebration of the place.
At the 2.5 hour mark, we chanced upon Pat’s
colleague Ivan and his wife ,Conney, at the Venus Dr carpark. We chatted a bit
and then it was down to Thomson Plaza
for an early lunch.
Would I do it again? Definitely yes! The
route is varied with a bit of urban and rural. The vibe from the other walkers
were infectious. The weather was cool, overcast with occasional glimpses
of sun but not too much. If there is anything to improve, it would be to get
another pair of hiking boots, thicker sole this time to take the strain from
the stone and gravel.
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