musings from michelle: green power completed

I did my first official fund-raising hike yesterday -- the Green Power 50 km! The hike follows the HK trail around and over the mountains of HK island -- starting at the Peak (which still seems a little like cheating to me...) and ending at Big Wave Bay. I'd only hiked part of the trail before, and that was years ago, so most of the sights were new to me... so I decided to bring my camera!

We arrived at the Peak at around 7:00 am and had a 7:30 start.

The starting line up ahead.

Dave and Cindy before the start. Dave hiked with my dad and I, but Cindy ran off ahead, and ended up coming second in the Master Women's category! Go Cindy!

Dad and I at the starting line.

Before the start with Cindy.

And the rest of these photos are pretty random... shots that I took quite haphazardly whenever I got a chance to take out my camera.

I really would've enjoyed riding a horse for at least part of the time, but alas, they were not allowed on this trail. This sign (and the others like it) seemed a bit strange... but their presence makes me think that horseback riding is permitted on some HK island trails. Who would have thought?

Lamma island in the distance.

Aberdeen and Ap Lei Chau.

The Daves on the trail. I took this right after dropping my camera -- thankfully it bounced on a patch of grass (absorbing some of the shock) before landing on the stone steps. It decided to take a break for a while afterwards though, which is why I have no pictures of the quarry and Mt. Butler -- the parts of the hike that I found most challenging.

I'd all but given up on taking more photos, but when I got to the top of Dragon's Back (the final 8 km or so) and took in the view, I decided to try my camera one more time -- and it worked!! It was such a beautiful day, and Shek O beach down below was just gorgeous.

And there were people para-gliding -- what I would have given to trade places with one of them! But I had to finish what I'd started. Still, I'd definitely like to try this sometime!

And finally, the hike ended down at Big Wave Bay.

Dave borrowed my camera to take a picture of the winner's board and Cindy's Master Female 2nd place time. The funny thing is, looking at this picture just now, I noticed that my friend Kevin came third for the men! I got a message from him on Facebook telling me that he'd done the hike, but he failed to mention his placing and super-fast time. Congratulations Kevin! And kudos on the modesty! :)