Castle Hill is the iconic mountain hanging over the entire city. Naturally everyone in the town climbs up it to witness the breathtaking views and getting some good exercise too. There is actually a road that winds all the way up the hill. Which is the only way I’ve gone up the hill before. But there’s countless trails to get to the top that runners and bikers have made over the decades. Most infamous is the Goat Track. Candice, Kate and I decided to trek up it this week. We parked at the carpark at the bottom and started the hike up. The first area was a set of maybe 30 rocks built into steep stairs. OMG we were so tired after just that. All three of us were heaving as we continued on. Nearly the ENTIRE track is stairs. And not nice paved ones, steep rocks that stretch your knees out with every step. We mostly kept moving forward, trying not to stop for fear of wanting to give up, or worse, throwing up. 😐 But only about 30 minutes or so later, we had made it all the way to the top!! We had gone in the late arvo, so the sun was setting behind the hills as we got to the top painting the sky with the most beautiful shades of purples. We walked around to all the different viewpoints around the top (to take pictures and to catch our breath). We then walked down the road all the way back to the car. The walk down took about an hour I think. Overall not too bad, but it sure felt like hell while on the Goat Track. The views were so spectacular I almost the aching in my legs.
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