Running Up That Hill (the Tow Hill Edition)

This is a road that is about a three-minute walk from our house. I used to catch the local CATA bus at the end of this road sometimes, back in the days when I worked, and was trying to save the world; and that had to happen every single day, no matter if it was pouring down rain or thundering and lightning or sleeting or snowing or icing!

But I don't work now, at least, not for pay. And the bus got eliminated, along with so many other things, around the start of the Covid era, or as I like to call it, "The Time of the Troubles." And so I only go up this road now for exercise, or for my own amusement. There is a parking lot at the top and an access gate for the Scotia Barrens, gameland 176, which is where we're often heading when we walk this way.

My husband often jogs here, and he has had some very odd experiences on this road. He's been threatened with arrest twice, and bitten pretty badly by a dog once, so I don't usually walk this road with him, because he has only bad stories to tell. Except for that one time that Prisk's little white doggie joined my husband on a several-mile jog before returning safely home. What a sweet little jog-dog. Ah, one happy memory for him!

As an innocent bystander to all that drama and trauma (and as someone who runs ONLY when chased by bears), I'd recommend you stick to the road, at least, for some of the people here are quite strange. That's the only advice I can give for how you run the gauntlet, and make it safely home: Stay on the road. Keep clear of the moors. Though there are no actual werewolves here. At least as far as WE know.

There is a gentle tilt upward to this road that makes for challenging jogging and bike riding UP it. It looks mild in this photo but I can tell you it's no joke. You will be panting before you're done with it, if you are traveling at any speed at all.

Oh, but when the tables are turned, and you get to come down it, as I sometimes do on my bike - with my hair flying in the wind and no brakes at all, and my heart soaring - I am free, oh, Lord, I AM FINALLY FREE!!!! It's magic on a bike, sailing down that hill.

But let's let our soundtrack song be about running UP it, just for authenticity's sake. And here's a marvelous song for that. Since it's heading into Halloween, I'll give you the spooky version. From Stranger Things, here's Kate Bush, with Running Up That Hill. No matter what happens, remember, in the end, only LOVE can save you!