walk to Mt Coot-tha

Friday was a beautiful, sunny, and not humid day. I decide to take a walk up to the top of Mt Coot-tha. There's a trailhead just up the road from our house. (Emphasis on UP.) So off I go at about a quarter to noon. By this time it's quite warm, even without the humidity. It's not too taxing a walk over the first half or so of the 1450 metres. I start to wish I was more of a morning person, because then I could get up early and do this walk before breakfast and, more importantly, before it gets hot. No problem! I could do this! Then I notice the trail starts to incline more severely upwards. Still no problem; have a hiking pole with me. Slog along, but now it gets even steeper...
Some considerate person has arranged the trail so that about every 10-15 metres, it flattens out a bit, so I stop, catch my breath, look back at what I've just climbed, and look ahead to --- oh geez, how the hell am I going to get up this next bit?? Climb, stop, breathe, look around, repeat.
On I climb, ever so slowly. All thoughts of daily morning ascents are now entirely gone from my head. I start to hear children's voices. This is good because it means I'm nearly at the top. I stop one last time to see where I've been and realize that NO WAY am I going to hike back down this hill, by myself, with these knees. After a brief stop at the summit to document my climb (see photo of sign with hiking pole leaning against it) and admire the view, it's the long way home for me: down the access road, past the botanic gardens, over the new pedestrian bridge, and along the bike path until I have to leave it and take surface streets. A short hike ends as a 2 1/2 hour trek, and I decide I can blow off an afternoon run around the reservoir.