Take a hike this new year with Catch 22
Published:Friday | December 31, 2021 | 12:07 AMKrysta Anderson/Staff Reporter
“I am going to hike 19 kilometres; let’s see if there’s anybody else crazy enough to come along.” This was the idea O’Dain Donegan transformed into an official initiative for the new year.
The free journey, dubbed ‘Catch 22: Not Your Typical New Year’s Hike’, was conceptualised as a health and fitness resolution to kick-start the upcoming year. “Every new year, individuals set fitness, workout and weight-loss goals. I really wanted people to switch gears from the festivities of the holidays to starting the first day of the new year on a refreshing note,” he explained.
Since his first staging in 2019, the creator was overwhelmed by the love and support from others who were happy to join in on the ‘fitivities’. For this year’s event, the hike will begin at Gordon Town and move to Red Light District in the hills of St Andrew and RafJam Bed and Breakfast. “I am familiar with the route. It is very scenic, with two waterfalls along the route and one at the destination. The waterfalls will serve as the stop points, but based on the fitness levels, we will have as many stops as needed to get everyone to the destination,” he said.
Shying away from the usual mileage and kilometres to match the new year, he re-imagined his vision to present Catch 22, a system implemented to allow participants to gain a total of 22 points at the finish line through active missions. “These challenges range from fun fitness-affiliated elements like walking up Savage Pen Road, a one-mile stretch of steep hills, [which is] worth five points, to the photographers’ challenge, where patrons share their best landscape photo taken during the hike, [and is] worth two points,” he added.
Interested persons will love the fact that they rose from their slumber early on the first day of 2022 to the scent of clean, crisp air and the feel of steep hills and rugged terrain under their feet. “The aim is to get people out and active while being in nature. So I feel like I am just helping to facilitate the start of some sort of momentum for persons who want to get out and get some exercise,” he revealed.