I just loved this email I got from an enthusiastic skipper named Gail. It does a great job of capturing the pure joy and natural high that skipping creates. Get out there and try it for yourself. Skip on Gail!

Hi Kim! I kinda discovvered skipping by accident. I am 48, and an avid hiker. I try to hike local peaks here in San Luis Obispo County, California several times a week. When I hike I am listenig to my iPod with all kinds of great tunes. After reaching the top and taking in views, I start down the trail. All that is normal, but one day, a really great song came on and I started to sort of dance down the trail and fell naturally into a skip.

The feeling was elation; when the trail is steep or rocky, I take short sideways tiny skips...kinda like skiing. And when the trail is flatter, (and maybe it snakes through shrubbery) I skip really big and fast. And the amazing thing is, it really cracks me up! I laugh out loud because it is so much fun! And I love to hold my arms out and flap them like a bird.... and I love to catch "air" ......and I love to bounce off the sides of the trail if it is slanted on one side.....and I love to leap off of rocks.

I simply smile if I pass people who stare... or maybe they see me laugh...I don't care...I 'll bet some folks wonder what drug I've taken! But it has made my hiking experience immensely richer and delightful; I crave the experience and look forward to it. And it is fantastic exercise. When I get to the bottom of the trail, I am drenched in sweat and riding high on endorphins from exercise plus laughter. Had to tell you. -Gail