Tag: hiking
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An epic dayhike
At 2,058 MASL, the mighty Guiting-Guiting may not be the highest I have summitted but it is by far the longest I have ever traversed in a “day”. Usually a 2- to 3-day itinerary (on the climb alone), we opted to do a dayhike as a challenge to ourselves and since primarily, as a prolific…
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Above the clouds
This was where all the madness started. I fell in love with the mountains. And they loved me back. Mt. Pulag stands at 2,922 MASL and is the highest peak in Luzon. Known for its picturesque cloud formations when atop the summit (dubbed as the “sea of clouds”) and for temperatures dropping to minus 0…
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Traversing 21 mountains
I now understand why some mountaineers keep coming back. As with most Benguet mountains, the scenery going to and from Ugo is picturesque. Rolling pine tree-covered ridges, chilly temperatures, long yet slightly ascending and descending paths complete the breathtaking landscape. The tiring traverse is capped by a crossing of the 90.7-metre hanging bridge of Sitio…
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Damas traverse
I will give it to you straight. Steep. Yes she had fabulous views at the peak, refreshing river crossings and the thundering drop of Ubod Falls, but, what stuck to me about Damas is her killer ascents and knee-busting descents. The guides may insist the slopes are gradual, but they are not. With the jumpoff…
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King of the country’s mountains
So there we were, at the peak, shivering from head to foot in the cold mountain air and rainfall. Ah, Mt. Apo – indeed the grandfather of all Philippine mountains (2,956 MASL) . Halfway into conquering him, we have already had our fair share of shifting landscapes and contrasting trail types. As nighttime bade hello,…
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Tarak and its windy ridge
My first climb for the year took me to one of Bataan’s highest points. Tarak left me with two things. First, like a wordplay, I now understand how it got its name. The initial portion of the climb involves the usual wide trails through grasslands and flatlands. Three hours into this type of trek, you…
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Arayat: the case of the missing trail
And I thought guides are supposed to know and lead the way. Up until this climb. An ambitious dayhike traverse from the Magalang to Arayat trails ended on a rather mischievous note as we learned from the lead pack that our juvenile brothers from Brgy. Ayala on the Magalang side seemed to have lost the…
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Kalisungan is not a walk in the park
Expecting a quick dayhike ala the likes of Daguldol and (as I was told) Gulugod-Baboy, imagine my surprise as I squished and squashed my way through sloping trails of mud and horse dung. Fruit flies hovered over dead banana trunks and coconut husks scattered along the way. Mosquitoes were abuzz at 3/4 of the trail.…
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Scaling the parrot’s beak
Pico de Loro Towering over seas of greens and blues, scaling Pico de Loro is the highlight of a climb to Mt. Palay Palay. The monolith stands imposing and dramatic amidst the plains of Cavite and the waters of South China Sea. They say conquering the parrot’s beak takes skill and experience. It may not…
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Natib’s insurgent leeches
View from Mt. Natib Yes. Leeches. Limatiks. They have declared war on us. As if I have not had my fill and fair share of the infamous mountain bloodsuckers of Makiling, I found myself saying yes to another climb involving such a major-major concern. This climb is popular not only for its leeches,…
Always Wandering 