To the Filipino hiker, Mt. Kinabalu isn't as hard the way conventional Filipino mountains are hard. Where Filipino mountains rely on natural trails (a root becomes a step, a branch, your foothold), Mt. Kinabalu is 80% stairs. This means the best way to train for Kota is not exactly to run hills, or to climb… Continue reading Kota: Tips and Tricks (and Stuff I Wish I’d Known)
Tag: mountaineering
Kota Kinabalu
It’s been more than a week since the Kota Kinabalu experience, otherwise known as that time I stuck with a booking I made one month into the semester because I was already tired of the academic workload. And really, every time I close my eyes, it’s still the chilly air I feel, and the gentle… Continue reading Kota Kinabalu
Of family
I write this sitting next to 3 other people poring over their journals, scribbling furiously to translate into writing the words playing around in their head, some resorting to doodles only they can understand: an attempt to remember things -- trips and falls, bumps and scratches, summits and jump offs. I write this slumped… Continue reading Of family
On Independence
Bakun is a relatively small poblacion in Benguet, and, like many of the towns in that part of the county, is quaint, quiet, and quite wonderful. (I like alliterations, so sue me.) --- On June 12-14, a group of acquaintances-turned-friends and I decided to climb three mountains dubbed as the Bakun Trio, famously called as… Continue reading On Independence
Birthday Realizations
It was 7:23 PM when it hit me. After months of getting horrified at the mere thought of being 21 (also known as becoming legal worldwide), I realized something. I'm actually not that scared. --- There were 13 of us in the jeep, 14 if you count the driver, and we've just climbed 3 mountains in… Continue reading Birthday Realizations
Let’s play with words (xxx)*
Imagine this: 12 young adults lugging packs 1/3 their weight, half-groggy; most of them rubbing their eyes from the sleep that's threatening to overtake them completely; all of them yearning for a sense of adventure that one does not normally come across with sitting behind tables or hiding behind textbooks. 12 strangers-turned-friends scurrying to find their seats… Continue reading Let’s play with words (xxx)*
Philippine Travels #8: Getting Lost and Getting There (and updates!)
My roommate and I have always been huge fans of never really making plans. One morning you'd see us just witnessing the sunrise from the nest we have made in the condo, and the next you'll just learn that we're already at the other side of the metro, a bus conductor wedged between us two… Continue reading Philippine Travels #8: Getting Lost and Getting There (and updates!)
Photo Log: Kalinga
I haven't posted these yet, and I keep reminding myself to but I always feel like I have something else to do once I'm seated and ready to type. But hey, better late than never! All photos are mine. Copyright 2014.
Philippine Travels # 5: Be cool, Bicol!
http://youtu.be/BKwllMRtXPQ Last June 7-8, the Loyola Mountaineers climbed Bulusan Mountain, one of the most active volcanoes in Luzon. Situated in Sorsogon in Bicol Province (and because of its volcanic nature), Bulusan is abundant with various flora and fauna (we saw, in no particular order, a couple snakes, bugs the size of birds, metallic blue… Continue reading Philippine Travels # 5: Be cool, Bicol!
Kids grow better outside.
Photo taken in Buscalan, Kalinga, while we were on the topload of the jeep en route to Bontoc, Kalinga on May 30, 2014. Blog post about the trip to be posted soon.
Of perpetual finds 