Musings of a human trapped in the Philippines
Sunday
April 23, 2017
Tarak ridge is one of my all time favorite mountains to hike because of its simplicity. It’s what others say is the gateway mountain to major climbs with its 4/9 difficulty; not too hard, but still has enough of a challenge. So when I got news of a new trail connecting Mt. Cuyapo to Tarak ridge, I looked for an available slot right away.
Sunday
March 5, 2017
If there’s one mountain aside from the knife-edge trilogy that has intimidated me with its reputation, it has to be Mt. Balingkilat. Reading online blogs about this particular mountain has given me some doubt on my ability to climb it. From dry infernos in the summer to raging river crossings in the rainy season, the reputation of this mountain is noteworthy. So when I was invited to do a Cawag hexalogy that included this mountain, I gladly accepted to see what the fuss was all about.
Sunday
February 19, 2017
Mt. Ugo marathon is the first leg of the KOTM series, the country’s most well known trailrunning series. This opener is 42 kilometers of established paths from Kayapa to the summit of Mt. Ugo and then back again. It was my first time to run this event and I was genuinely excited and scared.
Saturday to Sunday
February 11-12, 2017
Sicapoo: not a mountain I was expecting to climb but it turned out to be my first 9/9 adventure. I guess when the mountain demands to be climbed, you just have to answer the call.
Sunday
January 15, 2017
Conquer T25 will always be a special run for me. Not only does it bring runners through the trails of the beautiful Tarak Ridge, it’s also the anniversary of my first trail run. So this was actually the run that started it all for my trailrunning days.
Saturday
December 17, 2016
It’s a bit late, but I just have to share my year-ending trail race experience. Once again, I return to Wawa in Montalban, this time to run for Team Marupok’s Monte Alba event.
Wednesday
November 30, 2016
After passing by the sleeping giant of the north so many times, I was finally able to climb the awesome mountain of Arayat. When I started to hike, I promised to climb it one day, and after a small amount of time (years) I was finally able to deliver on that promise.
Saturday to Sunday
November 19-20, 2016
One of the most curious peaks I’ve wanted to hike is the historical trail of Tirad pass. Every Filipino student knows of this place because it’s the location of the local version of the battle of Thermopylae. Here in the narrow trails of Ilocos Sur, the young General Gregorio del Pilar and a handful of men fended off hundreds of American soldiers in order for Emilio Aguinaldo to escape american hands. It was a delight to walk where true heroes died for our country, and here I will share the experience.
