THE MOUNTAINEER, THE TRAIL RUNNER, AND THE ELEPHANT

As a man was passing by a group of elephants, he noticed that one of the elephants was leashed to a small stake on the ground using a flimsy rope tied around one of its legs. Surprisingly, however, it wouldn't attempt to break away even though it could pull out the stake with just a budge of its huge legs. Filled with wonder, he asked the trainer why it was so. The trainer told him that, when those elephants were younger, they were restrained using the same set-up. A few times  they tried to get away but they were still too young and too weak to break the leash. And they grew up conditioned to believe that they could not break loose.

Top Ten and one Hiking Stuff I No Longer Include on my Top Ten Hiking Stuff List

1. Bag Tags

Our climb ID during the first Lagataw Invitational Climb

I used to think climb bag tags were cool. We called them 'climb ID' . They were considered a validation for one’s being a ‘mountaineer’. I had two—one during my first Mt Pulag Climb in 2006 and another from the Mt Pulag invitational climb I organized in 2011. But these days, I see them as an indicator for hikers who have not outgrown their newbie fervor. I wonder if the likes of Romi Garduce still rave about bag tags. But bag tags are not solely for pormahan. They serve other meaningful purposes for others.

The Lagataw Difference

Some of the destinations we take our friends to. (photo by Josh Pasia)

When I was kid I was the only child in the family who had roamed beyond the two-block radius around our home before reaching the age of six. In fourth grade, while everyone was using saw dust to show creativity in our map project, I used crushed egg shells for my map of Leyte. I have always had this thirst for uniqueness and discovery; to do what others do differently. And I’ve taken this principle even in my treks. Here are some of the things that make Lagataw treks different.

Tacadang Circuit: A Journey to your Soul

The rice terraces of Les-eng hemmed in by the plateau of Batangan and nourished by Talaktak Falls.

We first shared this route to some friends in August 2015. The objective was to offer a select number of outdoors people not just a journey through the hidden trails of Kibungan but also a journey to oneself. The route we take is unknown to mainstream hikers. Two years has passed after the first group did the Tacadang Circuit, and still you won't meet other hikers on the trail at least during the first two days. Mainstream hikers are often too busy sitio-bagging at Kibungan Cross Country. This route is dotted with mesmerizing views that make every trekker linger which, much to the organizer's distress, consequently delays the desired camp site ETA. 

Why I No Longer Take Part in Outreach Projects

 

There's a reason why I wouldn't give this Igorot guy a pair of slippers

I am not some big corporate guy. You probably make more money than I do. But I find a way to help others financially, not that I feel I have a moral or divine obligation to do so. I just feel that it's the right thing to do, but most importantly, because I am a product of philanthropy myself. I was on scholarship from high school 'till college. And this example of my benefactors helped me see the universe as a product of meaningful accidents or fate and fortune. It was an accident that I was born a Filipino citizen that's why I was not eligible for a working holiday visa when I was 25 and wanted to pick apples in Australia for a living and a holiday. Some Yoshihiro could do that because he was, by fate, born in Japan. And he could earn 3 months' worth of my salary, (just working at 7-Eleven in one month) because he was accidentally living in that society. But we can't just whine about our fate and envy others' fortune. We can choose to emancipate ourselves from this bondage of fate, and eventually make our own destiny. The inspiring story of Apo Elmer, whose dream to ride an airplane was realized all because he did what he was born to do--farming--and firmly believed in that dream, is a good example of making one’s own destiny.

Josiah Ballagan has a similar story. He was just doing what he was born to do--run--when I met him at their home on the foothills of Mt Tabayoc in Benguet. I saw his great potential as an athlete so I registered him in The North Face 100 (50K, CamSur) in 2011 where he finished 4th. It was his first trail race. It was 50km and he was still barely 17 then. In 2012, he finished second in The North Face 100 Baguio (50K). That same year, with the help of the Philippine Skyrunning Association and the benevolent Nestor Fongwan, the then governor of Benguet, I sent him to the Mt Kinabalu International Climbathon in Malaysia where he finished just 37 minutes behind the world champion Kilian Jornet. His outstanding performance in that international race prompted the governor to give him a full scholarship at Benguet State University. Four years after that run, he earned a college degree and now he has a job.

I prefer this idea of effecting a change—where you focus on an individual instead of a big community. I am not a fan of one-time-big-time outreach programs. Sometimes, the proud selfies of the donors last longer that the slippers they donate. Like I said, I am not some big organization. I can only effect a very little change in this world. I cannot help a whole community in a long term case. But with the help other little hands and small pockets, I can help create a lasting change in an individual.

And this year, we've seen two individuals brimming with talent—the elite runners from Antique, John Ray Onifa and Rene John Ello. However, little hands and little pockets can only afford to help one individual so we've chosen Onifa. We saw his running caliber when he breezed through the 21K race in Tracing Iraynon-Bukidnon Trails in Antique. Through the help of some individuals and organizations (who I really want to mention here but whose preference for anonymity we need to respect), the proceeds of the lagataw shirt was able to support Onifa in two of his trail races in Luzon—the Salomon Xtrail 32K and Soleus Cross-Country Challenge 12K- where he emerged champion (in both events).

Seeing the talent of this promising athlete, the office of the governor of Antique, Rhodora Cadiao (coincidentally a party-mate of former governor Fongwan of Benguet) through the Provincial Youth Development Office headed by Rexon Nodque, gave Onifa a job and a scholarship grant. Onifa couldn't contain his joy when he heard this news. He couldn't believe that great things could come just by being the best that you can be—whatever you are: a farmer, a fisherman or a runner. After TIBT, he has added more trophies and titles to his already large collection, the most recent of which is the Milo Marathon qualifier in Iloilo. But we want to extend this feat overseas. We're sending him to The North Face 100 Thailand in February 2018. And we need more small hands and pockets.

In this world of meaningful accidents and fate, you can choose between two things—you can be one who firmly believes in your dream and tries to be the best of who you can be, or you can choose to be the wind beneath that believer's wings.

Join me in sending Onifa to the finish line in The North Face 100 Thailand 2018.

dri-fit; neon green

Get a piece of this limited edition shirt. When you wear this shirt, it may not remind you of a mountain that you have conquered or a monument that you have visited. But let this shirt remind you that you have helped in creating a lasting change in this world.

Even the flutter of a butterfly’s wings can create a hurricane halfway across the Earth.

For details, visit our page on Facebook.

A Weekend with Asao Shimura

his first time to guide someone in the rain

After a two-hour ride from La Trinidad I finally arrive in Sitio Poking. It is a little hamlet of around a hundred houses that seem to be racing upwards on the slopes of a ridge that overlooks the sprawling undulating terrain of rice paddies liberally sprinkled with bamboo groves and clusters of subtropical trees. In one of these houses lives the family of Asao Shimura, a paper artist from Japan who decided to trade the convenience and exuberance of Tokyo with the humdrum and isolation of Kapangan.

Life's a Decision

exactly 2 years ago

Exactly two years ago, I started my ultimate journey. I had just finished working at a construction site in La Trinidad and I had just secured a letter of introduction from the office of the governor. And here's what I had to write on my journal*.

I leave La Trinidad for Tublay today. I feel apprehensive and hesitant. Perhaps because LT has become my comfort zone. I feel secure, comfortable, and certain here. But perhaps I'm just feeling the way everybody else would. Only, I'm more open to changes. I don't resist change as much as ordinary people do. This is nothing new to me. I've felt this when I decided to quit my job in 2011 to try farming in my hometown (but my boss called me up again after a few weeks and gave me an irresistible offer so...). It was repeated when I quit the same job in 2014 to try the BPO industry; and once again when I left that industry after 3 months to embark on this journey. 

Don't Sit like a Frog; Sit like a King

Day 1

After nearly nine hours on the trail, we finally arrive in Les-eng. One is tired and can’t wait to just lie down and recover some sleep lost to driving from Bulacan to Baguio. The other just wants to wash up maybe for lack of anything else to do. I, on the other hand, am just anxious that the only store in the village won’t open tonight.

Before Sunrise

She rises and walks to the edge. She steals a glance back. Less lewd than a Wink but effective enough to beckon Him to follow.

The conversation transitioned from dried fish to coconut oil to hemorrhoids to the President.

The question was simple, finite. Yes or No? He answers the Invitation

Its oddness made its simplicity profound. Profound and Criminal.

Every smile with an invitation to kiss, a taboo; every kiss an abomination; the remainder, unspeakable.

And when darkness swallowed the silence, their sweat challenged the humidity of the tent.

On her mouth a hand, tasked to suppress a sound—born a moan, escapes a whimper.

The rhythm, carefully controlled—slow, intimate, impatient.

And With a consummating clench, they surrendered to the Explosion!

And it was a good morning.

The CLIMB

THE TRAIL

The beginning,

The mud; stubborn, taunting

The wind; unrelenting, whimsical, impulsive, destructive

The blade of grass; sinister, cunning—Where did you come from?

The heat; piercing, punishment personified 

The rain; unpredictable, foreboding, calm, turbulent, mild, strong

The end; jubilation!

THE SUMMIT

BRIDGES

where the Agno River feeds the Ambuklao Reservoir

In life you'll be crossing different waters.
Some are turbulent and some are deep.
But there will always be a bridge for you to get across.

But sometimes the water's too deep that part of the bridge gets submerged.
But that's fine, you just have to get your feet wet and you'll get to the other side.

I Found God in the Mountains

I have been baptized by the Holy Spirit

My grandfather spent seven years in the seminary; my father, four. In my case, I tried seminary life for a week but I got my admission letter from UP so I had to say goodbye to priesthood. Studying Applied Physics for 3 years, I was drawn away from my Christian faith. I got farther away when I took Philosophy courses for two years. But my search for the Divine and the meaning of life went on. I attended different religious communities including Jehovah's Witnesses, Iglesia Ni Cristo, and Victory Christian Fellowship. I even paid a visit to The Theosophical Society in the Philippines in Quezon City where I got Blavatsky's The Secret Doctrine (of Esoteric Buddhism). But none of them seemed to satisfy my thirst for knowledge of the Divine more than my professors in Metaphysics, Medieval Philosophy, and Philosophy of Religion. So for the longest time, I lived the life of a believer in the unfathomable Divine and the mysteries of the mountains but not of a believer of a God that can actually relate to us.

Then I trekked Benguet for ninety days from May to August in 2015 and there, I found God!

THE TOUGHEST OBSTACLE

At the outset of my journey, in Tublay (the second town in my 13-town journey), I was faced with a challenge that would make many travelers give up their quest. "O, pinaalis ka na nga sa bahay, nandito ka na naman?!" was the barangay captain's greeting when I logged in at the barangay hall after I made a courtesy call at his house where only his wife gave me audience. I can't blame him for thinking I had come with an evil agenda. After all, why would a man travel to Brgy Ambongdolan when no one even knows Tublay, or Benguet for that matter? Why would one go there and not visit the DOT-developed caves of Ambongdolan? I was a fool to believe that the barangay captain could grasp the idea of traveling beyond tourism. But no one can blame me for having a burning distaste for that barangay captain's attitude and for resolving to just end my journey and write about how badly I was treated, and make sure that no one ever goes to Ambongdolan. But fortunately, I gave Benguet the benefit of the doubt. So I went on. In the heat of the noon sun I climbed a steep mountain pass just so I could get myself out of that cursed place. Then I reached Barangay Gaswiling in Kapangan (the third town). But just like Tublay, Kapangan is also a town inhabited by Ibalois--a people I found to be fond of wordplay. They'd answer your question with another question. The Ibalois would strike many travelers as the most skeptical of all peoples. But I learned later on that that's just the way they are--unwelcoming, but once you've earned their trust, they are the most hospitable and accommodating of all! So in Barangay Gaswiling, I was again  swallowed in an immense sea of doubt and distrust. All, except one family, believed I had come with an evil plan. Only Oliver Valdez's family saw me as a weary traveler in need of a place to rest. In the evening, the tanods and some barangay officials put me on the hot seat. Oliver was continually trying to pacify the distressed barangay officials, most of whom were his relatives. But when you've got nothing to hide, all you need to do is tell the truth and all will be well.

And so I thought the 'pagpupulong' was over. More tanods and kagawads came to where I was being housed earlier than I had woken up the following morning. 

In the evening before we went to sleep, I asked Oliver "Why do you trust me? What if the village people are right?! What if you wake up tomorrow and I'm gone with the heads of your two kids?" And his answer was the most meaningful homily I had heard in my life! "Life is a decision, my friend" he started. "I have already decided to take you in. And now I am to decide whether to trust you or doubt you. And I am to consider two possibilities of who you are--you could be the phantom that all my neighbors fear or you could be just the weary traveler that I believe you are. If I choose to trust you, I win in your two possible personas. If I choose to be skeptical about you, I lose in both. If I doubted you and you were indeed a bad guy, that wouldn't change anything. You would still be a bad guy and I would be a bad host. I wouldn't be able to sleep in peace and I would be constantly admonishing myself for sheltering you in the first place. I lose in this scenario. If I doubted you and you were a good man, you'd definitely feel my uneasiness and you would leave this place with animosity towards me and a bad memory my home. I lose again. If, on the other hand, I trusted you and you were a bad guy, my goodwill might sway you from executing your evil plan. I win in this case. And if I trusted you and you were a good man, this companionship we are having might go a long way. I win again."

This is Oliver Valdez, the key guy to my successful trek around Benguet. He is a devout member of Keys of the Kingdom Ministries. On a typical day, he'd be repairing and selling mobile phones in Centermall in Baguio. He's not really some big personage but he sure taught me a lot about goodwill, trust and redemption. This photo was taken a few days after the completion of my 13-town trek. He paid for the food I ate. And it made me change the way I look at overcharging salespeople. The extra money could just go to a treat to a friend. And that friend could be you!

In the same evening, Oliver spoke further about my bad experience with the barangay captain in Ambongdolan. He said that it would be unwise of me to speak ill of the barangay chief based on that singular event in his life. He said, if I defamed him, there would be the two of us victims of doubt. I wouldn't be any different from the man I loathed. The barangay captain treated me bad because of some unfounded doubt about me. And I would be writing ill thoughts about him because of my doubt that he is a malicious man just because we got off on the wrong foot. Oliver said, the barangay chief wouldn't have been elected to his position if he were utterly evil. He might have just been having a bad day. And that's how the word 'redemption' made sense to me. I never really understood the idea of Jesus dying on the cross to redeem the world until I learned it from a personal experience in Gaswiling. I have already forgiven the barangay captain and with a calm heart and mind, I saw more reasons not to defame him in writing. Oliver sure taught me a lot about trust, redemption and goodwill. I, who was educated in the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy of UP, was humbled by the wisdom of this man who never even finished sixth grade. All his wisdom sprang from his devotion to the Word of God. Perhaps Plato's greatest contribution to mankind--the academic system--is not enough to guide us in the way we lead our lives and the way we formulate our world view.


COINCIDENCE or THE WORKINGS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT?

And so my journey continued. I kept trekking. But when you're trekking alone and with minimal gear, you are at the mercy of the trails. Sometimes they bifurcate and will lead you to the wrong destination. I had already lost my GPS device to The North Face 100 trail race in 2013 so I had to deal with a live topographic map--the mountains themselves. But I was just bewildered by the many times that I would meet a local who would point me to the right direction a few meters before I reached the bifurcation of a trail...and the two instances where I would come across a waiting shed with a water source (Can you believe that?!) just before rain started to pour during the rainy months of June and July. But yeah, you're right. That could be just a coincidence.

The waiting shed with a water source beside it right before rain poured in Bakun. God indeed provides!

But what I don't quite get is the neat linkage of the people I encountered on my trek. The biggest challenge for me in my 90-day journey was to introduce myself and gain the trust of the locals. This linkage made it easy for me to be counted in as family. I used to sponsor a certain Josiah Ballagan in his trail races. Helen (who I call Mama Helen now), the woman who adopted me in La Trinidad and Bakun,  happens to be Josiah's aunt. She has a niece, Ella, who happened to be engaged to Popot. Popot happens to be the nephew of Marzan (who I call Daddy Marzan now), the barangay kagawad who took me in when I came upon his house in Buguias. And Daddy Marzan got fond of me that he didn't want me to leave his house in Buguias. He said he saw Apostle Paul in me and when I asked why, he said there were many things he wanted to tell me but he didn't trust the capacity of his brain to contain all his thoughts. So he took me to a fellowship and he introduced me to Rev. Allen Dante.

Daddy Marzan using his Holy Bible app and taking down notes while the pastor speaks

I wanted the conversation to be brief because I already had my own world view founded on logic and empiricism and I believed no pastor could shake that. So I opened up with the challenge 'Could you prove to me the existence of God without using a verse in the Bible?'. The pastor said he couldn't because the Bible is his truth. Game over! But somehow, something (probably the Holy Spirit) softened my heart and so I reworded my question. "How can you convince me that The Bible is not just another Marvel comic book?" The conversation that ensued was the most enlightening I had had.

Pastor Allen Dante answering all my questions about God and His creations

me speaking in front of a gathering of married men during the Men's Fellowship of the Assembly of God in Buguias

Then from Buguias, I went on to Atok and Kabayan. When I reached Bokod, I saw a girl tending a carabao. She happened to be Josiah's classmate back in BSU. That made it easy for me to be introduced to her father who gave me lodgings for 3 days.

You do have a choice to think of all these as just a network of coincidences. But if you really think of it more deeply, you are actually acknowledging the reality of Coincidence as if it were an absolute existence...as if Coincidence were a sentient Being controlling the universe. If you really are a skeptic then you'd see that the idea of Coincidence is just as contingent and superstitious as the idea of a living God. I see no reason why you'd think of the idea of God ludicrous and the idea of Coincidence logical.

As for me, I'd rather believe that it was the Holy Spirit that put all these people at the right place at the right time for me. It was the Holy Spirit who put the biggest obstacle in my journey at the beginning so that I would survive all the other minor challenges that lay ahead. It was the Holy Spirit speaking through Oliver's mouth as well as the pastor's in order to introduce me to the Kingdom of God.


THE WONDERS OF HIS CREATIONS

And it is hard not to believe that God was with me on my journey across the land blessed with His wonders. There was one time, I was trekking in Kapangan and I got so exhausted and running out of water that I had to sit down under the shade of a boulder. And when I sat down, I was mesmerized by the beauty of the panorama in front of me. The view was nothing like I had ever seen before! And I said to myself, only a Supreme Being can create this natural beauty and harmony. The wind chilled my face and before I knew it I was already humming "As the deer panteth for the water so my soul longeth after Thee. You alone are my heart's desire and I long to worship Thee" Strong emotions still well up every time I sing this song even in my mind, probably because of that personal experience with the Divine. But yeah, you could say it was just a hallucination due to exhaustion and desperation.

This is just an insult to the beauty of the actual scenery that took my exhaustion away

You will always shun the idea of a Supreme Force if you have not felt it. You will never understand the euphoria and overwhelming power of the wonders of His creations if you have never traveled and laid eyes on the greatness of this universe. I have seen the faces of my companions as they froze speechless with their mouths agape, mesmerized by the grandeur of the places I took them to.

Who wouldn't stop and stare at this grandeur?!

I have had enough of trying to reject the reality of a personal God. This time, the universe evidently affirms His reality. Now I understand how mortals necessitate themselves to bow down or kneel in front of Greatness. I, too, have felt the urge to show my humility and adoration to the Great One through gestures.

And so I started the journey a man with an unshakable world view and a complete set of standards for Right and Wrong, Proper and Distasteful. After three hundred fifty kilometers and ninety days on the trails of Benguet, I came out a reborn man, baptized in The Holy Spirit with a world view where God is the center and the scope of everything!

And just like Santiago in The Alchemist, I think I could never have found God in the seminary. So don't confine yourself in books and ideas or in the repetitive interaction with the same set of individuals and environment. Travel and keep learning for it is in the different interactions with humans and in witnessing the wonders of God's creations where He reveals Himself and where we learn more and grow as a person.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths

The Devolution of Philippine Mountaineering

The year 2006 will remain an important milestone in Philippine mountaineering history. That year, the battle cry of the First Philippine Mount Everest Expedition "Kaya ng Pinoy!" reverberated across the country when Leo Oracion set foot on the roof of the world saying "Kung kaya ng Pinoy umakyat ng Mt Everest, kaya ng Pinoy magbago"! Indeed one faction of the Philippine society changed. With that feat and the social media, more and more Pinoys have become inclined with the outdoors. The only difference is that it's much easier now! With just one click, one can already be a part of Wave 76 of a Mt Pulag eco tour! I remember a time when climb itineraries were still hunted printouts. That was also the time when mountaineering clubs were scrambling for the few remaining meteorological terms like hamog, unos, ulap and bagyo which had not yet been used by other groups to name their club. These days, those clubs are starting to find competition in the growing number of tour operators catering to backpacking and climbing. And that's the rule of the game now! You only need to be a member of a Facebook group and wait for a PTP Admin post and you are one step away from your first legit climb! No more training climbs, no more BMC; just your non-refundable reservation deposit!

Tacadang: The First Lagataw Invitational Trek

Les-eng rice terraces that turn vibrant green during the rainy season

A local farmer in Tacadang once apologized to a guest for serving domesticated chicken because there was no available canned sardines at the local store. This was the story that got me wanting to visit the place. And now I regret that I had allowed myself to wait that long a time to finally set foot on this paradise.

Tacadang is at least seven hours away on foot from the last road access in Kibungan, Benguet. This is the primary reason why it has remained unspoiled by tourists who can only bear to trek Sagada and Batad in spite of the fact that the beauty of Tacadang surpasses that of those two places! When I saw the whole barangay of Tacadang at a very good viewpoint, I couldn't come up with a better description of the place than 'a plateau that God pressed with his his thumb and bled countless waterfalls that nourish the rice terraces that flank the walls of the cleft'.

the whole plateau that is Brgy Tacadang symmetrically cleaved in the middle;
Les-eng on the left and Tacadang Proper on the right

This is one of the very rare moments when I have to break my "Don't Ask; Don't Tell" travel dictum. I want to share this to a few individuals who are ready to face the physical challenge of the trek this coming August 21-23, 2015  and take on the responsibility of helping preserve this paradise.

The rice terraces of Les-eng become pastureland when rain is scant. Talaktak Falls on the background.
This sight is something you won't see in Batad and Sagada.

between the terraces of Tacadang Proper (left) and Les-eng (right)

falls # 1

the breath-taking drop of the waterfall just 200 meters away from waterfall # 1

The waterfall I thought to be Betotong Falls which turned out to be just the lowest cascade of the inaccessible Betotong

the Machu Picchu-like view of Beneng Falls with a faint view of Kamayan Falls on the right

Kamayan Falls up close; stronger when it rains

Kamayan Falls as seen from Falls # 1

the very tall Talaktak Falls and the inaccessible Betotong Falls

Existentialism for P390: Thus Spoke Zarathustra

you'll know in part two why this is the primary image of this article

Man has a penchant for seeking the Truth, the Good and the Right. And all three are founded on responsibility for one’s actions. Without acknowledging responsibility, there is no guilt. Without guilt, one has done no wrong. And the precursor of these is one’s Will. One’s Decision.

A man decided to lie today!

Life After the Mountains

Running the trails of Minglanilla, Cebu

Everything has an end, so they say. It will all come to pass. And this may also be true for trekkers and outdoor enthusiasts. After more than seven years of walking the trails in the country, I have started to feel what could be the doldrums of mountaineering! I am no longer excited by the image of sea of clouds, no longer thrilled by packing, no longer challenged by the possibility of an arduous trek, no longer enticed by the thought of a fun socials or the possibility of making new friends. I have stopped bookmarking cebupacificair.com and labeling those ‘red days’ on my calendar as Mt so-and-so.

 
I am now more into spending more time with my family and maintaining the good friendships I made during and before those seven adventure-filled years. And keeping in touch with some of these old friends somehow gives me more justification to change directions. And I can’t help sharing a beautiful story built upon the mountains.

If you remember, I featured in this blog some exceptional women in Philippine mountaineering. One of them was Sha de los Reyes (now Sha Bedural). Two years ago, a competition was held that changed the lives of outdoorsmen and women in the country—The NOMADS Peak Competition.
Sha de los Reyes and Eduardo Bedural met as strangers in this competition. Towards the culmination of the event, they became a couple and last year, their first baby was born. They named their baby Wyatt Maktrav Bedural because Sha didn’t know that Maktrav had already been conceived while she was running the trails of Mt Makiling (Traverse) during the Nomads competition.

Ed, Sha and baby Maktrav

And here’s a peek at their bedroom conversations.  (Sorry, English translation will remove the sweetness and the humor so there’s none.)

Ed: Gusto ko na ulit umakyat ng bundok.

Sha: (Tumingin lang sa kanya)

Ed: Ang laki na ng tyan ko oh. Aayain ko si Rheysonn. Night trek kami. 

Sha: Ah ganon? Tatakasan niyo kami ni Nikka? 

Ed: Nakabalik na kami ng bahay bago pa kayo gumising.

Yes some have settled down and changed priorities. Some got serious with their lives and went abroad.  But some others have found a way to relieve their ennui by creating another hobby. Some switched to diving and surfing. Others, like Cheryl Bihag, focused more on running. My friend Bhenjo Bernardo has started training in triathlon. Another friend, Melo Sanchez, got passionate about mountain biking. A lot switched to photography just like my friend Mikel Magdadaro. And still others made use of their experience and found a way to relive their newbie moments by looking at the beaming faces of the participants in their organized climbs and events. In my case, I have gotten tired of going wild and dutty on the trails. I prefer to run clear trails now and go home the same day. I have also found the limestone walls of Cantabaco irresistible. And with the help of a few friends, I have got myself a pair of rock climbing shoes and a harness. So when I’m not running trails, I’m climbing walls.

@ Cantabaco (Cebu)

During holidays, I still bring my trekking stuff but, I find the comfort of the home more inviting than the mud, the rain and the burden of the backpack on my shoulder. It's true what they say: we are too busy growing up that we fail to notice that our parents are growing old. I now choose to spend more quality time with my family. I have found the time and the reason to enjoy checking on my mother, playing DotA with my younger brother, and telling made up stories to my nephew and nieces. And so the holidays became more meaningful and less selfish last year. This has become my new definition of fun. And my recent definition of challenge is to come up with the right amount of money to get myself a good car earned from my own sweat and determination.

But, as they say, Once a climber always a climber! Just like what happened to Ed, nostalgia will always haunt the climber and make him dust off those backpacks under the bed, condition those knees and once again head for the mountains!

So tomorrow, I’m accompanying a group of climbers from Manila who consider themselves ‘newbies’ up the trails of Mt Timbak. I know that the delight and excitement on the faces of these young strangers and the allure of Mt Timbak will rekindle the spirit of adventure in me.

So to all my old trekking friends, see you in the far future when our tummies have bloated and we’ve become the slow trekkers we used to condescend to.
And to the newbies, enjoy the sea of clouds, the new friendship, the achievement and the victory along with the mud, the slips, the ass-busting habal-habal ride, the udlot climbs, the ligaw and the limatiks. Enjoy the moment while it lasts!

Lagataw's New Writer

My new HP Folio 13

When my MSI U160 died last week I had one question in mind.

Vaio T or MacBook Air?

My budget for a speedy ultrabook was P50K. Vaio T and MacBook Air were within the budget.

The Sony Vaio T13

I love Sony products so Vaio was on top of my list. The only initial problem I had with Vaio T was the stupid design! Its two USB ports are both on the left side of the 'dashboard'. That means you'll be forced to buy a blue tooth mouse or depend on the touchpad if you don't want to deal with cords snaking around your laptop. Well, not unless you're left-handed. And your printer should also be conveniently placed on the left. So I was in Cyberzone tinkering with the touchpad of Vaio. Impressively, among ultrabooks in the market today, Vaio's touchpad comes the closest to the versatility of Mac's. But as I was trying its three-finger and four-finger features, it lost its clickability. I could still hover but I couldn't click. Booo!

The Apple MacBook Air

It then left me with just the 11 inch MacBook Air (64GB). I spent about an hour testing the MacBook Air at iStore. And its smooth multi-functional touchpad made other touchpads feel like sandpaper!  My problem with Mac was that I use MS Word extensively at the office and in blogging. I tried using MS Word for Mac but some features in Windows MS Word were either missing or difficult to find. But I knew I would get used to it eventually so software change was not a major problem for me. The price of the MacBook Air, however, turned me off! I don’t have a credit card. I use cash whenever I buy something. Mac don’t offer a lower price for a cash purchase of any of their products, which was very disappointing!

So I went to Silicon Valley to have more options. Next on my list were HP Folio 13 and the rest of the ultrabooks in the market.  What I hate about other ultrabooks is their eagerness to emulate the teardrop shape of MacBook Air. They look flimsy and unoriginal. I wouldn’t want to hear a friend saying “Cool laptop you got there huh! It looks terrifically like a Mac!” . I would have ‘a laptop that looks like a Mac’ for the rest of its operational time. On the other hand, HP and Sony made no attempt, whatsoever, to look like a Mac. Although the keyboard of HP does try to look like the keyboard of the MacBook Pro! What made me decide to get an HP Folio 13 instead?

Lagataw's new home

Remembering Buruwisan

It was a chilly August morning. It took me a bit of a while to realize that we were on a mountain. It is always chilly on the mountains. The music of the stream nearby reassured me we weren't in the city. As I peered through the tent vestibule, I saw my father perched upon a promontory, his chin on his knees, and staring probably at the water below or probably at the space between. He believes space is perceivable by the naked eye. He says we were born with it and we experience it every day so we take it for granted just like our own saliva, which we think is tasteless just because we taste it every day. Occasionally he would be frozen steady, gazing at the horizon obscured by foliage that shifted from purple to blue to dark green. I wondered what was on his mind at that moment. Was it mom again, or another subject for a book? He always has a subject to write. But he’s never finished any book. He would, at times, tell me bits and pieces of them though. He says those subjects are too profound to be contained in just a set of words. He treats those things as if they were sentient beings that deserve to be respected. He maintains that if you can’t perfectly put into words the ideas contained in a single event in the universe, better not verbalize it.

Mt Tabayoc: The Face of Change

The settlement on the banks of Lake Tabeo

It was an aborted Bakun Trio in 2006 that led to my discovery of Mt Tabayoc! All I had with me was my scant knowledge of the place—that Mt Tabayoc was the second highest mountain in Luzon and that it was located in Kabayan, Benguet.

When the bus driver refused to take us to Bakun owing to the damaged road, we boarded the bus for Buguias. We told the driver that we were heading for Ballay so he took us beyond the terminus of the bus route. At the boundary between Kabayan and Buguias the driver told us ‘This is as far as I can take you.’ And that’s when we started trekking up the rough and slippery road to Ballay!

L is for Let's Celebrate Freedom

I have two and a half hours left here in NAIA Terminal 3 before my boarding time. Too short to write something that would cause a social change but long enough to at least remind everyone of our Independence.