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. 

HIKING DAW PO HINDI MOUNTAINEERING

What's the plural form of 'neck'?

Sobrang dami na po natin ngayon at unti-unting nag-eevolve ang terminology sa larangan ng pag- akyat ng bundok. Mukhang kailangan na ng panibagong Bundokipedia para sa mga bagong kataga na ginagamit ngayon ng karamihan.

Tampok sa post na ito ang pagbabago sa wika ng mga umaakyat hindi lang ang mga common mountaineering misnomers and misspellings kundi pati na rin ang mga bagong usbong na mga kataga at paggamit ng mga ito.

Koi Grey on Outdoor Education

Koi Grey in Nepal. Photo by our good friend Kat Marasigan

There is no need for a biography of this man. Everyone knows Koi Grey and his outdoor exploits. What I want to share of him to you is his unconventional learning process. 

LAGATAW'S OVERSEAS BACKPACKING TIPS (INTRODUCTION)

at the world's best airport

Filipinos travel a lot nowadays. Expressways get congested during long weekends. Yuppies now have more extra cash for travel. And some have already started going off Philippine shores. But still many hesitate to try overseas travel for two main reasons: logistics and cost. The fear of not knowing what to do once we get to a foreign land still haunts many of us like it used to scare the generation of our parents who would just avail of the services of travel agencies and tour operators if they wanted to go on an overseas trip. And many still think that it is very expensive to travel abroad. But the world has changed a lot. And these things that still hold us back should already be matters of the past.


In my next series of posts, I'll be giving you tips on how to do DIY backpacking while not burning your wallet.

It should be noted, however, that at the time of writing, I have just started backpacking. My first overseas trip was in 2014 and since then I've traveled to Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore and Sri Lanka. My advice may not be relevant if you want to go backpacking in Europe, America or Australia.


To make your travel worthwhile, consider answering for yourself these four questions.

1. WHEN?
It helps a lot when you pick a special time to travel. It gives additional motivation for you to really carry out that planned trip. In my case, I try to do it every year sometime around my birthday. I find it a good way to celebrate my special day. Most of us give ourselves a leeway to spend a lot during our birthday. Some try to treat all their friends to a booze-up till the break of dawn. I prefer treating just myself to an experience that will help me learn and grow as a person. I try to experience different cultures.


2. WHERE?

I prefer to put together 3 or more countries in one journey. If there's one possession of mine that I want to get dirty that's my passport. I love to see many stamps on the pages of my passport. They say you wouldn't know a country if you only spent a few days at its tourist destinations. I say I've lived in the Philippines for more than 3 decades but I still don't know all of it. It doesn't have to be your goal to fully know one country's geography or culture. Getting there alone is already something. Being there will definitely create a change in you. And that's basically my goal.


3. WHY?

awe-struck by the wonder that the hands of the ancient man have created

A few people travel abroad for special reasons like a Thai massage training at Wat Pho or Ayurvedic Medicine in Sri lanka. But most of us travel to other countries for the usual reasons. To see monuments or to try different foods and sports. In my case, I love to see the wonders that the hands of man have made. I love to see ruins of great empires. I also love to see the creations of contemporary architects and artists.

mesmerized by the creation of the hands of the modern man

4. WHO?

travel only with thy betters or thy equals; if there are none, travel alone - The Dhammapada

I love traveling alone. I believe that 'more companions' means 'more chances of your trip getting ruined.' I hate wasting (time, money and energy). But honestly, when I find myself alone in the monuments I'm visiting, I always wish that some friend or a family member was there. I always think that the happiness I am feeling when I'm at a good place would be greater if I was sharing it with someone dear to me. So pick the right companion or travel alone.

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.