Kwentong Kaladkarin #44: Battleground Batulao

Da Where: Mt. Batulao, Nasugbu, Batangas
Da When: August 25-26, 2012
Da Who: me, Deej, Leo, Chris, Ed, Zee, Alvin and Pheophie the Mini-Pin

I'm slipping into my old age. Why? Because the last time I hiked was friggin' seven months ago! This must be the longest I've gone on without a climb and I'm not a happy camper.

This, I missed. And I think it missed me back. :)

Missing My Merrells

Things are meant to be used and people are meant to be loved. Not the other way around.

I've always gone by this adage. Still, there are some things I have that I treasure dearly because they've impacted my way of life.

One of those are my very first hiking shoes – a (used-to-be) pretty pair of baby-blue-tinged-with-gray Merrell Gore-Tex shoes. I got it in an outlet store shoe sale sometime in early 2009 and it's never been missing from my climbs since then.

I'm already missing you... :(

Kwentong Kaladkarin #28: Bleak Mt. Batulao and a Bowl of Bulalo

Da Where: Nasugbu, Batangas and Tagaytay, Cavite, Philippines

Da When: August 27, 2011

Da Who: me, Vin, Naheem, Mehdi and Jamie

Da Trivia: It's my 6th hike up Batulao but a lot of firsts - dayhike, with friends from the US, Canada and Germany, and during a tropical storm. Hello Typhoon Mina! ;D

Da Words for the Day: "Does this road never end?" - Mehdi

Note: This is a text-heavy post. Typhoon Mina made photo-taking with non-waterproof gadgets impossible. ;D Photo credits to Mehdi.

It sucks when our country goes into monsoon season, right around the the start of June lasting into early February. It's the time of the year when low pressure area, typhoons and thunderstorms are part of the local weather reports. It's also the time of the year when climbs and hikes are blown out of anyone's weekend plans.

A new project is underway at work and a few friends from work who are first-time visitors to the country wanted to see the Philippines past the smog-filled Metro Manila skylines, merchandise-stacked Greenhills and expat-littered Greenbelt. What better way than to introduce them to the beauty (and fun) of tropical hiking, right smack in the middle of the monsoon season? ;)

Our guests were up to it so we scheduled the dayhike on a Saturday, right off work. With Vin as our unofficial guide, we brought Jamie, Naheem and Mehdi to Mt. Batulao in Nasugbu, Batangas. The three of them are in the country for a couple months for work and I wanted to take them to another Pinoy experience other than Boracay or Palawan. Jamie's from the US, Naheem's from Canada and Mehdi's from Germany.

It will be my 6th time to hike up Mt. Batulao and it'll be Vin's 10th time, I think. Yes, that's how much we love this mountain. :) We stopped by at McDonald's for a quick breakfast fill as Mehdi worried about the weather. He just saw an early edition newspaper with frontpage headline of Typhoon Mina making landfall in Isabela and the Cagayan areas.

Technically, there was no storm signal raised for the NCR and neighboring provinces; not until later that day, at least. Safety is always a first so any indication of the weather being too risky, we would've called off the hike. We're not suicidal just yet. Haha!

Vin and me, with our foreigner friends! :) See the fog and rain surrounding us?

Kwentong Kaladkarin # 05: Savoring Sagada (Day 3)

Da Where: Sagada, Mountain Province
Da When: Nov. 20-22, 2010
Da Who: me, Larry, Ice, Paolo and Joy
Da Trivia: a.k.a. 1st Arvato Training Team Building
Da Quotes for the Day: "If you're not hiking, you're not in Sagada anymore."

We pretty much chilled on Day 3 coz this is our last day in Sagada. We woke up at around 6:00 MNL and cleaned and packed up before heading to the poblacion for some breakfast and additional activities.

The bus for Baguio didn't leave until 13:00 MNL so we decided to just lounge around and enjoy the fresh, clean air while we can before we get back to the hustle and bustle of the metro. :)

Getting my Sagada adventure completion cert from Kuya Apz! Weeeh! :D

Kwentong Kaladkarin # 05: Savoring Sagada (Day 2)

Da Where: Sagada, Mountain Province
Da When: Nov. 20-22, 2010
Da Who: me, Larry, Ice, Paolo and Joy
Da Trivia: a.k.a. 1st Arvato Training Team Building
Da Quotes for the Day: "If you're not hiking, you're not in Sagada anymore."

Okay, so we had a jampacked Day 2 itinerary during our Sagada stay but didn't get the chance to do the first one on the list: witness the sunrise at Kiltepan peak over a sea of clouds. We were out cold from the previous day's activities and barely had 4 hours of sleep that we decided to forego the sunrise viewing. Instead, we woke up at 07:00 MNL and prepared for breakfast and orange-picking instead. :)

Kwentong Kaladkarin # 05: Savoring Sagada (Day 1)

Da Where: Sagada, Mountain Province
Da When: Nov. 20-22, 2010
Da Who: me, Larry, Ice, Paolo and Joy
Da Trivia: a.k.a. 1st Arvato Training Team Building
Da Quotes for the Day: "If you're not hiking, you're not in Sagada anymore."

They say love is lovelier the second time around. Whoever said this must've fallen in love with Sagada and made sure to come back, like what I did a couple weekends ago. My first was August 2009 with Marvin. This time, I enticed my teammates at work with stories of adventure - gastronomical, physical and emotional. I have an extraordinary team so I thought they deserved more than the run-of-the-mill, typical teambuilding activities. *wink*