11th Christmas Ed Kapangan: Five Years Later…

So tell me, how has the new year been treating you? Doing fantabulous already? Or still too early to tell? Personally, I’m still trying to get used to writing 2020 instead of 2019, as is always the case when a new year rolls in. But we’ll get there. But that doesn’t mean that 2019 is completely out of the radar, because it has been quite the year of adventure and new experiences, for me, for you, and for everyone. And this is another experience, albeit no longer a new one, that will never get old: my round two with Christmas Ed Kapangan.

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Badi Falls in Kapangan, Benguet (with IgoAdventure)

It’s that time of the year again. The so-called Adivay Festival of my province, Benguet. The month-long celebration ends in about a week, and before that happens, I thought it fitting to post about this now, that time I went on a dayhike-slash-climb of Badi Falls in Kapangan, as organized by IgoAdventurePH, a Cordillera-based group bound by their love for the great outdoors and adventure while doing good on the side. Incidentally, IgoAdventures is a recipient of this year’s Everlasting Award at the Adivay, for its contributions to various schools and individuals in the province. Well-deserved, ka-IGO! (Warning: A bit image-heavy, but that should no longer come as a surprise, should it?)

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[JP18] Watching the Sun Rise from the Top of Mt. Fuji

In [checks the time] less than 2 hours, I’d be hitting the road to chase an elusive summer. Down south, this time, under the guise of a business trip, but really squeezing in as much pleasure side trip as we can. ‘Cuz that’s just how we roll. But! Before that, let me just wrap up my Mt. Fuji experience, which I shared about in my several most recent posts.
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[JP18] Staying the Night at the 8th Station Tomoekan in Mt. Fuji

I just realized this earlier: it’s almost the middle of the year. Da*n. Time sure flies so fast I’m getting a whiplash. And the soles of my feet are itching once again. I sure miss those few times I’ve experienced lying under the stars, al fresco, with just me and nature (and everyone else, but they hardly matter when you’re in the zone, right?). Considering the climate at the summit (or close to it) of Mt. Fuji, that’s not something that can be done. Unfortunately.

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[JP18] Climbing Mt. Fuji via Yoshida Trail

I wouldn’t say that I did a lot of research before climbing Mt. Fuji. Sure, I looked into the logistics part of it, weighed options (that would mean less expenditure, primarily), and looked at the basics on what to do and what not to do. Other than that, nothing else. I saw some clips off a few Japanese TV shows (thanks, Arashi and Nakai-san!) showing a glimpse of the trail experience and read some blogs. But no more than that. This was one of those things that I was just partly winging. (And before I proceed, lemme just say CONGRATULATIONS BTS AND ARMY FOR THE BBMAs TOP SOCIAL ARTIST BACK-TO-BACK-TO-BACK WIN AND THE FIRST EVER TOP GROUP AWARD! *proudArmyNoonarighthurrr*)

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[JP18] That Time I Went to Japan to Climb Mt. Fuji

I don’t know exactly when the desire kicked in, but one day (when I was hiking up Yeongsil Trail of Mt. Halla in Jeju, South Korea – check out the video as well) I heard myself say out loud: I want to climb Mt. Fuji. I thought it’s going to be one of those things that you think about, resolve to do, then be relegated to the back of your mind, to be pushed off by “more important” things. But then a year later, I found myself planning for a trip where I can actually get to do it.

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First Climb for 2019: Mt. Ugo Traverse (From Kayapa, Nueva Vizcaya to Tinongdan, Itogon, Benguet) Pt. 2

Normally, when you’re exhausted, it takes no effort at all to fall into sleep. But I doubt that any of us got a decent shut-eye that night because, despite the blankets, it was hella cold. Especially towards the dawn, I think the temperature dropped somewhere between 6 and 8 degrees Celsius. And the wind was so strong, too, that I thought a storm was coming. When the lights turned on at 3:00 am, everyone just roused easily, mayhap because they have been awake all along.

For my part, I woke up countless times through the night, checking the time on my phone and feeling frustrated, thinking “WHY ISN’T IT 3 AM YET!”
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First Climb for 2019: Mt. Ugo Traverse (From Kayapa, Nueva Vizcaya to Tinongdan, Itogon, Benguet) Pt. 1

Like everyone else, I have high hopes for 2019, and it goes without saying that I also look for ways to start the year “right”, and by “right”, I mean by doing something I love and enjoy. My first climb for 2019 (and I say that with certainty, because this sure as hell ain’t going to be my last and only one for this year!) involved traversing through the much-climbed Mt. Ugo, starting from the municipality of Kayapa in Nueva Vizcaya on the first day, and ending at Brgy. Tinongdan in Itogon, Benguet the following day.

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Jeju, South Korea: Hiking Halla-san (Eorimok Trail)

The drizzle seemed like a constant, albeit intermittent, coming in spurts every few minutes or so. But compared to when we first started our hike up Yeongsil Trail, the hike down Eorimok Trail was much friendlier, so we could afford to stow our raincoats away and take a leisurely stroll, so to speak, largely pretending there weren’t droplets raining on our parade, so to speak. Because isn’t that what we all should do? Keep walking, keep moving, forward, until we reach our destination.
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Jeju, South Korea: Hiking Halla-san (Yeongsil Trail)

So the plan went like this: wake up early, climb Halla-san via the Seongpanak Trail, reach the summit, then go down via the Gwaneumsa Trail. In my head, everything would go like clockwork, and we’d have climbed this esteemed mountain of Jeju and beheld the crater lake, or the Baengnokdam. Alas, it was not meant to be… not when Mother Nature herself decided to cry buckets of tears that day.

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A Day Hike Up Mt. Pigingan in Itogon, Benguet

Over the past several months, I have been high-key missing the great outdoors, specifically the mountains. It’s just that time was a bit short and there weren’t a lot of opportunities for me to do so. Or the lack of time made it so that I wasn’t able to spot those opportunities. But on one of those very few times that I actually bothered reading through my Facebook feed, I saw an event organized by The Cordilleran Sun, and thought, “why the hell not?”

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At the Echo Valley, with the Hanging Coffins of Sagada

For all her natural beauty and mass media appeal, the one thing that you can never take away from Sagada – and her neighboring towns, if I might add, if only you’d care to venture out of its borders – is tradition. To this day, despite modernization easing its way in none too gracefully, the place is enveloped with it that you can practically smell it in the air when you step out of your ride. You breathe in, and just know, you are somewhere steeped in tradition. Continue reading “At the Echo Valley, with the Hanging Coffins of Sagada”

Jeju-do, South Korea: Saryeoni Forest Path

Imagine having to wake up to a breakfast of just cereals every single day. After a while, it is very likely that you’d forget how rice tastes like. So when, one odd day out of the blue, you are presented with a bowl of steaming rice, you get a spoonful to taste it, then bam! You’re reminded how good it is, and how you really loved it in the past. … Where am I going with this? Well, imagine a person that has gotten used to living in an urban jungle, with tall buildings instead of trees, and concrete instead of dirt to walk on. Then he is transported to a spot where he is surrounded by them tall trees and hard, packed solid earth. That was what I was thinking while walking along the Saryeoni Forest Path.

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Revisiting the Four Lakes of Kabayan, Pt 2: Latep-Ngapos & Bulalakaw Lake

I cannot pinpoint exactly when I developed a deep affection for the great outdoors or nature in general. Sure, I’ve always known that it was something that is worth appreciating, ergo, protecting, but to actively seek it out was not exactly my thing when I was younger and was still going to school. Somewhere along the way, I just started craving to go out there, up there, breathing and soaking it all in. And I like that I live in a place where I can readily do that, even if it requires some commute or a bit of travel.

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Revisiting the Four Lakes of Kabayan, Pt 1: Tabeyo Lake, Incolos Lake + Jr. Pulag

I’ve recently gone back to reading actual, tangible books – you know, the one where you get to flip and fold actual paper instead of swiping or tapping a screen – and it made me feel like setting foot on something solid again. Admittedly, though, I am easing into it slowly, so the pace is not like before, when I practically devoured books. But it’s a start, and to be honest, I don’t think I’d want to go back to that manic reading pace I was on. I guess what I’m saying is that it is nice to go back to old habits, especially the ones that you know were really, really good for you. Or, at the very least, made you feel good. And while we’re at it, let me continue with the reminiscence as I give you a two-parter on my second visit to the Four Lakes in Kabayan a few months back.

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