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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[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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Waiting for the Sun to Rise at Kiltepan, Sagada

There are only two instances when you can look, or stare, directly at the sun (without hurting your eyes, that is): when it rises and when it sets. So we take our chance as much as we can. The sad thing is that, we wait for the sun to rise, but we don’t always see her in her full glory. I know. I’ve had several experiences where I woke up real early at dawn in time to watch the day break, only for the sun to be her moody elusive self, and hide behind clouds. The upside? The knowledge that even if she does not show herself fully, SHE IS THERE.

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Jeju-do, South Korea: A Not So ‘Tuff’ Hike Up Seongsan Ilchulbong (Sunrise Peak)

Weeks ago, Mt. Mayon was acting up with minor eruptions, spewing lava and ashes. Predictably, photos of the phenomenon kept popping up mostly on social media feeds. I distinctly remember seeing one particular night shot, and thought, “That. Is. Gorgeous.” It felt wrong at the time, but the truth in those words somehow also made it feel right. Because isn’t that something amazing? That a cataclysmic tragedy could still result into something so strikingly beautiful? Even today, many of the places we visit for appreciation and sightseeing were results of such events in the past. Just like Jeju’s Sunrise Peak, or Seongsan Ilchulbong. Continue reading “Jeju-do, South Korea: A Not So ‘Tuff’ Hike Up Seongsan Ilchulbong (Sunrise Peak)”

Jeju-do, South Korea: A Peek at Udo’s Udobong Peak

Just because you cannot stand at the top does not mean you are unable to appreciate what it looks like, at least from somewhere down there. Ok. That is not me waxing about anything philosophical; this time, I am actually being literal. Just because I did not get the pleasure of standing at the top of Udobong does not mean I thought any less of it. (Although… yeah, it did suck a bit that we weren’t able to do that.)

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When In Baguio…: Tree Top Adventure Baguio at Camp John Hay

It’s been several days since my SoKor2017 adventure wrapped up, and I still feel like it has been a whirlwind of a week. Which it was. One heck of a fun whirlwind. I still haven’t touched the folder where I saved all the photos and videos I took during that trip, knowing I’m in for quite a challenge. A fun one, I hope. Before all that, however, let me talk about another fun day spent right in my own backyard: when we tried out the Tree Top Adventure at Camp John Hay. Good timing, too, since Baguio City is in the thick of its charter anniversary month this September. Continue reading “When In Baguio…: Tree Top Adventure Baguio at Camp John Hay”

Down South: The Sto. Nino Cold Springs of Camiguin

Annyeong~!! If you’ve seen my IG feed, you’d know what I’ve been up to these past few days. It’s still the tail-end of summer here in South Korea, which means except for the occasional showers, it’s hella hot. I sweat a lot, so I am feeling the heat even more. At times like these, there’s nothing I’d want more than to plunge into a cold springs, which is exactly what I am reminiscing in this post, during our visit to the Sto. Nino Cold Springs in Camiguin.

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