#hikingph

Bohol Diaries Day 2: Cardio 0, Survival 1

Woke up today with one goal: survive the mountains of Alicia. No cardio, no prep, just pure … bahala na energy.

Start of the day pa lang, disaster na. Bumibigay na yung hiking shoes ko habang papunta pa lang ng Alicia. Luckily, may nakita akong shoe repair shop sa gilid ng hagdan sa town… kaunting glue lang and we’re back in business. Buti pa yung sapatos ko may first aid, yung cardio ko kaya?

Medyo inaantok pa habang nagmo-motor, so I had to stop for a quick McDonald’s breakfast and roasted coffee. Long ride ahead to Alicia, so kailangan gising ang diwa.

9:44 AM na ako nakarating sa Alicia Panoramic Park (TAPP). Seeing the "The Mountains are Calling" banner made me realize na wala na itong atrasan.

Orientation muna bago ang bakbakan. Time to pick a walking stick… my third leg for the next few hours.

Imagine the heat at 10 AM! Plus, it’s been about 7 years since my last hike and literally zero cardio preparation. Biglaan lang talaga itong trip na 'to. It took us about 2 hours mula pagsimula hanggang makababa. Ramdam ko bawat step!

Buti na lang sobrang madaldal si Ateng Guide. Sa dami ng kwento niya about the place, hindi ko masyadong namalayan na hingal na hingal na ako. Distraction is key!

Inabot kami ng almost an hour sa tuktok para magpahinga at doon na rin kumain. My packed lunch was the real MVP… boiled egg, lumpia, bola-bola and saging for dessert! Hahahaha! Simpleng ulam pero sobrang sarap lalo na’t ganito yung view na kaharap mo. This is exactly why we hike.

01:35 PM - Reached the bottom and finally got my Certificate of Green Accomplishment. Isang litrong tubig at isang bote ng Gatorade agad ang naubos ko sa sobrang init. Nakatambay lang muna ako sa souvenir shop after, just trying to breathe again.

5:13 PM - Rode back to Tagbilaran to pick up my bags and officially check out of my first place. Tactical move talaga na iwan yung gamit para hindi mabigat sa bundok! Moved into AK Residences for my last night. Loving the clean, organized vibe here… perfect for recovery mode.

Lumabas ako for dinner and to find some Yakult… priority! 😂. In the middle of my walking search, I accidentally stumbled upon a food hub called "Tagbo sa Tagbi." The lights and the atmosphere were so good that I had to stop. Best accidental find of the trip!

Didn't stay out too long. My body was definitely feeling the hike, so I headed back to the accom early. Honestly, the best part of the day was just laying down on a fresh bed.

Tomorrow is my last day. Sunday na but to be honest? I haven’t even thought about what to do next. No itinerary, no alarms, no mountains to climb. Just going to see where the day takes me.

sharing photos of my first hiking experience! <3

I was just scrolling through my gallery today and biglang lumabas 'tong mga 'to. Fresh na fresh pa rin sa memory ko yung lamig kahit 2026 na! Mt. Pulag you were a literal fever dream.

Bago kami sumabak sa trail, we gathered around the table at the base. Siyempre, may naglabas ng pampainit... alcohol daw to condition the body sa sobrang lamig. I don’t really drink and di ko na maalala if I actually took a shot (baka kape?!) but the warmth definitely came from the conversation. Strangers kami nung una but we became teammates after those late-night talks.

Syempre, hindi mawawala yung mandatory Eagle and Eye hand signs sa Ambangeg office. Requested ng guide namin na sobrang bait! Fresh pa kaming lahat dito. Di pa namin alam na yung pagpapakulo ng tubig sa malaking kaldero (yung pang-carenderia!) ay aabutin ng siyam-siyam bago uminit. The cold was burn-your-skin levels na talaga!

Eto yung plot twist.... I ended up trekking with a policewoman (yung naka-red bonnet). Jusko, akala ko chill hike lang! Niyaya ba naman akong mag-advance at tumakbo ahead of the others. Iba yung training niya, pang-Marawi! 😂 Dahil sa bilis namin, we reached the base camp way faster than expected.

Pero nung narating ko na yung summit ng 6:00 AM, literal na gumagapang na ako sa pagod. And there it was... the sound of betrayal! Napunit yung pants ko sa gitna!

Standing at the highest point in Luzon with a giant hole in my pants? Iconic.

The Squad & My Hair Strategy

Si Engineer na relaxed lang in red. Si Teacher naman our Selfie/Groupie Queen na hindi titigil hangga't walang wacky shot. And Me... standing there with my lumalaban hair. Dahil sa gel, hairspray and hair cream mula Pasay, wind-proof na yung buhok ko. Di ako nakapag-shampoo kasi feeling ko magyeyelo ako sa banyo!

Our guide in blue... conqueror pala siya ng highest peaks even outside the Philippines! I remember him constantly calling me nung nasa van pa lang kami and even pagkarating. Sabi niya, may sasabihin daw siyang seryoso but he never got to say it because biglang may lumapit sa amin. Hanggang ngayon, mystery pa rin sa akin kung ano dapat 'yun.

Akala namin tapos na nung nakababa kami. Pero sa Pangasinan, malapit sa CityMall, nasiraan pa kami ng gulong! 2 hours kaming nakatambay sa labas, just scrolling through these very photos habang inaayos yung van.

It's been four years since my last major hike and it was in Mt. Ulap, Itogon Benguet. I was 26 years old that time.

Time flies so fast! Pandemic and lockdown happened, and now even though that Covid is still present, alert level already shifts down to level 1 and most places don't have restrictions at all besides wearing facemasks and showing your vaccination card, thus I have decided to do something different for my birthday.

I mean, I just want to celebrate for making another trip around the sun! So this time, to celebrate my three sparkling decades around the sun, I joined this minor hike event @ Tanay, Rizal!

Originally, I opted to go Dingalan, Aurora for my birthday but it got cancelled due to lack of participants. So the travel coordinator whom I talked to gave me two options; Calatagan, Batangas or Rock of Pegasus in Tanay, Rizal. In the end, I chose the Rock of Pegasus.