Mt. Pinatubo and Paulo Coelho

For some reason i come across the works of Paulo Coelho at a time i'm set to do the Pinatubo hike. This wonderful short gem was shared to me by a friend might as well i share it with others.

May 11, 2013 1:00 AM.  My bags are packed and I'm ready to go, but im starting to hear raindrops, not now please.  But my wish is not enough since most of the people is asking for it. Heavy rain begin to fall so i have no choice but to repack for a rainy weather. Whether you're taking a long or short trip, it's important to have the proper gear and clothes if rainy weather is an expected possibility. If you get wet and don't have a way to dry off, your trip can become a miserable experience.

This is my nth time joining a shared tour with strangers and i wanted this trip to be memorable. This is my 2nd time in Pinatubo, the first trip is not successful due to heavy rain so i hope i make it this time. Pinatubo is known for dirt tracks because of lahar, and dirt tracks become a sea of mud when it rains.Although May is still consider a dry / summer season this dont automatically exempt or avoid rainfall, especially in the afternoon.

"Like the Flowing River" - The Manual for Climbing Mountains, This is my favorite chapter truly it is remarkable though i dont think it actually has much to do with climbing mountains. With this entry  I'm including some quotes from Coelho's works and my  experience with Mt Pinatubo.It is up to you to know the deeper meaning of Coelho's work and it is up to you as well to discover the mountain your about to climb. The truth is that we are always climbing a ‘mountain’ of some kind. We all need mountains to climb in our lives.  They are in effect what we choose to dedicate our lives to. Every day we take more steps in our daily climb to the top. 

I love this beautiful metaphorical manual  and  piece by Paolo Coelho in which he reminds us that there is an art to climbing mountains.


Choose the mountain you want to climb: don’t pay attention to what other people say, such as “that one’s more beautiful” or “this one’s easier”. You’ll be spending lots of energy and enthusiasm to reach your objective, so you’re the only one responsible and you should be sure of what you’re doing.

Know how to get close to it: mountains are often seen from far off – beautiful, interesting, full of challenges. But what happens when we try to draw closer? Roads run all around them, flowers grow between you and your objective, what seemed so clear on the map is tough in real life. So try all the paths and all the tracks until eventually one day you’re standing in front of the top that you yearn to reach.

Learn from someone who has already been up there: no matter how unique you feel, there is always someone who has had the same dream before you and ended up leaving marks that can make your journey easier; places to hang the rope, trails, broken branches to make the walking easier. The climb is yours, so is the responsibility, but don’t forget that the experience of others can help a lot.

When seen up close, dangers are controllable: when you begin to climb the mountain of your dreams, pay attention to the surroundings. There are cliffs, of course. There are almost imperceptible cracks in the mountain rock. There are stones so polished by storms that they have become as slippery as ice. But if you know where you are placing each footstep, you will notice the traps and how to get around them.

The landscape changes, so enjoy it: of course, you have to have an objective in mind – to reach the top. But as you are going up, more things can be seen, and it’s no bother to stop now and again and enjoy the panorama around you. At every meter conquered, you can see a little further, so use this to discover things that you still had not noticed.

 

Respect your body: you can only climb a mountain if you give your body the attention it deserves. You have all the time that life grants you, as long as you walk without demanding what can’t be granted. If you go too fast you will grow tired and give up half way there. If you go too slow, night will fall and you will be lost. Enjoy the scenery, take delight in the cool spring water and the fruit that nature generously offers you, but keep on walking. 

Respect your soul: don’t keep repeating “I’m going to make it”. Your soul already knows that, what it needs is to use the long journey to be able to grow, stretch along the horizon, touch the sky. An obsession does not help you at all to reach your objective, and even ends up taking the pleasure out of the climb. But pay attention: also, don’t keep saying “it’s harder than I thought”, because that will make you lose your inner strength.

Be prepared to climb one kilometer more: the way up to the top of the mountain is always longer than you think. Don’t fool yourself, the moment will arrive when what seemed so near is still very far. But since you were prepared to go beyond, this is not really a problem. 

Be happy when you reach the top: cry, clap your hands, shout to the four winds that you did it, let the wind - the wind is always blowing up there - purify your mind, refresh your tired and sweaty feet, open your eyes, clean the dust from your heart. It feels so good, what was just a dream before, a distant vision, is now part of your life, you did it!

Make a promise: now that you have discovered a force that you were not even aware of, tell yourself that from now on you will use this force for the rest of your days. Preferably, also promise to discover another mountain, and set off on another adventure.

Tell your story: yes, tell your story! Give your example. Tell everyone that it’s possible, and other people will then have the courage to face their own mountains.

Chasing Waterfalls Series : Surprising Kabigan Falls

Not far from the National Highway and hike of half an hour will give you a chance to enjoy many of the beauties of nature at once. A flat, uninterrupted trail begins conveniently from the starting point. It leads across some mountain streams , tall trees and beautiful scenery of rice fields and hills.

A walk of approximately thirty minutes conveys you comfortably from the Barangay all the way to the falls. This water spectacle can be enjoyed and is  popular with young and old due to its low level of difficulty.

I stands mesmerized before this towering natural spectacle. The water cascades down from steep rock faces, approximately 90 feet high and it drops to a concave like basin. The water that drops to the basin is highly charged by the speed and height of the falls which rushes over the rocks and produces a really stimulating atmosphere below, one can hear its impressive thundering and hissing which sounds really relaxing. Everyone can swim and enjoy the water from the falls ,but remind you the water is too cold. Luckily, when i visited Kabigan Falls no other tourist is around and periods of rain the past days is recorded, thus making Kabigan Waterfalls a marvelous sight to behold.


Waterfall Information

Name: Kabigan Falls
Starting point: Barangay Balaoi,Pagudpud,Ilocos Norte
Getting to the Falls: Tricycle from the town of Pagudpud to starting point and a 30 minutes trek
Hiking Technique: easy

my take on solo hike... scaling mangatarem..

Tthis solo hike happened before mt maculot accident, i was in mangatarem pangasinan and took this opportunity of scaling the untouched beauty of mangatarem mountains..

Mt Romelo..a decade after...

April 18, 2013

Sometime in April i receive an invite for a dayhike to Mt. Romelo. I said to myself It had to happen sometime, and it seems to be starting to happen now soon. I remember the last time i've been to famy ( this is what they call this place before ), and checking the net for famy now my once favorite ‘secret’ spot in the Laguna area is gradually becoming known. Romelo's waterfall in Siniloan is the perfect destination for a hike during a boiling hot Thursday in April, as the only way to it involves a short but fun hike to Mt. Romelo and with three (yes three! Buruwisan, Batya-batya and sampaloc ) waterfalls waiting, and this place never fails to enchant me.

The seasonal nature of Romelo's series of famous waterfall never ceases to surprise visitors, many of whom have been known to inquire earnestly.  “But where is Romelo's Falls?” This waterfall is dry during summer and a roaring cascade in during rainy season.So, if you want to see it in action, it’s best to come back in the rainy months.

Well, doing a dayhike is good for Mt. Romelo, there’s now a sign marking the all-important, turn off to the falls, the trail itself is much more obvious, due to mass hikers walking this way now (daanan din ito ng kabayo ! :) ). Jc , jackie is joining me in this trip and its been months pass since our last adventure.

Our short hike started at 10 am and we reach the campsite at 1 pm (napakadaming naming stop pver.. punong-puno ng buko tiyan nmn ) . We cross a mildly dense forest and after that besides some coconut fields, then we again hit the forest, this time pretty dense.Humidity is at its peak and temperature is 36C.  We reach the campsite at 1 PM, i expect so much from this place and remembering my first trip to this place the waterfalls is attractive and this one is no exception (maybe).

To my surprise the first thing i notice is too much garbage on the campsite.Why is this trash found throughout the campsite ? plastics of different kinds can be found from upstream .

If your not satisfied with buruwisan , as if this wasn’t enough another two beautiful waterfalls lie on the same stream, one above and one a kilometer or two upstream, and the three can be connected by a cool and extremely fun river trace ( pampalubag loob).

Next thing we did is we went upstream all the way to batya-batya falls. But everything has change already, the once majestic beauty of romelo is now gone. Too much disappointment so we decided to go home rightaway. 

We saw more trash on our way down, and complained a little less about it, as it seemed like a fair prize to romelo's 5 minutes of fame. and , Even in rainy season when the cascades roar if hikers dont do their duties eventually romelo's beauty will be gone forever..

The Rice terraces Cluster

Who would have thought that someone’s life could change in just one week? Well, mine did .I went on a 1 week trip to BANAUE alone with just a little information of the place. I traveled all over cordillera region, from nueva vizcaya, solano,bayombong,  dupax del sur to banaue, batad, mayoyao, hapao, then bontoc. I visited places I only usually see on the television screen. I even climb the 412 steps on the world famous batad rice terraces. I truly enjoyed visiting the rice terraces cluster. That visit was very educational and interesting, especially when I finally got to see the most famous rice terraces, the one i dreamed to visit after seeing it in textbooks wayback my elemntary days.This once in a lifetime trip changed my life for the better in only 1 week.