Hiking matters #399: Blue Mountains bushwalking, Part 2 - Wentworth Falls and...
BLUE MOUNTAINS, AUSTRALIA - We are now prepared to head back to Sydney after three amazing days in the Blue Mountains. After trekking through the highlights of Katoomba yesterday (see Hiking matters...
View ArticleA message to the organizers and participants of the National Mountain...
As May 10 draws near, I am very excited with the prospect of having a day when we can clean up the mountains and teach, by example, others about the importance of having clean mountains for our country...
View ArticleHiking matters #400: Sunrise hike up Gunung Batur in Bali, Indonesia
BALI, INDONESIA - I have come back. Nine years after I visited Bali with my father and did my first hike abroad - Gunung Batur - an early 19th birthday present before I entered medical school (see...
View ArticleHiking matters #401: Mt. Rinjani Day 1 - From Sembalun village to Plawangan...
LOMBOK, INDONESIA - The day after we hiked Gunung Batur in Bali (see Hiking matters #400), we took the eastward ferry from Padang Bai to Lombok island, to climb its paramount peak, Gunung Rinjani, at...
View ArticleHiking matters #402: Mt. Rinjani Day 2 - To the summit and back
LOMBOK, INDONESIA - The summit assault is the most exciting part of every climb, because it is the moment when the hiker comes face to face with his goals and dreams. Oftentimes it is also the most...
View ArticleNational Mountain Clean-up Day Message: Let's keep the mountains clean, and...
A mountaineer picks up trash from the campsite in Manabu Peak, BatangasPhoto courtesy of Emerson Benoza (DBMS)by Gideon LascoPinoyMountaineer.comThe pictures keep coming, and this time around, they are...
View ArticleHiking matters #403: Hiking up Mt. Agung in Bali, Indonesia via the Pasar...
BALI, INDONESIA - After the successful hike of two volcanoes - Gunung Batur in Bali (Hiking matters #400) and Gunung Rinjani in Lombok (Hiking matters #401-402) - we climbed the mountain that has...
View ArticleHiking matters #405: Beautiful Mt. Beaufort in Puerto Princesa, Palawan
PUERTO PRINCESA - I have often lamented that I couldn't find time to go hiking in Palawan, where the mountains largely remain unexplored and undocumented, by mountaineers and scientists alike. It has...
View ArticleGear Review: Osprey Kestrel series
Hiking with the Osprey Kestrel 38 in Vall de Nuria, Spain (Jun 2013)Now that Osprey is available in the Philippines (in R.O.X. Philippines at the Fort), I think it's timely to write a review about one...
View ArticleHiking matters #406: Mt. Bloomfield in Sabang, Palawan: The mountain at the...
PUERTO PRINCESA - Palawan is truly a hiker's paradise. Yesterday, two weeks after I did the beautiful Mt. Beaufort (Hiking matters #405), I hiked up Mt. Bloomfield in Sabang. Visitors to Palawan's...
View ArticleHiking matters #408: Mt. Mantalingajan Traverse Day 1 - From Brgy. Ransang to...
PUERTO PRINCESA - Six years after I first climbed Mt. Mantalingajan, the highest mountain in Palawan, I came back, this time to do the much-celebrated traverse from its original entry point in Rizal...
View ArticleHiking matters #409: Mt. Mantalingajan Traverse Day 2 - From Cabugan to...
PUERTO PRINCESA - Continued from Hiking matters #408: Hiking in the rainy season makes one conservative in terms of the itinerary; extra days must be allotted for times when the weather does not...
View ArticleHiking matters #410: Mt. Mantalingajan Traverse Day 3 - Paray-Paray campsite...
PUERTO PRINCESA - Continued from Hiking matters #409: At Paray-Paray campsite (In 2008 I used ‘Palay-Palay’, which was how my Tau’t Bato guide pronounced it), we waited for the weather to improve: We...
View ArticleHiking matters #411: Mt. Mantalingajan Traverse Day 4: Crossing the mountain...
The view of Magringgit Peak is a visual souvenir of a challenging dayPUERTO PRINCESA - Continued from Hiking matters #410: After another restful night in Paray-Paray campsite, the time came for us to...
View ArticleHiking matters #407: The new 'Jungle Trail' from Sabang to Puerto Princesa...
PUERTO PRINCESA - One of Palawan's top attractions is the Puerto Princesa Underground River, and the two trails leading to it from Sabang beach - the 'Jungle Trail' and the 'Monkey Trail' - were...
View ArticleHiking matters #412: Mount Victoria in Narra, Palawan Part 1 - To the high camp
At the beginning of the trail with the twin summits at the far rightPUERTO PRINCESA - After traversing Mt. Mantalingajan, the highest mountain in Palawan (see Hiking matters #408-411), and going on a...
View ArticleHiking matters #413: Mount Victoria in Narra, Palawan Part 2 - To the summit...
PUERTO PRINCESA - Continued from Hiking matters #412: After a cold and restful night at the High Camp of Mount Victoria, we woke up early to do the assault up the summit. It was cloudy, but as our...
View ArticleHiking matters #414: The trek to Nagsasa Cove via Mt. Cinco Picos and Mt....
SUBIC, ZAMBALES - The Zambales Coastal Mountains and Coves in Subic and San Antonio, Zambales deserve more attention, beyond the popular Anawangin Cove and its emerging counterparts Silanguin and...
View ArticleHiking matters #415: The mountains of Lobo, Batangas, Part I: Mt. Tibig, easy...
At one of the summit viewpoints of Mt. Tibig, overlooking Lobo beachI spent the past two Saturdays exploring two mountains in Lobo, Batangas, which is turning out to be a very promising hiking...
View ArticleHiking matters #416: The mountains of Lobo, Batangas, Part II: Mt. Naguiling,...
At the Mt. Naguiling's Balatikan campsite with the summit (~1000m) at the backgroundContinued from Hiking matters #415: The following Saturday, we found ourselves following thefamiliar - and kilometric...
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