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Hiking matters #522: Kuju Volcano (九重山), Kyushu’s Highest Peak
KAGOSHIMA, JAPAN – After the warmup-turned-challenge hike of Homanzan (Hiking matters #521), Jeshua and I proceeded to one of the main prizes of the hiking trip: Mt. Kuju or Kuju Volcano (九重山), the...
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Hiking matters #523: The beautiful Mt. Kirishima (霧島山) in Kyushu, Japan
KAGOSHIMA – From Fukuoka’s Hakata Station, Jeshua and I took the Kyushu Shinkansen to the southern city of Kagoshima, then jumped on another train to Kirishima Jingu Station, and there we caught a bus...
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Hiking matters #524: Hiking up Kaimondake (開聞岳) in Kagoshima, Southern Kyushu
FUKUOKA, JAPAN – From our spellbinding hike in Mt. Kirishima (See Hiking matters #523) we headed to Kagoshima, the beautiful coastal city of Southern Kyushu. Early the next day we took the very first...
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Campsite etiquette: Eight tips for behaving properly on camp
Photo courtesy of Glenn Ong at Busay, Cebu by Gideon Lasco Ah, the cool breeze, the sky full of stars, the nocturnal music of the forest! Camping is one of the greatest rewards of going outdoors, but...
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Hiking matters #515: Mt. Yufu (由布岳) in Oita – Kyushu, Japan
FUKUOKA, JAPAN – Three months after our very successful Kyushu summer hiking trip, we are back in Japan’s southernmost main island, this time to see its mountains in autumn. Just three hours away from...
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Hiking matters #516: Hiking up Hikosan (英彦山), Northern Kyushu’s sacred mountain
FUKUOKA, JAPAN – As soon as we started to ascend through the stone staircase surrounded by the torii, temples and shrines of Mt. Hiko (英彦山), I was immediately reminded of Mt. Hiei in Kyoto, which I...
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Hiking matters #517: Raizan (雷山), one of Fukuoka’s nice dayhikes
SAN JOSE, COSTA RICA – Unfortunately I only had four days in Kyushu, and I had to devote one day to go to Kokura (Kitakyushu) – a historic city in itself, and home to one of the novelists I admire,...
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Hiking matters #518: Volcan Baru (3475m), the highest mountain in Panama
At the summit of Volcan Baru (3475m), the highest mountain in Panama, with the Caribbean Sea at the background. BOQUETE, PANAMA – Central America is replete with volcanoes, which, like the ones in the...
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Hiking matters #519: Trekking in Volcan Irazu (3432m) in Costa Rica
GUATEMALA CITY – Continued from Hiking matters #518: From Boquete, Panama, I went back to David and took the Tracopa bus to San Jose, Costa Rica. After spending the night in Costa Rica’s capital city,...
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Hiking matters #520: Volcan Maderas in Ometepe Island, Nicaragua
GUATEMALA CITY – Continued from Hiking matters #519: From San Jose, I decided to proceed directly to Nicaragua. I took the TransNica bus to Managua, in what turned out to be a smoother ride that I...
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Hiking matters #521: Volcan Concepcion in Ometepe Island, Nicaragua
ANTIGUA GUATEMALA – After the enjoyable hike up Volcan Maderas, I arranged for a hike up its taller, tougher counterpart, the active Volcan Concepcion – 1610 meters above sea level. In the past...
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Hiking matters #522: Volcan San Cristobal, highest in Nicaragua
ANTIGUA GUATEMALA – From Managua, I took a van to Leon, and immediately headed to the Quetzaltrekkers office to ask about their scheduled hikes. Fortunately, they had a dayhike to Volcan San Cristobal...
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Gear Review: Bivouac Windu Trekking Pole
A trekking pole is a valuable tool for hiking – an extension of one’s arm that allows hikers to gain additional support when ascending, moderate the impact on the knees while descending, probe the...
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Hiking matters #531: A fun afternoon hike in Mt. Maculot’s Rockies
Weather is usually great right after a storm, and when it became clear that Typhoon Nina had safely left Luzon, we decided to push through with an afternoon hike up Mt. Maculot’s Rockies, with an eye...
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Hiking matters #529: PanTarak – Our repeat Pantingan-Tarak Traverse Dayhike
Almost two years after doing the epic Pantingan-Tarak Traverse Dayhike (which has since come to be known as ‘PanTarak’) as the first-ever team to do so (see Hiking matters #386-387), my good friends...
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Hiking matters #528: Training climb – Tapulao dayhike!
Photo courtesy of Rex Lim After my 10-volcano expedition in Central America, I was eager to climb my home mountains again and what better way to spend my first day in the Philippines outdoors than to...
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Hiking matters #530: A cloudy Mt. Maynoba in December
After two intense hikes in Central Luzon, I went for a more relaxing weekend hike in Mt. Maynoba, Tanay, Rizal. Nearly 500 days after our Pico de Loro hike, it was great to be hiking again with Angel...
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Mt. Apo set to reopen; excessive fees draws sharp reactions from mountaineers
Photo at Lake Venado, Mt. Apo courtesy of Lem G Peña The prohibition to climb Mt. Apo as a result of last year’s forest fire has been lifted by the Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) of Mt. Apo...
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Opinion: Mt. Apo reopening is too soon and too expensive
Photo of Mt. Apo from Mt. Talomo courtesy of Paolo Duran by Gideon Lasco In the aftermath of last year’s forest fire that ravaged Mt. Apo, local authorities pledged to close the mountain for 3-5...
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Hiking matters #549: Didicas Volcano, the youngest Philippine island
CAMIGUIN NORTE – After the very memorable trip to Babuyan Island that saw us climbing Smith Volcano (Hiking matters #547) and Mt. Babuyan Claro (#548), we boarded the M/V Angelica to Camiguin de...
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