A Walk in the Park

On the way to our last hike, I mentioned the joy of experiencing EDSA.  This time we enjoyed it at rush hour on a Friday night – which was exhausting in itself – before finally making it to a well-known fast food joint, that was to be the meeting place for our hiking group. I was grimly worrying about how I would survive three days of mountains, strung across three provinces (Benguet, Ilocos Sur, and La Union ). I have to say it was a mixed bag of results over the whole walk but victory was assured for all of us, mainly because we were awesome, and me least of all.  Throughout our collective struggles there was much camaraderie and laughter and I wouldn’t swap any of it for anything, including a big pile of first editions.

Getting only half an hour’s sleep on the journey to our destination didn’t bode well, although a breakfast of chicken curry did help balance this out.   The view once we stopped however was something to gladden any heart.  The beauty of being surrounded by mountains with only the odd local and fellow group of hikers to greet made for an exciting feeling of alone in the wilderness.  A vast sea of greenery and overlapping peaks spread far into the distance on all sides.

Thanks to Ryan Tajedo for permission to republish the photos

Once we had limbered up, we set off and it felt great to walk and breathe in the clean air, unsurprisingly we took many, many photographs. I took more on this day than any other day for reasons which will become clear as you read through each day’s adventures. A few of my fellow hikers have kindly allowed me to show their photos here which are a lot better than my efforts.

The bridge looked fun but as I approached and looked down, the usual slatting problem was in evidence.  It doesn’t fill the walker with confidence seeing this and realising it is the first and easiest obstacle you will come across.  It’s part of the adventure though and wouldn’t be the last time we would encounter such a bridge.

One of things I love about the travels up in this region (for we were only around about 120km from where we last hiked ) is marvelling at the road building and how challenging it must have been to get here and complete it, not to mention plan it.  Once again rice terraces were in abundance and as made our first ascent we left them far below as we rose to a spectacular view of the surrounding area and every so often let out a big woop.

Thanks to Ryan Tajedo for permission to republish the photos

I was surprised with how easy I was finding the walk, I felt strong and enjoyed the feeling of pushing upwards and seeing that we were really moving onwards and upwards.  We did pay an extra fee for a porter service and so was relieved of my tent but the bag was heavy enough still. The porters were impressive, carrying a lot of heavy stuff and pushing ahead at pace and sure of foot.  In fact on the last day they got to enjoy a few beers at the finish line whilst we toiled further back down the trail.

Thanks to Louie Cutamora for permission to republish the photos

After a long winding descent, the weather became more atmospheric, with a rolling fog and a looming cliff face obscuring the sun.  It felt like a totally different place from the other side of the mountain.  The sparse houses were shocking in their appearance when they did pop up and at one point we passed a family crypt which had coffins left under an overhanging rock and fenced off.  The immediacy of these boxes and the knowledge of what they contained was pretty sobering.

Thinking on that for a while, it took time to notice that the legs were becoming a bit sore as we came to the last real test of the day, the steep cliffs which had steps cut into them but not always hand rails.  Nothing really felt dangerous as it was all firm and dry but the mind always wanders to the ‘what if’.  we all ended up coming together for a bit of mutual back slapping and also unexpectedly an arty photos shoot thanks to the fog clearing, with our very own fairy Queen.

Thanks to Ryan Tajedo for permission to republish the photos

Arriving at the campsite an hour later and thoroughly exhausted, there was a bit of excitement at the the water pipe – which is used for getting drinking water (tap water is a lot safer in the provinces) and also to allow clean water for washing for – when an innocent passerby caught me having a quick shower.  A great day all in all (except for that last bit) and as the stars were on show in good number, it was a pleasant celestial accompaniment to our much-needed sleep.

The suffering would begin on day two, for those of you disappointed by the lack of it so far.  I wouldn’t have missed it for the world, which is the predictable thing to say after the fact but it really was good to be challenged.