Warrior Pilgrimage

Featured in www.pinoyapache.blogspot.com on September 1, 2009

ROAMING AROUND AND anywhere is something that my physical body is well attuned to. My genes, for a good part, might have dictated my love for walking and hiking on trails; but it is the value of my personal freedom of movement that have goaded me to climb mountains where, upon its ridges, slopes, forests and crags, I become one of its myriad elements.

There is no description, whatsoever, of the joys I have experienced on the trails and in the wilderness; accepting the hardships and dangers as mere challenges that never lull my desire to feed my burning spirit within. The love of the outdoors is just a reflection of the love and acceptance of the self just as my unhampered movement is an echo of my first steps of a long journey.

Ever since the mountaineering fad had bitten me during the time when I attempted my very first climb at Mount Daraitan in the Sierra Madre in 1988, I could not anymore still the urge to reach more of these same dizzying heights and gawk at exhilarating sights which few eyes have seen. Just a few, because not all can afford to give their time to tackle difficult and ruthless terrain and not all possess a sturdy body and mind to withstand the rigors of climbing a mountain.

Formally, in 1992, I joined the Cebu Mountaineering Society as a means to exercise my love of the outdoors. My first climb with them was in Mount Pangasugan that ended in near-disaster when the guide lost the trail. That difficulty gave me the chance to prove my worth to the club through my stability and calmness under pressure...READ MORE (Press CTRL + mouse click)