Warrior Pilgrimage

Featured in www.pinoyapache.blogspot.com on March 15, 2009

ONE WEEK PASSED by and here I am again this 11th day January 2009 on the trail to Mount Babag, 752 meters above sea level, to eagerly partake of a day-off and go training again with Boy Toledo, Sam Lim and Ernie Salomon. We are, what you call the regulars of this area, the early morning risers of every Sunday, the most committed and active individuals who loved what they're doing and who never cared about the politics of how to walk a trail or where to climb a height.

I am the most veteran of the four and I gave inputs and humor to our weekly undertakings while Boy T takes care of wiping out the integrity and character of a trail with his pair of clumsy boots. Sam, on the other hand, daydreams himself walking and sometimes take hideous snipes at Boy T and anybody he doesn't like and munches his endless hoard of chocolate bars and Ernie, well, he always shows off his weekly lucky “catch” from an ukay-ukay (pre-owned items) stall.

We, the four of us, have become the most well-versed walkers in this part of the world and we found our younger counterparts gasping all their darndest best pursuing us. Every week we changed our pace: from an excruciatingly slow and tarried climb to a crazy and imagined race with a tiger. Our slowest pace is designed to accommodate guests or time it to take lunch at Manwel's Place.

Our regular route is the Napo Main Trail which starts from the first river crossing and ends at the second river crossing and from there, the Butan Trail, which goes upward to the upland community at Sitio Butan. Ernie's Trail then take up the rest of the route passing by Manwel's Place then crossing a brook and then it climbed a steep route directly to Mt. Babag, the old site of the RCPI tower...READ MORE (Press CTRL + mouse click)