Mt. Humarap and Paete Church

It is officially the start of that season everyone's waiting for - SUMMER! Last year, The BACKPACKERS enjoyed this season in the provinces of Bataan, Oriental Mindoro and Benguet. This year, the group are expanding the celebration as we have plotted four instead of three Hirit Sa Tag Init Adventures.

The first official group summer adventure is in the towns of Paete and Kalayaan in the province of Laguna which involves an easy climb in a minor mountain, a visit to a century old church, dipping into a majestic waterfalls and a feast at a restaurant that serves exotic dishes! 

Unang Hirit Sa Tag Init 2013
Part 1: Paete Church and Mt. Humarap

by Weng Topasi

Baguio City: The Summer Capital of the Philippines

Baguio City and the Panagbenga Festival

by Marion Erika Macapagal

Baguio City, also known as the City of Pines, has been a famous tourist attraction in the Philippines. Though, it’s not my first time here, this is the first time that I’ll be writing about my experience in a non-dramatic way (sorry naman! drama princess lang ang peg minsan :p). I'll try to be more informative in this blog, then share my emotions through the photos posted here instead. 

Mt. Apo (Part 3)

The Final Trail Going Down

The BACKPACKERS Conquered
Mt. APO

By Heinz Lopez Alvarez, Jr.

Reaching the summit of the Philippine’s Highest, Mt. Apo, provided each and every one of us the sense of having great accomplishment. After years of climbing mountains with varied difficulties, we were able to see ourselves standing at the topmost peak of the grandest mountain in the archipelago. It felt like we have finally received the trophy as Pinoy mountaineers! And that was the ultimate reason we were able to surpass post-summit assault challenges.

Mt. Apo as seen from the west.

Feeling accomplished and content, we treated those challenges as part of the adventure. We laughed despite the sharp icy temperature. We continued despite the unknown weather that was waiting for us. And we survived the sleepless, extremely cold, and raining night in a camp by the Lake Venado. God is good! The following day brought the prize- a promising weather for us to fully enjoy the adventure along the final trail going down.

Mt. Apo (Part 2)

Witnessing Its Grandeur

The BACKPACKERS Conquered
Mt. APO

By Heinz Lopez Alvarez, Jr.

The plants they call “Everyday”, blooming with beautiful peach flowers, continued to usher us until we were more than halfway through the trail, which specifically connects camps Godi-godi and Boracay. Along with those fascinating wild plants and untouched giant trees in that thick forest, Everyday seemed to keep our excitement alive as we tried to complete this part of the course leading to Mt. Apo’s incomparable grandeurs– the boulders, camp Boracay, the crater, its summit, and the Lake Venado.

Mt. Apo (Part 1)

Conquering PH's Highest

The BACKPACKERS Conquered
MT. APO

By Ivan Laurence Ignacio

Climbing Mt. Apo is every Pinoy mountaineers' dream. Standing at 2,956MASL,  it is considered to be the 'Grandfather of Philippine Mountains'. Portions of its trail can make you reminisce some other mountains in the country, but the whole climb itself is incomparable and is worth all your time, money and effort. Speaking of trail, there are said to be eight trails dominating the grounds of this magnificent divine creation. We chose to do the frequently used Kapatagan - Kidapawan traverse. Entering at Digos City in Davao del Sur and exiting at another province: North Cotabato. In maneuvering through this trail, we found our Mt. Apo adventure fulfilling and challenging through the variety of trail types it offered: open vegetable plantation, mossy forests, the boulders, grassland, marsh area and the Venado lake, all the way down to an exciting river trail where we had to cross the same river thirteen times.