Recorder’s Notebook | Mt. Pulag Climb via Akiki Trail

14 10 2010

text | Lester Valle

photography | Wing Larase, Yo Muan, Carla Ocampo, Rap Rios and Lester Valle

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Day 00 | 26 December 2009

2115H – Carla and I arrived at Victory Liner Cubao Station. Yo came earlier and secured an area for us to kill time while waiting for the midnight trip to Baguio.  We witnessed the heavy influx of people bound to various places in the North. Most notable were fellow hikers. From my reckoning, a good 30% of the crowd  are  Pulag-bound, judging from the size of their packs and that shiny ol’ thermal earthpad jutting out of their side pockets. Apparently, December is the peak season for scaling the highest landform in Luzon.

2210H – Wing came in, followed by Rosa, Nadja and Renan. We patiently waited for the 2300H bus ride to Baguio City. Nadja, who is in charge of the reservation, handed the tickets. Fare is Php 435.00. Rap went a day ahead to Baguio. He will meet us there at the rendezvous.

2302H – Bus off to Baguio. Read the rest of this entry »





Ma’am Pulag: Mountain, Myth, and Reflection

11 01 2010

text | Carla Ocampo

photography | Wing Larase, Yo Muan and Lester Valle

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“It is only in adventure that some people succeed in knowing themselves… in finding themselves.”

- Andre Gide, French author

‘Twas all rhetoric to me… Until I met the teacher that is Mt. Pulag… and in giving her the guise of the quintessential maestra of Filipino culture — the ever-firm but loving teacher of eager students — I wielded the freedom to call Pulag, Ma’am.

And before she taught me a whole lot about myself, my human capacity, and my life, Ma’am Pulag first showed me things that I may never again see in another place and time. Read the rest of this entry »








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