Manila Bay Sunset

 

Good News For The Philippines

Lately, I have been seeing some good press about the Philippines... like this one from the Philadelphia Inquirer last year. It listed Palawan as the No. 1 Islang to live on.

I am so glad that the Philippines is getting the attention it deserves internationally. I have been living here in the United States for so many years now. And the longer I was away from my native country, the more I appreciate Her beauty.

I hope someday I can go and visit Palawan. I heard the Underground River is a front-runner in the New 7 Natural Wonders in the World.

Adirondacks, Lake Placid, New York

5 Days In The Adirondacks


Day 0:
Upstate New York beckons as we prepare for our late summer trip to the Adirondacks --- mother of all Northeast trails.


Day 1: Three Needles In a Wet Haystack

We woke up early, excited to get to the trails. But Mother Nature was sprinkling us with blessings, I guess, because the drizzle did not stop.

"We should go anyway...", Dale said. "because if we wait for rain to stop, we might not do any hikes.", he added.

So, on to the trails.

We shuttled to the trailhead off I86 and immediately went to the other end near 73. The trail going to the Haystack mountain shared the first miles with the Red Trail, also known as the 'Jackrabbit Trail'. It was still drizzling so we were in our rain gears.

We were slow and deliberate with our steps through the rain-drenched soft trails. It is so refreshing to see how green those leaves are this time of year. There were also signs of fall coming because of some the leaves were shedding their chlorophyl already.

First stop was a Lean-To marked only as 'Placid'. We stopped there and waited for a few minutes because at that time, the rain came down a little harder.

Not bad --- for a first hike.



Day 2: Lost In The Whiteface Mountain

This hike came as a big surprise for us. The trail was a little difficult even for experienced hikers like us. The narrow not-so-well-maintained trails were so much different from the trails back in Pennsylvania. And the open ledges where you have to scramble to get an elevation made it even more strenous.

We got off-tracked twice.


Day 3: Gorges, Waterfalls & Lakes

Today is rest day... a prelude to the Big Hike on New York State's tallest mountain --- Mount Marcy.

We started the day with a hearty breakfast of selected pastries., fruits, coffee and tea courtesy of our ever-hospitable host, Mr. Schulte. He also gave us pointers on where's the most reasonable hiking path to the top of Mt. Marcy.

9:30 a.m. We left the lodge and went to the High Falls Gorge. The Gorge is a privately-owned tourist attraction. Hence, the entrance fee of $11.50 (the only disappointment our group had because we always thought that these natural wonders should be free since Mother Nature provides them for everybody to experience)... but hey, on the other hand, they need money to protect and maintain the place for us. It was a nice gorge with a series of small waterfalls running through it. After that, we enjoyed a 2-mile hike on the trail adjacent to the gorge. It was a surprising little hike because we saw a good variety of mushrooms along the way.

11:00 a.m. Next stop: AuSable Chasm. Nestled in a small Upstate NY town, this natural wonder is a must-see. It's also has a reddish high gorges and a more defined waterfalls that you can see from the bridge. In fact, one of the gorges is shaped like a face of the elephant! 12:15 p.m.A last-minute change on our itinerary found us on the shore of Lake Champlain. The lake was idyllic as the only boat that was running was the Burlington Vermont ferry. We visited the beach and the pier and did some window shopping on the gift shop.At this time, we were ready for a big lunch...

1:30 p.m. Downtown Lake PlacidWe decided to drive back to Lake Placid to have lunch and do some shopping.


Day 4: Begging For Mercy At Mount Marcy

The smell of early morning dew permeates the air as we prepare for yet another difficult hike. I thought to myself: ‘we have to be supermen in order to climb another 46er’…

The climb to Mt. Marcy started with a nice flat hike culminating in a very serene lake. We crossed the lake on a bridge close to its edge providing us with a 360-degree view of the lake and the foliage around it. It was a picturesque place with the trees that are lined along the banks mirroring itself on the water.

We were on for a good hike.


Gradual Climb On a Rocky Trail
The next section was not only rocky but also we had to do a few brook crossings culminating at the Indian Falls. The view of the Whiteface Mountain from the open ledge atop the waterfalls was awesome! We could not believe ourselves that, a day ago, we were on top of the tall mountain we could see in the horizon! Unbelievable!

So Close, Yet So Far
We continued onto Little Marcy mountain, passing the Phelps Mountain trail. I decided to go ahead of Tom & Dale on this section because I liked hopping on the rocks that made the trail. When I reached the next intersection (of the trails to the Adirondacks Loj and Mt. Holden campsite), I waited for my buddies to join me, giving me an 'alone time' enough for me to meditate. With the tall summit of Mount Marcy infront of me (I could see the silhouette of people already on top moving around the summit) and the vastness of the immediate Adirondack wilderness around me, I realized how small we were on the scheme of things. And how we were just passers-by on this world. It's just up to us to enjoy and experience the God-given natural resources around us. My 'alone time' was suddenly interrupted by voices from the trail. I yelled out: "Tom! Dale!" just to make sure that those were my friends and not some bears :)

It was them and on to the summit!


Climb (Not Hike) To The Top
The last section to the top was mad scrambling on the open ledges. This is the Alpine section of the trail where warning about messing up the fragile vegetation was everywhere. So, aside from minding where you place your foot, you also have to mind the plants, shrubs and trees around you!

There were also funny-looking triangular stone small 'towers' as you climb. A volunteer from the ADK (Adirodacks Mountain Club) told me that they were there for a reason: they are called "" and are used to give them an idea how much snow they have on the trail in winter. I couldn't imagine people hiking to the top of the mountain in a snowy conditions! They must be crazy!

After so much scrambling, I finally reached the top with welcoming smiles from an Ohio hiker and the young ADK volunteer. The view on top was amazing! The Adirondack mountain ranges, the clear blue skies (we were blessed by a very good weather, very conducive for a Sunday hike), everything was wonderful. Among the most notable view was the Whiteface Mountain on the North.Like most of our hiking trips, we rewarded ourselves with a packed lunch on top of the mountain. And after a few minutes of 'taking it all in', we decided to go back down the mountain giving us that sense of satisfaction of a successful hiking trip...

Rocky Run Trail - Lima, Pennsylvania

To prepare for our 5-day trip to the Adirondacks, Tom, Dale & I made an impromptu hike near the Wawa Dairies in Lima, PA. We followed a trail that leads us to the Tyler Arboretum. We hiked inside the arboretum, enjoying the landscaped and well-organized horticulture center. The most enjoyable part was the Butterfly farm with different variety of butterflies in their different stages of life.

Side Trip: Dairy Queen for Dale's favorite: strawberry shake. The Flamethrower's Burger was not bad either!

White Clay Creek State Park

Wed.,Aug. 16, 2006. Newark, Delaware

New Trails, New Faces

Once you got hooked into hiking, you always find yourself looking for new trails and new places to hike. I googled 'Wilmington trails' and found the website of the Wilmington Trail Club. Just like the other outdoors group, the club offer a wide-range of outdoor activities with hiking as their main interest.

I decided to join one of their short hikes on Wednesdays. On this particular Wednesday, they planned to hike the White Clay Creek Trail in Newark, Delaware.

A good number of regular WTC hikers showed up.

I met, Julius and his wife, Nancy who immediately approached me and asked: "Were you the one who called my husband?"... I politely replied: "Yes!". I was happy that they waited for at least 10 minutes before they left the trailhead (I was late 7 minutes trying to find the parking lot near Possum Hill).

After a round of introduction (mentioning your name), we were off hiking the trails.

The trail itself was very well-kept with a very good combinations of open fields, wooded areas, creek crossings, and a short-paved segment. The hike leader said that we covered 4.5 miles.

One of the things that I learned from these hikes (when you were the 'new' hiker) is that everybody there possesses this camaraderie --- it's an instant liking with each other or just like what Nancy said: "we walk in the same beat of a drum..."

Side Trip: Timothy's at the park vicinity.

Banaue-Sagada, Philippines

Stairways To Heaven; Waterways To Earth

Nestled in the mountains in the northern part of the Philippines' biggest island - Luzon, the rice terraces of Banaue and Sagada lie majestically as one of the most picturesque sites of the world. Once you set sights on these man-made wonders, you can't help but wonder how the native Ifugaos made those ladder-like farm carved on the mountainsides or how diligent these natives are.

I had the opportunity, on the prodding of some close friends, to visit these awesome places up North in the Philippines. It was worth the trip as my other trips in some other parts of the world. It also made me realized how naturally beautiful the Philippines is.

From the world-renowned Banaue Rice Terraces (considered as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO), to those long winding (almost scary) roads which will literally take your breath away, to the smiles of the colorful Ifugaos, to the beautiful waterfalls, the adventurous cave, the hanging coffins, and the slowness of life in that region made my vacation so memorable.

Just like how I recommend to my friends that one should at least once see the Pyramids in Eqypt, one should also make that trip to Banaue & Sagada --- where (as I told my niece, Syrille on our way home) native folks their created their stairways to heaven (rice terraces) and Mother Nature carved some waterways from heaven (waterfalls)... It is indeed a heavenly place...

Puerto Galera, Philippines

White Beach, Oriental Mindoro, The Philippines


Puerto Galera

One of the more popular beaches in the Philippines, Puerto Galera offers convenience with its proximity to the capital, Manila.

Most of the beach-goers here are from the nearby cities... and tourists flock to this beach in summertime.