Summiting 2015!

Hey!

2015 has been a wonderful jumpstart in my travel escapades. Yay! It's been a year of firsts - first to ride an airplane, first to go solo hiking, first to go hiking in the north, first to try high difficulty level mountains and first to encounter an accident during the hike. Truly, one of the highlight of my 2015 lies on my adventures. So let's get them one by one - the chronological adventures of that handsome mountaineer.

February 2015 - Finished Pico de Loro hike traverse from Ternate, Cavite to Nasugbu, Batangas.

The challenge of Pico de Loro - the monolith.

March 2015 - Finished Balagbag-Maranat dayhike traverse. This is when I encountered my first (and hopefully the last) accident during the hike. Upon descent from Maranat Falls, I suddenly slipped on a rock and a freshly cut tree branch lacerated my feet badly it bleed so much. I survived the hike and made my way to the jump off. Luckily, I'm knowledgeable on how to take first aids on these scenarios. I was rushed to the hospital to have the laceration treated.

On our route to the famous falls of Maranat.

May 2015 - Conquered Mt. Irid in Sta. Ines, Tanay, Rizal. It was my first attempt to conquer a mountain with a higher difficulty. It was indeed one of my favorite hikes for 2015. For hiking guide, refer to this link.

Overlooking Sierra Madre southern range from the summit.

June 2015 - Summited Mt. Batolusong.

Views of the mountains of Rizal. Can you name some?

August 2015 - First time to conquer two mountains in a month.

The first one was in Mt. Damas, the hardest I've ever done. It was my first invitational hike, thanks to GAME-NEST. For hiking guide, refer to this link.

The undiscovered beauty of Mt. Damas.

Weeks after, I had Mt. Maculot revisited with a Rockies-Summit-Grotto traverse hike. It was a totally different experience as my first Maculot hike was only up to the Rockies view.

A photo of the majestic Taal Lake from Rockies.

October 2015 - First of my travel escapades out of Luzon. What makes it most memorable is that it was my first airplane ride and first solo travel. Yay! For this escapade, I chose to explore the province of Negros Occidental. I had a real taste of what is it experiencing the City of Smiles, Bacolod City and explored the colorful history of the Negrenses.


Magnificent view of The Ruins in Talisay City, Negros Occidental.

November 2015 - A sudden unplanned trek to Hulugan Falls in Luisiana, Laguna - the most enchanting waterfalls I've seen.

'Falling' from the sky.

December 2015 - First time to conquer three mountains in a month.

The first one was a solo traverse hike to Mt. Daraitan. I've been 'itching' to climb that mountain since July and even it was raining that day, I pushed through the hike. The whole trip was enchanting - from the summit to the limestone formations of Tinipak River, everything was really majestic.



Polished through time - the limestone formations of Tinipak River.

After conquering Mt. Daraitan, I was invited to do a Talamitam-Apayang dayhike traverse. Talamitam is quite a familiar hiking destination, but the traverse to Apayang is relatively new. For those hikers looking for some challenge in the south, I would recommend trying this traverse hike.

Feelin' like a Kiwi at the summit of Mt. Talamitam with Batulao on the background.

My hiking escapades for 2015 commenced with my first northern mountain trip - Mt. Ulap. I finally experienced the magic of that mountain. I'll tell you, it was like a dream turning to a reality. It was one of my most memorable and favorite hikes for 2015.

Gungal Rock Formation. There really is a reason on why it's called Mt. Ulap.

To sum up 2015, that is: nine mountains, a waterfall and a solo flight travel. Truly, 2015 has been a year of exploration. I never actually have thought that I'd go this far with my travel goals. Yay! Achievement unlocked!

Looking forward for more travel escapades this 2016! We'll continue conquering summits and discovering places. <3