V is for Vanessa

Distance: 4.25 miles Duration: 2.25 hours Elevation Gain: 1200 feet Difficulty: Moderate Little Si, and Mount Si in whose shadow Little Si sits, is somewhat of a local chestnut in terms of local hikes. I figured, given its popularity, that this would be a good solo hike for a cool winter day. During the summer, [...]

Distance: 9.9 miles Duration: 4.5 hours Elevation Gain: 1400 feet Difficulty: Moderate I went on this hike with a buddy; we had a short-list of trails to try, and only made the choice in the car on the way out. The weather forecast for Wallace Falls was warmer and had a lower chance of snow [...]

Distance: 9 miles Duration: 6 hours Elevation Gain: 2500 feet Difficulty: Difficult Following a quick day-hike the weekend before, I was inspired to go out again. Unable to find any friends who wanted to go hiking, I found a group hike to Lake Ingalls organized by the Bellevue/Seattle Hiking & Dragon Boat Meetup group.  I [...]

After a day and a half in Sagada, I caught the morning bus from Sagada directly to Baguio. The route takes 6 or so hours and traverses the scenic Halsema Hwy, including passing over the highest point on any road in the Philippines. I tried, unsuccessfully, to take some pictures/video out the window of the [...]

Yesterday morning I just barely caught the jeep that went from Banaue to Sagada. It was a bumpy scenic ride, and we stopped a couple times long the way allowing us time to get generous glimpses of the mountains surrounding us and the scenic valleys below. The ride to Sagada takes the better part of [...]

From Manila, I decided to head up to Banaue and go where I wanted from there. This leg of the trip was a mix of emotions. I remember that I really enjoyed my first trip to Banaue with my mom in 2007, but this was also my first time back to the region after Julia [...]