Apparently, I can’t get enough of a hard thing. With Monday’s torturous Hash trail still fresh in mind, the Wednesday Walkers said, “Hold my beer,” and attacked the Kalaklan Ridge from the Olongapo City side of the mountain. As I’ve frequently said, there’s no easy way up, but the route we took this time was among my least favorites. Still, the beauty we witnessed during the all-to-brief time up top made it almost worth it. Almost. And then, once again, our downward trek on the Barretto side of the ridge proved to me much more challenging than anticipated. The consensus of the group was that we would never go down that way again.
Getting to our starting point required two Jeepney rides. And yes, Swan and my helper Geraldine once again participated in the hike.Our group pretty much filled the entire Jeepneyin Olongapo. (we needed two Jeepneys to get out of Barretto)The largest gathering of Wednesday Walkers we’ve seen in quite some time.Off we go!Or should I say, up we go? A long inclined road started our hike.Yes, that’s me getting ass-kicked ten minutes into the trek.The road ended. The stairs began.And they seemed endless.Motherfucker!The stairs ended, but the climb had just begun.Swan sharing some sweetness.Onward and upward.Our fun in progress!A look back down to Olongapo town.A shady spot somewhere.Be honest, guys. Was that climb evil?Be that way!The Ridgeline is achieved at last!Practically a walk in the park.And then it was time to start down the other side.But first, a pause to take in the views.We’ll be down soon, Barretto!Despite being born and raised in Subic, Swan had never been up here. The vistas wowed her.Down we go.This part was comparatively easy.By golly, Easter Mountain is on fire!A blue sky day.Then the down got a little dicey.Troy lends Swan a helping handNature’s beautyFeeling tiredThe final steps down.
At the conclusion of our journey, Swan, Geraldine, and I popped into Sit-n-Bull for some lunch to bring home.
I went down on this Surfer Dude sub sandwich.
Facebook memories reminded me that 8 years ago I threw the best dart game of my career.
That’s a 15-dart out. A perfect game is a 9-darter. That’s as close to perfect as I ever got. And it was close enough to perfect for me.
Today’s Quora Q&A:
Q: What is a small, everyday decision you made that unexpectedly changed your life for the better?
My answer to this question was sharing a blog post I wrote back in 2010 called “The Road Not Taken.”
On to the fun stuff:
Some folks are crazy about it.Necrophilia is overrated, right Prickhard?
Alrighty, then. Time to get on with the rest of my lazy day. Back tomorrow with more of the usual BS from my so-called life.
6 thoughts on “A glutton for punishment”
Yeesh, that looked steep. I imagine doing that in the rain is well nigh impossible. Or are there crazies in your group who wouldn’t care?
A [blue-sky] day.
Best photo of the bunch.
I went down on this Surfer Dude sub sandwich.
The sandwich also looks good. Be sure to “go down on” it in private, though. Little kids don’t need to see that shit.
Onward to even steeper trails!
Kev, yes, there is at least one crazy that wouldn’t care. I learned long ago not to trust my safety to anyone but me.
Eating that sandwich made me happy, but I wasn’t gay! 🙂 Oh damn, I just thought of the “but” thing. It’s all good.
“Apparently, I can’t get enough of a hard thing.” Followed by, “I went down on this Surfer Dude sub sandwich”.( sub sandwich equates to schlong in the gay world) Well, you finally came out of the closet. I’m sure that’s a big weight off your chest McCrarey. I am proud of you.
“Our group pretty much filled the entire Jeepney in Olangapo.” For a second there, I thought that was the California Department of Corrections bus arriving at San Quentin. Thanks for clearing that up.
“Yes, that’s me getting getting ass-kicked ten minutes into the trek.” Looks like The Streets of San Francisco minus Karl Malden(RIP) and Michael Douglas.
“A shady spot somewhere.” Everywhere in Chicago is “shady”.
“By golly, Easter Mountain is on Fire!”
“And there’s fire on the mountain
Lightening in the air
Gold in them hills and it’s waiting for me there.”
Peace Out!
re: your helper “Geraldine”
Didn’t she go by a different name in an earlier post? How many names does she have?
“Geraldine” makes me think of Flip Wilson.
Geraldine is her given name, her friends call her Inday, and her Hash name is Cum In My Basement. That’s the only three I know of…
I hadn’t thought of Flip Wilson for years.
Soju, sorry to disappoint, but you misread the signals. Not that there is anything wrong with it.
Yeah, I’ve walked those streets of San Francisco. But I was much younger back then.
Especially the South Side of Chicago, as I’ve learned from watching Shameless.
Yep, probably my favorite tune from Marshall Tucker Band.
Yeesh, that looked steep. I imagine doing that in the rain is well nigh impossible. Or are there crazies in your group who wouldn’t care?
A [blue-sky] day.
Best photo of the bunch.
I went down on this Surfer Dude sub sandwich.
The sandwich also looks good. Be sure to “go down on” it in private, though. Little kids don’t need to see that shit.
Onward to even steeper trails!
Kev, yes, there is at least one crazy that wouldn’t care. I learned long ago not to trust my safety to anyone but me.
Eating that sandwich made me happy, but I wasn’t gay! 🙂 Oh damn, I just thought of the “but” thing. It’s all good.
“Apparently, I can’t get enough of a hard thing.” Followed by, “I went down on this Surfer Dude sub sandwich”.( sub sandwich equates to schlong in the gay world) Well, you finally came out of the closet. I’m sure that’s a big weight off your chest McCrarey. I am proud of you.
“Our group pretty much filled the entire Jeepney in Olangapo.” For a second there, I thought that was the California Department of Corrections bus arriving at San Quentin. Thanks for clearing that up.
“Yes, that’s me getting getting ass-kicked ten minutes into the trek.” Looks like The Streets of San Francisco minus Karl Malden(RIP) and Michael Douglas.
“A shady spot somewhere.” Everywhere in Chicago is “shady”.
“By golly, Easter Mountain is on Fire!”
“And there’s fire on the mountain
Lightening in the air
Gold in them hills and it’s waiting for me there.”
Peace Out!
re: your helper “Geraldine”
Didn’t she go by a different name in an earlier post? How many names does she have?
“Geraldine” makes me think of Flip Wilson.
Geraldine is her given name, her friends call her Inday, and her Hash name is Cum In My Basement. That’s the only three I know of…
I hadn’t thought of Flip Wilson for years.
Soju, sorry to disappoint, but you misread the signals. Not that there is anything wrong with it.
Yeah, I’ve walked those streets of San Francisco. But I was much younger back then.
Especially the South Side of Chicago, as I’ve learned from watching Shameless.
Yep, probably my favorite tune from Marshall Tucker Band.