You don’t have to go far in my neck of the woods to change your view. Our Friday group hike demonstrated that loud and clear. A Jeepney ride three kilometers out of town, then a climb up to Kalaklan Ridge, a stroll through a hillside graveyard (nobody whistled), and a long, wet walk on the beach. It doesn’t get much better than that.
It was interesting heading up to the ridgeline again so soon after Monday’s Hash. The trail we took up was within a hundred yards of where the Hash began, but it was a completely different path and experience. For one thing, half the climb was on steps. Most of the rest of the way up was through a hillside shanty village. The big difference came in making a right turn at the ridge (the Hash trail had turned left), which provided a gentle descent instead of the arduous climb in the opposite direction.
It had been a couple of years since I last hiked through the cemetery, so that felt like a fresh adventure. Same with walking the beach from the lighthouse back to Barretto. There had been some changes on the shoreline that necessitated wading into the bay in several places. We were fortunate it was low tide. Otherwise, our route wouldn’t have been walkable.
Lots of pictures taken along the way, and here they are:
I had to hurry home to shower and blog; then, it was off to the VFW for the AGPU meeting. I had done some looking for a new Hash truck, but it turns out the Hash is losing money every month, so there is no budget for that. We did elect a new GM:
So, the meeting was over at 3:00–too late to go back home and too early to start drinking. I resolved the dilemma by drinking anyway. I began at Sloppy Joe’s, then moved to the Green Room when they opened at 4:00. The Green Room was hosting the SOB, so I secured the best seats in the house by arriving early.
I was past the stage of had enough when the show ended at 8:00. Still managed to enjoy an episode of “Shameless” before bed.
This morning I decided to bake a batch of blueberry muffins. And then I saw this:
I had a follow-up appointment with the ENT doc who performed my surgery this morning, and she seemed pleased with the results of my healing. So there’s that.
And here’s something I haven’t seen before–a Lord of the Rings meme/joke:
Today’s Star Trek smile:
I’ll close with these words of wisdom that appeared in my Facebook memories:
Sometimes the light's all shining on me Other times I can barely see Lately it occurs to me What a long, strange trip it's been.
The cemetery is monumental.
A parkour athlete with no sense of the sacred might love doing a run through a cemetery like that. Ah, I see it’s a thing.
At least they spelled my name right!
Aljohn? I see no space between “Al” and “John.”
The inflatable island…actually, we saw two of these monstrosities on our beach walk.
Looks like a place to film a reality-TV show.
My shoes at the end of the hike.
See, that’s the thing that gets me—walking with sandy shoes. My feet would be blistered and otherwise irritated.
Those black specks in the mix are bugs.
Do you have a sifter? You could sift the bugs out, then give the mix a little taste (it won’t kill you—promise), and if it seems “off,” you can then chuck it. Otherwise, it’s probably still usable. Any bacteria in the mix will be killed in the baking. 350ºF for around 25-40 minutes (depending on the mix) is enough to kill anything.
A good walk with plenty of changes of scenery. Were the many stairs at the beginning of this walk a boon or a bane?
Cemetery parkour: An impressive mixture of talent and disrespect. Even doing the hike through seemed a little off (we had to climb over a couple of graves to get through). On the other hand, I was surprised to see that the litter culture was alive and well. It appears people would snack while visiting the deceased and just leave their trash behind. SMH.
Re: AlJohn, in my mind, I inserted a comma.
I guess I’ve been blessed, but wet shoes have never caused me a blister problem. That sand might have with more distance, but I triked home as soon as we left the beach.
No, I don’t have a sifter, but I can see what you mean, and it would probably work. But the image of those critters in my brain would persist and likely ruin the pleasure of eating a blueberry muffin.
I generally prefer an upward trail to steps, but the ones on this hike were evenly spaced and in decent condition, so it wasn’t bad. I thought the climb to the ridge on this hike was one of the least difficult I’ve experienced.
I thought the climb to the ridge on this hike was one of the least difficult I’ve experienced.
For you to say this, your lungs must really be in working order.
Well, I meant on the difficulty scale for trails to the top of Kalaklan; this was the easiest I’ve found. That doesn’t make it easy, though. But yes, before regaining some lung capacity, I likely wouldn’t have even tried.