Started the new year off with a little camping adventure. Well, it was a hike and a cookout, but it felt like camping. I even took a nap.
The trail was all uphill until I reached my limit and turned around. After that, it was all downhill. Funny how that works. My lungs were screaming for air and I was moving much slower than usual. I sincerely hope that this is not my new normal. I *think* I’m making progress day by day, but it’s getting to be a real pain in the ass. I really have to fight the urge to just wuss out and lay around the house. Oh well, I’ve got some pictures to share:
The path we took. I turned around (with a couple of others) where the orange line ends. The hardy and healthy ones continued on to the top.Old Catalan is on the far side of Olongapo City, about 40 minutes by Hashmobile.We had to hoof it almost a kilometer to get to our campsite.We were initially stymied by the construction of a new fence. We sent some scouts on ahead to find a way and they eventually did…This spot by the river will do just fine…Alright, let’s walk!On up!A view from on high.This tree seemed to be saying to me “Dude, are you fucking crazy? What are you doing up here, you can hardly breathe! Get you ass back down to camp and grab a beer”. Well, how can I argue with the wisdom of a tree? The local village…Be it ever so humble…Some village people. And no, they were not singing YMCA.Options on the trail.Scott on the trail. Thankfully he’s almost as slow as me…The local swimmin’ hole…Made it back to camp…Chillaxin’ before lunch…The old school way of grillin’ a sausage…Hungry hikers…Chowin’ down. Two-fisted style!After lunch and a couple of beers, I was feeling tired so I hoofed it back to the truck and took a nap. From where I lay I could see this small house and I thought to myself “what else do you need?” I didn’t bother sitting up to snap a shot but I kind of like the warped perspective.After a little while the rest of the group arrived at the truck, we loaded up and headed on home to Barretto.
Notwithstanding my health issues, it was a good day. Certainly the longest hike I’ve taken all year!
How about some unrelated humor I encountered on the internet today?
That’s a fact!Man, I hate when that happens!
And there you have today’s report from the Philippines.
6 thoughts on “Sucking wind”
First big photo essay of the year! Great pics as always.
Are you gonna see a doc or not about them lungs? I appreciate the urge to self-diagnose, seeing as I do it myself, but at some point, you oughtta leave it to the pros. Am getting worried. You might need some meds to help open up those airways.
Think it might be possible to live a simple life in a shack in the mountains, among all the creepie-crawlies?
No, I couldn’t live out there in the boonies. Just too damn isolated. I define boonies as being beyond walking distance to a bar!
Kev, you’ll perhaps recall my pre-diagnosis lung issues in Korea. That night we were walking back from dinner in HBC and I had to sit down halfway because I couldn’t catch my breath? I went to a Korean doctor who prescribed antibiotics for bronchitis. After three months I’m still having breathing problems so I get an appointment with a doc on the Army base. Turns out it was chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). So, I’ve been using meds and inhalers ever since and they’ve served me well. No breathing attacks like before.
So, the difference now is I might have a bout of bronchitis which is exacerbating my COPD. Or maybe the COPD has progressed to the next stage. Either way, the treatment would be the same. These days I’m using my nebulizer three or four times a day instead of once a week, and it helps.
My domestic helper (who is a certified caregiver, one of the reasons I hired her) has been on my ass to go to the doctor about the cough. I guess I woke her up the other night. But the perverse thing is the cough, as painful as it is, is my body’s way of excreting all that shit building up in my lungs. So I don’t want to do any cough suppressants. I’ll give it till Monday and see what happens.
Oh yeah, no comment on the link? I remember that post from almost 15 years ago. Hope it is not a painful memory for you.
Ignorant question incoming: the males in the village pics you post rarely seem to be occupied with the burdens of work. Are they on the grog and/or hoe do these folks subsist…?
(You might want to try swimming and breathing exercises for your COPD. What you might be paradoxically discovering is that the Philipine air is not ideal for keeping it in relative abeyance.)
John,
I had a smile when I hovered my cursor over the link. Truth be told, I already knew what you were linking to, as I think you’ve linked to it before.
Understood re: COPD, etc. Hope you find a competent doc.
Kev, yes I’ve linked it before I’m sure. You did two posts that spring (the other an Easter meditation) that really hooked me as a reader of Hairy Chasms. Re-reading them now I realize you were going through some hard times but your words of wisdom still resonate over all these years.
Dan, regarding the village people. We were there on New Year’s Day, which is a pretty big holiday here–family get-togethers, big meals, and lots of Red Horse and Emprador, the alcoholic beverages of choice for the locals. But I doubt most of these folks have “regular” employment. They may find intermittent work as laborers or go up on the mountain and cut down bamboo to sell kind of thing. It’s got to be a hard life and I don’t know how they make it day in and day out. But I really do respect the perseverance of the Filipino people.
First big photo essay of the year! Great pics as always.
Are you gonna see a doc or not about them lungs? I appreciate the urge to self-diagnose, seeing as I do it myself, but at some point, you oughtta leave it to the pros. Am getting worried. You might need some meds to help open up those airways.
Think it might be possible to live a simple life in a shack in the mountains, among all the creepie-crawlies?
No, I couldn’t live out there in the boonies. Just too damn isolated. I define boonies as being beyond walking distance to a bar!
Kev, you’ll perhaps recall my pre-diagnosis lung issues in Korea. That night we were walking back from dinner in HBC and I had to sit down halfway because I couldn’t catch my breath? I went to a Korean doctor who prescribed antibiotics for bronchitis. After three months I’m still having breathing problems so I get an appointment with a doc on the Army base. Turns out it was chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). So, I’ve been using meds and inhalers ever since and they’ve served me well. No breathing attacks like before.
So, the difference now is I might have a bout of bronchitis which is exacerbating my COPD. Or maybe the COPD has progressed to the next stage. Either way, the treatment would be the same. These days I’m using my nebulizer three or four times a day instead of once a week, and it helps.
My domestic helper (who is a certified caregiver, one of the reasons I hired her) has been on my ass to go to the doctor about the cough. I guess I woke her up the other night. But the perverse thing is the cough, as painful as it is, is my body’s way of excreting all that shit building up in my lungs. So I don’t want to do any cough suppressants. I’ll give it till Monday and see what happens.
Oh yeah, no comment on the link? I remember that post from almost 15 years ago. Hope it is not a painful memory for you.
Ignorant question incoming: the males in the village pics you post rarely seem to be occupied with the burdens of work. Are they on the grog and/or hoe do these folks subsist…?
(You might want to try swimming and breathing exercises for your COPD. What you might be paradoxically discovering is that the Philipine air is not ideal for keeping it in relative abeyance.)
John,
I had a smile when I hovered my cursor over the link. Truth be told, I already knew what you were linking to, as I think you’ve linked to it before.
Understood re: COPD, etc. Hope you find a competent doc.
Kev, yes I’ve linked it before I’m sure. You did two posts that spring (the other an Easter meditation) that really hooked me as a reader of Hairy Chasms. Re-reading them now I realize you were going through some hard times but your words of wisdom still resonate over all these years.
Dan, regarding the village people. We were there on New Year’s Day, which is a pretty big holiday here–family get-togethers, big meals, and lots of Red Horse and Emprador, the alcoholic beverages of choice for the locals. But I doubt most of these folks have “regular” employment. They may find intermittent work as laborers or go up on the mountain and cut down bamboo to sell kind of thing. It’s got to be a hard life and I don’t know how they make it day in and day out. But I really do respect the perseverance of the Filipino people.