Hello adventure seekers! How are the first days of the year going so far? Have you already had your first adventure for 2023?

I just had my first hike of the year with my Day Hike Therapist Family, and we finished a 21-kilometer trail in about 9.5 hours at 937 meters of elevation. [My tracker says 26.6kms; I forgot to turn it off during the vehicle ride to the jump-off point.]

This is a special hike because we don't only go out on the trail out of our hobby and passion, but also for a cause. The organizers of the hike require a ₱250.00 ($4.59) registration fee from the joiners, which is collected and provided to a beneficiary through an outreach program that the team will hold once the hiking season is over. The group normally holds up to 15 organized hikes per beneficiary, with a maximum of 20 participants per hike.

The selected beneficiaries for this season are the 236 pupils of Kalangyawon Elementary School in Carcar City, Province of Cebu, Philippines. The goal is to raise funds to provide raincoats, slippers, and groceries for the kids. The team is in active coordination with the school teacher from Kalangyawon, and one of the usual problems they encounter is the low attendance, especially during the rainy season. As the school is in a remote mountainous area, a raincoat was the top request to help kids go to school even on rainy days.

The Mt. Magdook to Pangilatan Trail is the third hike for this season. There were 19 of us on this trek, including the guides. It was a fun crowd, and there were a lot of familiar faces from the previous hike I had with DHT. I think this is the first time I didn't feel awkward being a solo joiner of the team since there were quite a few people I had met on the last hike I had with them in Kawa Falls to Pamutan Grassland. The chats were fun, and I think this crowd would be my favorite out of all the hikes I had with DHT.

So let me take you on a tour of this trail.

Lezzgooo!

1st Stop: Jollibee, Naga City

The call time was 6:30 am; I woke up at 5 am and took a bus going to Naga. The fare was ₱40.00 ($0.73) from Basak, Shopwise. Travel time took about 45 minutes since it was early in the morning and there was less traffic. I arrived at Jollibee around 6:40am, and a few of the joiners were already there having their breakfast.

I ordered coffee and a burger steak for my breakfast. We were able to start the hike at 7:00 a.m. and went off to the jump-off point. We had a quick briefing and introduced one another.

The first stop will be at Mt. Magdook; the ascent is steep going up the mountain. We met locals along the way who were all very warm and friendly.

Since all the hikers are experienced hikers and some are trail runners, we were ahead of schedule and arrived in Mt. Magdook earlier than expected. It was also a blessing in disguise, as the rain started pouring as soon as we reached the place.

Second Stop: Mt. Magdook

We stayed in Mt. Magdook as we waited for the rain to clear. Good thing it wasn't that heavy. The peak is also a hangout for the locals; stores are located where food and drinks are served. They even have karaoke there while enjoying the view from the lookout pointing into the vast ocean.

3rd Stop: Pangilatan Peak

The Pangilatan Peak was composed of 3 adjacent hills offering an open trail overlooking the sea on one side and mountainous terrain on the other. Mr. Sun started to kick in as noon time approached, and since it's an open trail, we were getting a full blast of its screeching heat.

Noon Time at Ila Ramon

We had lunch under the tree, just below the first hill of Pangilatan. Locals call the place Ila Ramon, which is translated as Ramon's or owned by Ramon. The old lady who is residing there told us that the owner of the land is Ramon, hence the name.

I had San Marino Paella Tuna for lunch. This is one of my favorite trail foods since it is very convenient and rice is already included in the can. There is no need for me to prepare a meal before I head off to the trail.

After lunch, we head on to the 2nd and 3rd Hills in Pangilatan Peak.

We spent most of our time here just taking group pictures, and some took a quick siesta to recharge from the long and tiring hike.

After we had some rest, we headed down to end the trail. I think my least favorite part of the trail was this part.

We had to go through a cement road, and it was all downhill from here until we reached the exit on the main highway. My knees were about to tremble at this time. It really hurts.

As per our itinerary, we were supposed to finish the trail at 4:00 pm, but we were able to do it 2 hours earlier, which is why we decided to head back to the city proper and head to Naga City's Boardwalk for some food. We decided to walk 5 kilometers more from the exit point to the city proper. (There were available buses or jeepneys, but yeah, we thought we were this invincible, and we had not had enough yet, so we chose to walk instead, which I kind of regret now as I can't seriously move my legs without feeling pain.)

We had some Beef Pares on the boardwalk, and it was on fire. I'll save it for another food blog. I went home after eating while the others stayed a bit to witness the city lights in the Pasilong sa Naga.

It was a not-so-chill hike, but all the pain was definitely worth it, and yes, I would gladly do it all over again.

Let the Photos do the Story Telling

That's it for my blog. I hope your weekend is also as fun and adventurous as mine was. Wherever you are in the world, keep safe and have a great day!

Thanks for reading - Yza 😘

All photos were taken and edited by me unless stated otherwise. There are also shared images by my trail mates with permission for sharing. Images may have been shared to my social media accounts prior posting to the blog.