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Our World in Words

Our World in Words

In Mt. Hibok-Hibok’s Itum Trail, We Truly #FeelCamiguin

We had set out for Mt. Hibok-Hibok’s Itum Trail from Cebu a bit excited, but also frightened. Opened only last year, the trail, though the shortest of three trails going to the summit, is the hardest and most technical of all. A leader said we should expect “unlimited assault” and several roped sections, some placed to make passing through towering boulders and paths that lean 50 to 70 degrees possible. Lia and I have never been on a technical climb, much less have training.
It was supposed to be a three to four-hour hike. By the third hour, while our more agile friends were already on the final assault to the summit, Lia and I were only halfway through. By the fourth, our team leader suggested we go back.
According to guides, we completed about 2/3s of the trail. Scratches here and there, muddied from butt to sole. It rained for days before the climb, rendering the trail ultra-slippery, muddy, and knee-breaking.
Toward the end, my feet have completely lost power. I’ve never seen Lia cry so many times while climbing a mountain. That’s saying a lot, because Lia is a lot stronger and faster than me. Her endurance and stamina are unbelievable. We all complained of aching feet, knees, and legs post-hike. She didn’t. Not once.
We encountered a snake, limatik, poison ivy, rattan, and just about any wild thing we don’t normally see in our usual leisurely hikes. We’re elated and happy with all of that – body ache included – sans a “successful” summit ascent. That mountain is lush and incredible. We’re honored and blessed to have experienced it.
Thank you, Camiguin, for lending us the gift of nature. And thank you to Travel Trilogy for bringing us here. This trip is truly one for the books.

in Destinations, Food & travel guides, Hikes, Philippines # Camiguin, Hikes

About the Author

Gretchen Filart

Gretchen is a writer of poems and creative nonfiction. Her work appears or is forthcoming in Rappler, Philippines Free Press, The Daily Drunk Mag, Anti-Heroin Chic, Rejection Lit, The Alien Buddha, Maudlin House, Janus Literary, and elsewhere. She resides in the Philippines with her daughter and kooky cats and dogs.

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This is the sweetest! In November we did a birthda This is the sweetest! In November we did a birthday hike in Benguet. I didn't know my niece, @themaiaimperial, was taking candid videos and planning to make a video as a present for me (thought she was just taking photos of us and the landscape - and she does commissioned work btw). And she used one of my favorite songs: Mt. Joy's Evergreen! 💖

Should also prolly tell you: Don't wear sneakers, like I did, in Mt. Yangbew. Trail is muddy and slippery. Only wore a pair and that tita outfit because we were eating out after, and am too lazy to bring hiking shoes and dry-fit clothes.
Wrote this exactly on New Year - perhaps my heart Wrote this exactly on New Year - perhaps my heart trying to reawaken to light after a soul-shattering 2022.

I thought of people who arrived and left my life as the verses shaped themselves. I whispered a little thank you and some loving kindness, that 2023 finds them in peace despite the goodbyes we exchanged.
Being on the road fills one with so many good memo Being on the road fills one with so many good memories. A kind of pilgrimage to one’s old self and the small joys that growing up and heartbreak threaten to diminish.

I close my eyes and breathe, knowing my breath is a prayer sent out to the Universe. May I regain my footing out there, I whisper. May I be healed in your embrace as always. Rediscover happiness, and self-forgiveness for having a hand in breaking my own heart.

Read the rest on my website (new post, yes! 🙂). Link in bio.
Eight years ago, Lia and I took a bus to Sisiman, Eight years ago, Lia and I took a bus to Sisiman, a small coastal town in Mariveles. Last Sunday, we returned and took our photos in the same spots. How the town has changed - so has Lia. It seemed just like yesterday. Time flies indeed. Don't blink. 
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#ThenAndNow
#thenandnowchallenge 
#motheranddaughtergoals 
#travelwithkids
#Throwback
#Mariveles
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I am writing letters and essays on the website aga I am writing letters and essays on the website again (link in bio). The past months I felt like I abandoned them; that I no longer know how to write anything that is not a poem. God, the tears putting it all in words. So poignant (and sappy, like always😆). Feels like a return home. I hope to return home every week. 💖
This is how nauseatingly sappy I can get😆 Writt This is how nauseatingly sappy I can get😆 Written many moons ago. 

My friends: Who do you think you are? Jesus? 🤣

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