Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Happy Campers in Mount Everest


The Board during it's year end drinking session have decided that Happy Campers Pilipinas (HCP) will send a team to Mt. Everest in 2010. In a resolution witnessed by a bottle of brandy, 2 bottles of scotch, 5 bottles of red wine and dozens of assorted beer... Cho and Tita Merly will lead the fund raising activities which include prosperity dances in leading public markets nationwide. Kick off activity netted HCP a couple of thousand pesos courtesy of market vendors in Clover Leaf Balintawak.



Interested members who would like to be part of Happy Team Everest please signify your intention by posting on the comment section below. It will be an all expense paid trip for qualified aspirants plus a complete DVD dance instruction of Material Girl. Good Luck!

Monday, December 29, 2008

Mt. Batulao... Happy Campers' Lechon Party!



It was meant to be an induction climb for some of us, but it turned out to be a party.





We started our hike by choosing our would be guide amongst the young boys waiting at the jump off. Melvin 9 years old proved to be the perfect guide. He was courteous, knows the trail well and can even turn a mountain flower into a musical instrument. So while we huffed our way through the rugged trail,he was making sounds from a flower that reminded us of a bird chirping or a cat in heat.




Happy Campers tried the "new trail" and the view is magnificent. We also met some interesting people along the way but we'll never forget... the future Mayor of Batulao.





The campsite just below the summit is a good place to rest. The view...superb! One of us could not resist the cool mountain air and dream his way to the summit.





Climbing Mount Batulao is fun and rewarding.... crispy lechon and cold beer on the house!


Thursday, December 4, 2008

Mt. Amuyao Night Trek


Night Trek in Mt. Amuyao is not only a possibility, it's a reality! How did we do it? here's our story...


We were booked on a 9:30pm autobus but missed it. We were hurled like sacks of potatoes on the next bus squeezing ourselves on it's center seats. From Manila to Banaue we were threatened not to move nor breadth because doing so will cause a dangerous weight imbalance to the bus. For 10 long hours we kept still, managing only to blink ones a while and smile :) ....thinking that one of us will get the shocked of her life we she find out that we are going mountain climbing and not to some beach resort in Zambales.


Reaching Banaue with sored butts and numbed limbs, we managed to have a hearty breakfast in Las Vegas Restaurant. Here, we met the jeepney driver that will take us to Barlig (jump off point). Funny, but this driver and his know-it-all assistant have not seen Barlig in their entire life. Tough Luck!

Since our guides are clueless to our destination, we stopped more often than not to ask for directions. One of the girls could not control nature's call during the trip, so we made an emergency stopover for her to take a leak. Next time we saw her she was wet all over and has to change clothes right in the middle of the road. We took some pictures of her while she undressed in front of us but could not post it here. Those interested to see her pics can buy Maxim and FHM magazines next month and look for the article "Slipped and Stripped".


It was already raining when we started our ascend around 4pm. We have about an hour and a half of daylight before darkness sets in. The steep trail are so slippery we crawled our way up. Mountain Crawling....anyone?



Nobody quit in Amuyao. Our sweepers reached the summit at 3am. Tired, wasted but Happy. The hot and delicious pork "sinigang" was a treat!

Is a night trek in Mt Amuyao possible??

Happy Campers Did It!

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Happy Camper of the Month... Queen Sophie


Sophie is a Queen. You can tell it in the way she handles her food in the wilderness. A royal blood... always prim and proper. She uses the center seat of the autobus when traveling from Manila to Banaue, and has sore butt to prove it.
Leeches love to suck her dry. It's the sweetness of her royal blood that they like. Commoners do not have to fear leeches again when they are in a company of an Aristocrat like Sophie. These parasites hate sweaty skin.
Our Queen recently climbed Mt. Amuyao. The dead nails on her feet are proof that she enjoyed it. She swears that she likes mountaineering than golf. She's selling her golf clubs to pay for the badly needed nail replacement.
We all want to see you in our next climb Sophie. May your nails Rest In Peace...
Long Live the Queen!