Ben Alegre =.) Online

28Nov/080

My 26 lbs. bag for Mt. Pulag

Here's what my bag looks like...

North Face bag courtesy of Allan Vistan.

I have divided the main compartment into 2 parts: top and bottom.

At the bottom, I placed everything I will use for the cold climate at night in the campsite.

  • 2 shirts
  • thermal wear
  • gloves
  • socks (2 pairs)
  • pants (linen)
  • jogging pants (thick)
  • 2 jackets
  • shemag
  • undies

At the top, I put everything that I'll need during the bus trip and the actual trek itself.

  • long sleeves
  • another pair of socks
  • bonnet
  • scarf
  • another pair of gloves

On top of the bag is the sleeping bag.

At the side pocket, you will find my toiletries.

  • cellphone charger
  • flashlight
  • spoon and fork
  • plastic container (as my plate)
  • knife
  • tissue
  • alcohol
  • lipbalm
  • face towels
  • chamoi
  • tooth brush
  • tooth paste
  • Katinko ointment
  • deodorant
  • foot powder

I will also bring some medicine.

  • Kremil s
  • Biogesic
  • Ventolin (in case of an asthma attack)

At the sides of the bag, you can see the 2 x 1L bottles of water and 2 x 500 mL bottles of Gatorade.  There's another 1L bottle of water inside the bag.  I have also inserted the trash bags at the sides.

Other than the main bag, I will be bringing a shoe bag that will contain my trail food and food supply for the duration of the camp.

  • peanut butter sandwiches
  • Safari chocolate bars (22 pcs.)
  • Eng Bee Tin beef tapa
  • 1 can of corned beef

The main bag weight 26 lbs. Good thing I won't be bringing my Canon 400D.  That would mean an additional bag plus another 10 lbs. of weight to carry.

27Nov/080

Off to Mt. Pulag

After the grueling Men's Health Urbanathlon, I was invited (more like "peer pressured" by Allan Vistan and Verchie Totanes) to join the climb for Mt. Pulag.  Knowing that I need some extreme workout and some adventure, I readily accepted their invitation.

A week before the climb (which was last week), I have realized what I will be getting into.

  • Climbing Mt. Pulag is no joke. It is the 3rd highest mountain in the Philippines.
  • I'm practically inexperienced for this climb. This is going to be my first climb ever! Although I regularly run 3 Kms., it's incomparable to hiking/mountain climbing.
  • It gets extremely cold at the peak. They said that temperatures drop to as low as 5 degrees Celsius.
  • I have to step up during the hike for I am the only first time climber.

Good luck to me! I'll let you know what happens.

27Nov/080

We beat the No. 1 team in Urbanathlon 2008

Last year, I participated in the first Men's Health Urbanathlon here in the Philippines. It was held in  Bonifacio Global City last November 18, 2007. I finished the race in 1 hr 23 mins 16 secs.

This year, the Men's Health Urbanathlon was held in U.P. Campus last November 16, 2008.  I and my friends - Allan Vistan, Verchie Totanes and Echo Santos - registered as a team. We were team T-0147.

  1. We ran a total of 10 kilometers (3 laps)
  2. Walked and balanced myself over a long zigzag and slippery planks
  3. Got up and over the hurdles
  4. Crawled under the net
  5. Got over a series of barricades
  6. Went over Toyota pickup trucks
  7. Went thru a Toyota "car" maze
  8. Got up and over the 10-foot wall and unto the finish line.

And guess what? We beat the no. 1 team (literally, T-0001). Hehe.

27Nov/081

Back to blogging…

It's been almost two (2) months since my last post. I've been very busy with work.  For those of you who don't know, I'm currently working for UNO (One Hundred Services, Inc.).  UNO provides the new media services for Directories Philippines Corporation (DPC), the publisher of the ever useful printed Yellow Pages. Did you know that there's already an online version of the Yellow Pages?  It's EYP or E-YellowPages (www.eyp.ph).

Anyway, I'll talk about more of my work in my upcoming blog entries. I'm just glad I'm able to blog again.