“I’m standing at the point where one summit becomes the beginning of another.”

What a way to see the new season of my life in this way. There are moments in life that don’t feel like endings or beginnings—just a quiet shift in elevation. This is one of my trail musings when I hiked Mt. Igcoron.
Mt. Igcoron was simple in elevation. The challenge? Hiking it at 36–40°C under the midday sun. We started trekking around 9 in the morning, which I gotta say, isn’t ideal.
I joined a new group of people who shared the same interests in hiking. As I have always been used to doing things alone, it was fun to know it doesn’t always have to be that way. It made me feel relieved that after over a year of letting myself into new places and communities, I somehow have people to share the experience with.
At around 12 noon, I see my companions pushing their limits, especially on the trail from base camp to the summit.
Personally, this seems to be the only hike where I didn’t feel like I was battling something within me, or that I would question my life choices at every step. It simply felt bittersweet.
But then, the 360° sight from above looked like a portrayal of my own life’s journey. The moment the realization that I have decided to move forward in life outside of what I used to know set in.
For me, this is the mark of my last hike in my province before I move forward in life in a new place. That realization too gives me mixed emotions of sadness and hope.
It is the new level of newness and change I aspire myself to see and experience.
I’ll always be grateful for the circles and communities that somehow contributed to my whole being in this season of my life—mind, body, and soul—and hiking community is one of them. ♡