Why not try this if u can afford? Family travel is a lot of fun besides its a very nice bonding time.
The issue with family travel, of course, is that more isn’t always merrier, but it’s usually much more expensive. Still, the savvy planner can find a way to escape the uh-oh of daily life and find an oh-wow moment or two on the road.
Tip 1: Consider a package
Pleasant Holidays, in the Nov. 19 to 22, 2008, time period, offers a three-night trip to Honolulu, Hawaii, with a deluxe junior suite plus air for $2,420, or about $605 a person, at the Aqua Palms Resort & Spa, a pleasant if compact hotel closer to the Ala Moana Center (pictured).
(Annie Wells, Los Angeles Times)
Continue
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
KENNERDELL -- Build it and they will come.
Nice to know that there are people who encourages others to love nature!
That was the idea in 1955 when Maurice K. Goddard was appointed Secretary of the Pennsylvania Bureau of Forests and Waters (forerunner of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources) and embarked on an unprecedented plan to build a state park within 25 miles of every Pennsylvania resident.
When Mr. Goddard retired in 1979, 45 state parks and over 130,000 acres had been added to the state park system, which now totals 120 outdoor recreational areas and nearly 300,000 acres of property.
But Mr. Goddard couldn't have anticipated the 21st century market saturation of home computers, TV, movies and electronic games, parental fears about sending their kids outside, and the consequences of a generation of Americans who have lost contact with the natural world.
The new mantra at DCNR?
Reach out and touch someone.
That's the goal of an organizational overhaul initiated this year to enhance the state's ability to program recreational opportunities and organized activities that might attract new park users.
One of the agency's most ambitious programs was a recent upscale eco-tour run out of Jennings Environmental Education Center in Slippery Rock.
Call it a sampler of autumn outdoors activities. The overnight adventure began with a shuttle ride to Clear Creek State Forest, across the Allegheny River from Kennerdell. Accompanied by park workers, 13 of us embarked on a short guided hike with a state forester who explained the conservation strategy of a large deer exclosure, local rattlesnake activity, a controversial controlled forest burn and trailside plant biology.
At Danner Campground we set up tents provided by the DCNR and hiked again along a Class A trout stream with frequent breaks for object lessons in regional history, geography and Leave No Trace philosophy. Following a delicious fire-cooked catered meal of roast chicken, stuffed squash, potatoes and baked apples, we settled in around the campfire -- they even remembered to bring the fixin's for 'Smores.
After a night of primitive camping, the North Country Brewing caterers served a hearty breakfast al fresco. Park staff shuttled us to Emlenton for a quick paddling lesson and guided canoe trip 7 miles downriver to Parker. The adventure ended with a buffet dinner at Foxburg's Allegheny Grill and free time to browse through the town's bustling Art, Food and Wine Festival.
The Fall Foliage Foray's $100-per-person price tag included four prepared meals and snacks, overnight tent and site rental, transportation, local guides and outstanding service from Jennings' staff. The DCNR eco-tour was a deal that no nonprofit group, commercial lodge or outdoors package tour could match.
"A few years ago, it was unheard of for us to have [equipment] or anything like that so we could lead trips on the water or a trail," said Wil Taylor, program coordinator at Jennings Environmental Education Center. "But now [Harrisburg] is encouraging that."
Overnight eco-tours are the most ambitious part of DCNR's new proactive programming initiative. They're still considered experimental; only a few state parks have tried them. Jennings has done three.
"You get a little bit of everything," said Gina Hench of Cranberry, a Jennings frequent flier who's taken all three trips: an overnight hike to Moraine State Park, a winter sampler at McKeever Environmental Learning Center and Goddard State Park, and the recent Kennerdell adventure. "For those who are experienced it's an inexpensive, nice weekend to spend with people. For those that aren't, you're with a group of people who know what they're doing."
Jennings' eco-tours attract people from college age to retirement. Sixty-eight-year-old Celia Taylor of Grove City said the recent trip was "not too strenuous."
"I enjoyed getting the canoe one day and the hike another day," she said. "I'm widowed and don't have a lot of people to do this kind of thing with, and I don't have the equipment, either. So it just worked out very nicely."
DCNR is trying to sharpen its ability to market each park's particular amenities and package inter-park activities. Its educational division was recently retitled and a new section for Outdoors Recreational Programing was added. Regional managers were hired, and for the first time in the history of Pennsylvania's state park system sporting goods equipment was purchased by the state for use by program participants.
DCNR Secretary Michael Di Berardinis said the organizational overhaul was mostly a redistribution of existing resources. Little new money was added to the park system's annual budget. Parks are still expected to generate $15 million to $20 million of DCNR's $100 million budget.
"We did a lot of research and conducted a study to try to validate the assumptions of many of us that there's a powerful nexus between environmental education and outdoors recreation," said Mr. DiBerardinis. "We're trying to find the intersect. We think when people get really engaged in the resource -- whether it's bird watching or rock climbing or kayaking or fishing -- it presents a wonderful opportunity to help them understand, in general, how to conserve those resources and what their role is in conservation."
Facing a generation of Pennsylvanians who'd rather swim in a heated pool than a freshwater lake, recruiting new park visitors will require a new generation of aggressive marketing techniques.
"We need to build new audiences," he said. "Part of that is connecting with people who live in heavily built environments in metropolitan areas. We need to find ways to get them to connect with nature."
One of DCNR's new regional managers, Melissa Lambert of Mt. Washington, is finding new ways for parks in Western Pennsylvania to interact with each other and attract new visitors.
"It's a multifaceted job, helping parks to coordinate their programs, training staff, offering a helping hand with some of their programs," she said. "We're helping [parks] to create partners and work beyond their park boundaries."
In one of the new programs, Adventure Camp, urban kids from Pittsburgh and Erie are recruited to spend a week outdoors.
"These are kids who had never been out of the city," said Ms. Lambert. "We taught them things like fishing and kayaking and biking and Leave No Trace ethics with the hope that they'll take that knowledge [home] and make connections of their own, maybe come back and bring their families. We're trying to attract a whole new audience."
Source
That was the idea in 1955 when Maurice K. Goddard was appointed Secretary of the Pennsylvania Bureau of Forests and Waters (forerunner of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources) and embarked on an unprecedented plan to build a state park within 25 miles of every Pennsylvania resident.
When Mr. Goddard retired in 1979, 45 state parks and over 130,000 acres had been added to the state park system, which now totals 120 outdoor recreational areas and nearly 300,000 acres of property.
But Mr. Goddard couldn't have anticipated the 21st century market saturation of home computers, TV, movies and electronic games, parental fears about sending their kids outside, and the consequences of a generation of Americans who have lost contact with the natural world.
The new mantra at DCNR?
Reach out and touch someone.
That's the goal of an organizational overhaul initiated this year to enhance the state's ability to program recreational opportunities and organized activities that might attract new park users.
One of the agency's most ambitious programs was a recent upscale eco-tour run out of Jennings Environmental Education Center in Slippery Rock.
Call it a sampler of autumn outdoors activities. The overnight adventure began with a shuttle ride to Clear Creek State Forest, across the Allegheny River from Kennerdell. Accompanied by park workers, 13 of us embarked on a short guided hike with a state forester who explained the conservation strategy of a large deer exclosure, local rattlesnake activity, a controversial controlled forest burn and trailside plant biology.
At Danner Campground we set up tents provided by the DCNR and hiked again along a Class A trout stream with frequent breaks for object lessons in regional history, geography and Leave No Trace philosophy. Following a delicious fire-cooked catered meal of roast chicken, stuffed squash, potatoes and baked apples, we settled in around the campfire -- they even remembered to bring the fixin's for 'Smores.
After a night of primitive camping, the North Country Brewing caterers served a hearty breakfast al fresco. Park staff shuttled us to Emlenton for a quick paddling lesson and guided canoe trip 7 miles downriver to Parker. The adventure ended with a buffet dinner at Foxburg's Allegheny Grill and free time to browse through the town's bustling Art, Food and Wine Festival.
The Fall Foliage Foray's $100-per-person price tag included four prepared meals and snacks, overnight tent and site rental, transportation, local guides and outstanding service from Jennings' staff. The DCNR eco-tour was a deal that no nonprofit group, commercial lodge or outdoors package tour could match.
"A few years ago, it was unheard of for us to have [equipment] or anything like that so we could lead trips on the water or a trail," said Wil Taylor, program coordinator at Jennings Environmental Education Center. "But now [Harrisburg] is encouraging that."
Overnight eco-tours are the most ambitious part of DCNR's new proactive programming initiative. They're still considered experimental; only a few state parks have tried them. Jennings has done three.
"You get a little bit of everything," said Gina Hench of Cranberry, a Jennings frequent flier who's taken all three trips: an overnight hike to Moraine State Park, a winter sampler at McKeever Environmental Learning Center and Goddard State Park, and the recent Kennerdell adventure. "For those who are experienced it's an inexpensive, nice weekend to spend with people. For those that aren't, you're with a group of people who know what they're doing."
Jennings' eco-tours attract people from college age to retirement. Sixty-eight-year-old Celia Taylor of Grove City said the recent trip was "not too strenuous."
"I enjoyed getting the canoe one day and the hike another day," she said. "I'm widowed and don't have a lot of people to do this kind of thing with, and I don't have the equipment, either. So it just worked out very nicely."
DCNR is trying to sharpen its ability to market each park's particular amenities and package inter-park activities. Its educational division was recently retitled and a new section for Outdoors Recreational Programing was added. Regional managers were hired, and for the first time in the history of Pennsylvania's state park system sporting goods equipment was purchased by the state for use by program participants.
DCNR Secretary Michael Di Berardinis said the organizational overhaul was mostly a redistribution of existing resources. Little new money was added to the park system's annual budget. Parks are still expected to generate $15 million to $20 million of DCNR's $100 million budget.
"We did a lot of research and conducted a study to try to validate the assumptions of many of us that there's a powerful nexus between environmental education and outdoors recreation," said Mr. DiBerardinis. "We're trying to find the intersect. We think when people get really engaged in the resource -- whether it's bird watching or rock climbing or kayaking or fishing -- it presents a wonderful opportunity to help them understand, in general, how to conserve those resources and what their role is in conservation."
Facing a generation of Pennsylvanians who'd rather swim in a heated pool than a freshwater lake, recruiting new park visitors will require a new generation of aggressive marketing techniques.
"We need to build new audiences," he said. "Part of that is connecting with people who live in heavily built environments in metropolitan areas. We need to find ways to get them to connect with nature."
One of DCNR's new regional managers, Melissa Lambert of Mt. Washington, is finding new ways for parks in Western Pennsylvania to interact with each other and attract new visitors.
"It's a multifaceted job, helping parks to coordinate their programs, training staff, offering a helping hand with some of their programs," she said. "We're helping [parks] to create partners and work beyond their park boundaries."
In one of the new programs, Adventure Camp, urban kids from Pittsburgh and Erie are recruited to spend a week outdoors.
"These are kids who had never been out of the city," said Ms. Lambert. "We taught them things like fishing and kayaking and biking and Leave No Trace ethics with the hope that they'll take that knowledge [home] and make connections of their own, maybe come back and bring their families. We're trying to attract a whole new audience."
Source
Monday, November 3, 2008
Festival gives outdoors enthusiasts a chance to experience kayaking
Wow this is fun!
Karoline Stadelmann and her father, Philip, love nature and all it has to offer.
So when the West Palm Beach residents heard about a sporting adventure a little different from the norm, they jumped at it.
They spent almost 10 hours over two days — five hours each day — participating in the Okeeheelee Fall Kayak Festival at Okeeheelee Park in West Palm Beach. The weekend attraction, which drew about 200 people, enabled outdoors enthusiasts to test different kayaks.
Hosted by Adventure Times Kayaks and Okeeheelee Park Rentals in conjunction with the Friends of Okeeheelee Nature Center, the festival featured basic paddling instruction, advanced kayak rescue classes and Eskimo rolling clinics.
"I wanted to come and try all of the different kayaks," said Karoline, 14. "This is really fun. It is a lot of exercise. It works your arms, and it works your feet."
Her father agreed.
"This is a lot of fun. This is the first time I tried it," he said. "It gives me a chance to spend time with my daughter. I love everything outdoors, including fishing. My arms will be a little sore tomorrow, but it is worth it."
Stephen Wigal, who runs an operation that provides tours for kayakers along the Intracoastal Waterway and other saltwater areas, said the event was established 16 years ago. It started with just a tent at the park's lake.
"We were doing classes and bringing kayaks out here for the nature program," said Wigal, who will present another event of this type in March. "We started doing this as a fundraiser. We raise a little money, and it gives people an opportunity to have some fun in the water. It also helps promote the nature center."
The center benefits from the festival to the tune of $1,200 to $1,500 per attraction. A donation of $8 for adults and $6 for children younger than 18 was charged to participate. Weekend passes were also available for $12 and $8, with proceeds going to the Friends group.
About 2.5 miles of trails wind through 90 acres of pine flatwoods and wetlands. The nature center features hands-on exhibits, animal encounters and a nature-related gift shop. There are birds of prey and live snakes.
Roger Roque, who owns a kayaking business based at Okeeheelee Park, likes that the festival gives newcomers an opportunity to experience the sport.
"We wanted to show people the different styles and types of kayaking," Roque said. "It brings families out and gives them the opportunity to try out different kayaks."
Roque said the fact the Stadelmanns spent two days at the festival doesn't surprise him.
"It is really a unique experience," he said. "It burns some calories. The adults come out here and get great exercise, too."
Source
Karoline Stadelmann and her father, Philip, love nature and all it has to offer.
So when the West Palm Beach residents heard about a sporting adventure a little different from the norm, they jumped at it.
They spent almost 10 hours over two days — five hours each day — participating in the Okeeheelee Fall Kayak Festival at Okeeheelee Park in West Palm Beach. The weekend attraction, which drew about 200 people, enabled outdoors enthusiasts to test different kayaks.
Hosted by Adventure Times Kayaks and Okeeheelee Park Rentals in conjunction with the Friends of Okeeheelee Nature Center, the festival featured basic paddling instruction, advanced kayak rescue classes and Eskimo rolling clinics.
"I wanted to come and try all of the different kayaks," said Karoline, 14. "This is really fun. It is a lot of exercise. It works your arms, and it works your feet."
Her father agreed.
"This is a lot of fun. This is the first time I tried it," he said. "It gives me a chance to spend time with my daughter. I love everything outdoors, including fishing. My arms will be a little sore tomorrow, but it is worth it."
Stephen Wigal, who runs an operation that provides tours for kayakers along the Intracoastal Waterway and other saltwater areas, said the event was established 16 years ago. It started with just a tent at the park's lake.
"We were doing classes and bringing kayaks out here for the nature program," said Wigal, who will present another event of this type in March. "We started doing this as a fundraiser. We raise a little money, and it gives people an opportunity to have some fun in the water. It also helps promote the nature center."
The center benefits from the festival to the tune of $1,200 to $1,500 per attraction. A donation of $8 for adults and $6 for children younger than 18 was charged to participate. Weekend passes were also available for $12 and $8, with proceeds going to the Friends group.
About 2.5 miles of trails wind through 90 acres of pine flatwoods and wetlands. The nature center features hands-on exhibits, animal encounters and a nature-related gift shop. There are birds of prey and live snakes.
Roger Roque, who owns a kayaking business based at Okeeheelee Park, likes that the festival gives newcomers an opportunity to experience the sport.
"We wanted to show people the different styles and types of kayaking," Roque said. "It brings families out and gives them the opportunity to try out different kayaks."
Roque said the fact the Stadelmanns spent two days at the festival doesn't surprise him.
"It is really a unique experience," he said. "It burns some calories. The adults come out here and get great exercise, too."
Source
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Contributing writer Lauren Ennis took a walk on the wild side with Outdoor Adventure.
Whatever climate we have there are ways for adventures.
Outdoor Adventure boasts several weekend escapades that are sure to spark outdoor enthusiasts’ attention, including a highly anticipated ice climb.
“The trips are a great way for students to get to know each other and also learn to cook, learn first aid and take care of one another,” said Outdoor Adventure coordinator Scott Jordan.
Since the late 1970s, Outdoor Adventure has been hosting nature-oriented trips on the weekends and during breaks from school.
Small groups, usually consisting of eight to 10 people, travel to various parts of the United States to participate in these ventures.
Although the Outdoor Adventure group has gone on several trips this semester, it still has ice climbing, skiing, rock climbing, kayaking and backpacking trips planned.
“I go on as many trips as I can,” said Pat Lewis, graduate assistant and trips coordinator at Outdoor Adventure. “There are two trips I’m psyched about, the ice climbing trip over winter break and the ski trip to Red River during Martin Luther King Day.”
During the ice climbing trip, planned for Jan. 6-10, Outdoor Adventure will work with Adams State College in Alamosa, Colo. for a two-day guided climb, and then ski at Wolf Creek on the third day.
“Adams State has permits to climb in the Rio Grande National Forest,” Lewis said. “We get to climb with the help of their resources and guides.”
Trip leaders go on each trip and are trained using Basic Outdoor Leadership Training.
“We use a lot of their curriculum in our training,” Lewis said.
The trip leaders are trained in specific outdoor aspects.
John Gilliland, graduate assistant in charge of the climbing wall and also a trip leader, is trained in rock climbing and has been with Outdoor Adventure since 2003.
“I’ve been on roughly eight trips, all weekend climbing trips and one backpacking trip,” Gilliland said.
Gilliland said he hasn’t ever been ice climbing but has spent lots of time outside and in the snow.
“I learned to ski at age 7 and have been on roughly 19 ski trips,” Gilliland said.
Although Gilliland has never been ice climbing, he said the rope and safety systems for rock and ice climbing are almost identical, except picks are used for ice climbing rather than just your hands.
For those more interested in warm-weather activities, Outdoor Adventure offers those as well.
Jordan, who has been the Outdoor Adventure coordinator for more than six years, mentioned a sea kayaking trip in Baja, Calif., and a mountaineering trip at Olympic Peninsula as two notable past endeavors.
However, he said Escalante National Monument in Utah is his favorite.
“It’s the most remote area in the continental U.S. A desert area with beautiful arches and rock formations…awesome place,” Jordan said.
Source
Outdoor Adventure boasts several weekend escapades that are sure to spark outdoor enthusiasts’ attention, including a highly anticipated ice climb.
“The trips are a great way for students to get to know each other and also learn to cook, learn first aid and take care of one another,” said Outdoor Adventure coordinator Scott Jordan.
Since the late 1970s, Outdoor Adventure has been hosting nature-oriented trips on the weekends and during breaks from school.
Small groups, usually consisting of eight to 10 people, travel to various parts of the United States to participate in these ventures.
Although the Outdoor Adventure group has gone on several trips this semester, it still has ice climbing, skiing, rock climbing, kayaking and backpacking trips planned.
“I go on as many trips as I can,” said Pat Lewis, graduate assistant and trips coordinator at Outdoor Adventure. “There are two trips I’m psyched about, the ice climbing trip over winter break and the ski trip to Red River during Martin Luther King Day.”
During the ice climbing trip, planned for Jan. 6-10, Outdoor Adventure will work with Adams State College in Alamosa, Colo. for a two-day guided climb, and then ski at Wolf Creek on the third day.
“Adams State has permits to climb in the Rio Grande National Forest,” Lewis said. “We get to climb with the help of their resources and guides.”
Trip leaders go on each trip and are trained using Basic Outdoor Leadership Training.
“We use a lot of their curriculum in our training,” Lewis said.
The trip leaders are trained in specific outdoor aspects.
John Gilliland, graduate assistant in charge of the climbing wall and also a trip leader, is trained in rock climbing and has been with Outdoor Adventure since 2003.
“I’ve been on roughly eight trips, all weekend climbing trips and one backpacking trip,” Gilliland said.
Gilliland said he hasn’t ever been ice climbing but has spent lots of time outside and in the snow.
“I learned to ski at age 7 and have been on roughly 19 ski trips,” Gilliland said.
Although Gilliland has never been ice climbing, he said the rope and safety systems for rock and ice climbing are almost identical, except picks are used for ice climbing rather than just your hands.
For those more interested in warm-weather activities, Outdoor Adventure offers those as well.
Jordan, who has been the Outdoor Adventure coordinator for more than six years, mentioned a sea kayaking trip in Baja, Calif., and a mountaineering trip at Olympic Peninsula as two notable past endeavors.
However, he said Escalante National Monument in Utah is his favorite.
“It’s the most remote area in the continental U.S. A desert area with beautiful arches and rock formations…awesome place,” Jordan said.
Source
Saturday, November 1, 2008
THE weeklong adventure race and eco-awareness that is 2008 Carrera Habagat
This is an adventure open to all if u could join, please do.
TIME has proven that physical exercise and communion with nature are two of the more engaging activities in man’s pursuit of wellness. Not the repetitive jogging or kayaking on the beach, but cardio exercises that combine swimming, mountain climbing and running, plus a few mind-bending puzzles that involve the natural environment.
These are the features of the upcoming weeklong adventure race and eco-awareness program, dubbed 2008 Carrera Habagat, to be held in Santo Domingo, Albay, from November 12 to 16.
This coastal municipality faces the Pacific Ocean on the east, and the noble Mount Mayon in the northwest. The town is known for its rare and exotic black-sand beaches, which are likened to the beaches of Hawaii (the main island of the Hawaii state). The locals say that this rare type of black volcanic beach sand was formed from the erosion of ground lava, and is said to have therapeutic benefits. Very small specimens of several gemstones (including ruby, sapphire and diamond) may be found in the magma-black sand.
Carrera Habagat is considered the country’s toughest and most grueling adventure race. The interdisciplinary race requires several days of nature-related adventure challenges. The teams are confronted with basic and hard-core orienteering-and-navigation, cross-country running, mountain-biking, paddling, climbing and related rope skills.
Carrera Habagat is also known for fielding the best of the country’s adventure-racing teams. Among the prominent teams that have joined the past Carreras are Team Santorini and the Philippine Mount Everest Team.
For first-timers, habagat is the Tagalog term for south wind. The race is also called such because the driving force behind it is the Habagat Outdoor Equipment, a popular brand of adventure-racing gear and like products. The race and eco-awareness-related projects started in 2000 as Carrera Habagat.
Habagat head honcho Randy Su explains that Carrera Habagat is the perfect event that celebrates the company’s passion and support for adventure racing and eco-awareness. It also is a practical laboratory of sorts, where Habagat products can be “field-tested.”
“In effect, we are practicing what we preach: It wouldn’t be Habagat if it was not built by hand and tested by nature. The business and development of quality and innovative products for practical and outdoor use, and adventure racing simply grew out of our love for nature and the outdoors,” says Su.
Carrera Habagat also introduces and develops awareness for environment-protection and preservation.
“One of the most important things that the Carrera touches on is the appreciation for the environment and nature. In Carrera, the countryside becomes your ally, the sea becomes your guide, and the locals become your friends. Habagat does its best to showcase the many beautiful places that may be found all over the country, not just in the more popular ones. It’s not uncommon for our participants to exclaim they never expected to see places in a particular locality that are so beautiful and yet unknown to most people,” says Nadine Vallejos, 2008 Carrera Habagat coordinator.
Vallejos adds that the organizers are expecting this year’s Carrera Habagat to be bigger than previous events.
She says, “We’ve always had a lot of teams from across the country, especially those coming from Manila and Eastern Visayas. This year teams from up north won’t miss the chance to join the Carrera.”
There’s been too much reality TV on this type of race. Nothing beats the real thing.
Source
TIME has proven that physical exercise and communion with nature are two of the more engaging activities in man’s pursuit of wellness. Not the repetitive jogging or kayaking on the beach, but cardio exercises that combine swimming, mountain climbing and running, plus a few mind-bending puzzles that involve the natural environment.
These are the features of the upcoming weeklong adventure race and eco-awareness program, dubbed 2008 Carrera Habagat, to be held in Santo Domingo, Albay, from November 12 to 16.
This coastal municipality faces the Pacific Ocean on the east, and the noble Mount Mayon in the northwest. The town is known for its rare and exotic black-sand beaches, which are likened to the beaches of Hawaii (the main island of the Hawaii state). The locals say that this rare type of black volcanic beach sand was formed from the erosion of ground lava, and is said to have therapeutic benefits. Very small specimens of several gemstones (including ruby, sapphire and diamond) may be found in the magma-black sand.
Carrera Habagat is considered the country’s toughest and most grueling adventure race. The interdisciplinary race requires several days of nature-related adventure challenges. The teams are confronted with basic and hard-core orienteering-and-navigation, cross-country running, mountain-biking, paddling, climbing and related rope skills.
Carrera Habagat is also known for fielding the best of the country’s adventure-racing teams. Among the prominent teams that have joined the past Carreras are Team Santorini and the Philippine Mount Everest Team.
For first-timers, habagat is the Tagalog term for south wind. The race is also called such because the driving force behind it is the Habagat Outdoor Equipment, a popular brand of adventure-racing gear and like products. The race and eco-awareness-related projects started in 2000 as Carrera Habagat.
Habagat head honcho Randy Su explains that Carrera Habagat is the perfect event that celebrates the company’s passion and support for adventure racing and eco-awareness. It also is a practical laboratory of sorts, where Habagat products can be “field-tested.”
“In effect, we are practicing what we preach: It wouldn’t be Habagat if it was not built by hand and tested by nature. The business and development of quality and innovative products for practical and outdoor use, and adventure racing simply grew out of our love for nature and the outdoors,” says Su.
Carrera Habagat also introduces and develops awareness for environment-protection and preservation.
“One of the most important things that the Carrera touches on is the appreciation for the environment and nature. In Carrera, the countryside becomes your ally, the sea becomes your guide, and the locals become your friends. Habagat does its best to showcase the many beautiful places that may be found all over the country, not just in the more popular ones. It’s not uncommon for our participants to exclaim they never expected to see places in a particular locality that are so beautiful and yet unknown to most people,” says Nadine Vallejos, 2008 Carrera Habagat coordinator.
Vallejos adds that the organizers are expecting this year’s Carrera Habagat to be bigger than previous events.
She says, “We’ve always had a lot of teams from across the country, especially those coming from Manila and Eastern Visayas. This year teams from up north won’t miss the chance to join the Carrera.”
There’s been too much reality TV on this type of race. Nothing beats the real thing.
Source
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