Hola earthlings, outdoorsmen, and future outdoorsmen!

If you ever wondered why I have initiated the Step Out Xayd blog series, this is the write up that will answer your questions.

Read my previous Step Out Xayd blogs here:

https://steemit.com/adventure/@xaydtrips/step-out-xayd-1-0-brewing-adventures-for-the-cebu-steemit-community https://steemit.com/stepoutxayd/@xaydtrips/step-out-xayd-1-1-invite-to-the-budlaan-sirao-dayhike-traverse-for-the-cebu-steemit-community

I have mentioned in my first two Step Out Xayd blogs that all the SBD earnings from this series will be allocated for my future expedition. This August I will be taking on one of the most difficult mountains in the country. However, before I get to further details, let me first introduce to you what Step Out Xayd is.

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Step Outside

Step Out Xayd is a blog series where I will be writing about hiking and climbing. It is a pun I personally thought of from the phrase "step outside". I would like to encourage every Steemian to go out and see the world so you will have something to write about.

Moreover, Step Out Xayd is also an event name. These events will range from anything between snorkeling to mountaineering - basically anything that will encourage you to step outside. The very first event is called the Step Out Xayd: Budlaan Falls-Sirao Dayhike Traverse.

Kindly refer to this blog for specifics of this event:
https://steemit.com/stepoutxayd/@xaydtrips/step-out-xayd-1-1-invite-to-the-budlaan-sirao-dayhike-traverse-for-the-cebu-steemit-community

In this event, I will not only let you walk many kilometers of trail and dirt road but also give you a crash course on how to approach the outdoors responsible. As much as I would like to teach you the full-length mountaineering course, I can only afford a few minutes of condensed discussion on the "Leave No Trace" principle which is essentially what you really need to know.

_{Join the first ever Step Out Xayd event. Click here for more details!}

So we pay you 1SBD so we can walk a very long distance?

Hiking is a strenuous task. At some point, you may even ask why you are punishing yourself by doing so. However, once you reach the top, you get to be rewarded with the most beautiful view of the city, the hills, and the sea. I guarantee you, it will be worth it.

Hiking is also a risky task. That is why we will have at least four volunteer guides on the Step Out Xayd event. These guides are experienced mountaineers who will make sure that everyone is able to keep up to the pace and to provide assistance wherever needed. They will serve as trail masters, medics, runners, and sweepers. The 1SBD registration fee will cover the transportation and food for the volunteers guides. Note that the guides are not being paid. Any excess in the registration fee will be transferred to the fund raising amount.

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Preparing for the Greater Outdoors

In August of 2018, my team and I will be climbing Mt. Mantalingajan, the third of the knife-edge trilogy mountains. It is said to be one of the most difficult climbs in the country and will take anywhere between three to five days to fully traverse the trails, depending on pace. Kinfe-edge describes the shape of the ridges wherein there is only a narrow trail to trod upon with both sides sloping steeply down, showing the imminent danger of falling straight down when not properly prepared, a feature found in Mt. Mantalingajan, Mt. Guiting-guiting, and Mt. Halcon, the knife-edge trilogy. Mt. Mantalingajan is located in the southern part of Palawan and can be traverse through the towns of Rizal and Brooke's Point. It is also a protected landscape under the National Integrated Protected Area Systems Law so we can expect high biodiversity and dense flora and fauna.

My team has been training almost every weekend since April so that we could cope up to the physically and mentally demanding climb. Along with these preparations, we are also saving up some cash for the expedition. The estimated budget per person is around 200USD for each of the member of our fifteen-man team, giving us a total budget of 3000USD.

_{A screen capture from Pinoy Mountaineer's facebook page.}

The Step Out Xayd blog series is my way of raising the 200USD budget per person. Moreover, I will be splitting the SBD earnings of this blog series to the volunteer guides who are also members of my expedition team. This is to help everyone raise funds for this physically and financially tasking undertaking.

We aren't rich people but whatever we have, we spend on paying for the experience of being with nature. Every single upvote and resteem is bringing us a step closer to that experience.

Thank you all for the support!

Cheers,
Xayd