Why I Love Climbing

Most people probably think I'm crazy wanting to climb every weekend. Sleeping on the hard ground. Eating cold and less than appetizing meals. No bathroom. Going on a hike on a hot sunny day or worse, a very muddy trail. Paying money to suffer and undergo all these things... So, the question is.. why?

At first, I did it as a form of physical activity so that I can force myself to walk (and carry heavy weight for) long distances for the whole weekend. I also did it as part of my bucket bucket list. But somehow I enjoyed myself so much that I wanted to "suffer" weekly!

Then, I get to travel. Travel and have new adventures is my number 1 love since l was a young girl. (l used to sleep over at my cousin's house all the time! For some reason I use to think that her house is more exciting than mine. probably because their toys are different from ours.) I love organizing outings for my friends back in college as well. So reason no 1 is I get to travel. Self-explanatory actually.

Third, the view is really amazing when you get to the summit. It makes you feel so small and significant to the rest of the world. Like whatever your problems are, it's petty compared to the world. It takes you back to the simple world of mother nature. Forgetting your very shallow materialistic world for a few moments and submitting yourself to the mercies of your survival skills!

Then of course, there's always the company. I mean you can always travel alone but it's always much better when you have someone to share the journey with. I work in a hospital and for a very long time, I forgot to have other interests and how to make friends with people outside of work. So when I had my solo trip in Mt. pulag, I was reminded on how much it was to have new friends based on your interest... meaning, it was fun!! The last time l had friends for sharing the same interests was in college, which was the yearbook. Others are mostly mixed with school and work.

Then of course, there's always the reason of challenging yourself. In every climb, there's always something new to learn and new things to see. (Actually you're supposed to learn something new everyday.)

It is not about just reaching the summit and surviving the climb, but the journey itself. As I've read before in a signboard in a highway,"Life is a journey, enjoy the ride."

Republ1c Wakeboarding

It started out with Yani organizing an event for the weekend for Milcah and Patrick... anything! Idea from going to Sagada, to surfing, to whatever! But I told her, I had a climb that Saturday, but I'll be free on Sunday!

And that's the idea. She copied my itinerary on our Saturday climb at Mt. Batulao, but unfortunately, my phone was snatched/pickpocket-ed so I wasn't able to coordinate with her. Anyway, we just saw each other near the summit, and both of us went home after the climb, and on Sunday, went to Sta. Rosa, Laguna for some wakeboarding action! :)

Matel was also planning to go on Sunday with her boyfriend Ron and some of her friends. When she knew that I was going, they knew it was for sure, even if her friends wouldn't make it.

I wanted to sleep so much that I really don't want to go. (Plus since I have to buy a new phone, I know I have to save... yeah, right...) But I went because it was too late to cancel (Ron was on his way) and Yani will kill me!

Matel, Ron, and I took our car from Quezon City, and left sometime before 2 pm. We met with Yani and their friends in the Balibago complex, and went straight to Nuvali. You have to have a private mode of transportation when going to Republ1c. It's a really long, winding road inside Nuvali park.

We arrived around 3:30 pm. And just got the one-hour cable pass, which costs PhP 250. But there's a deposit of PhP 800 for the vest and helmet. We got a little lost finding the restroom, where we could change our clothes. Note to self: change first before registration, because your one-hour starts after registration.

The place was still under a lot on construction, but there were still a lot of people despite of that. (It was just a soft opening.)

The line was long for the beginners. We should have brought (or borrowed) our "own" board, because there was less line in the other route. (Next time daw.)

All Geared Up

Beginner's Course

All Geared Up with the Board

The Advance Course

Registration Area

Milcah, Patrick, Yani, me, Ron, Matel with the bare parking lot behind us

It was actually a good idea for us to go after lunch, so when we arrive, the sun isn't that hot anymore. The manong was also very nice, teaching us and letting us extend. (Well, also because the line was very long. We get to go on three rounds, though Ron was lucky enough to get four rounds.)

Wakeboarding was a great experience, but I think I still like surfing's much better? Or is it because I don't have to wait when I go surfing? I just paddle when I want, and rest when I choose to. And I still think surfing is harder. However, my whole body ached. I'm not sure if it's from Mt. Batulao or from the wakeboarding, but I'm suspecting that it must have been the wakeboarding. Because I really think Mt. Batulao was a leisurely climb haha Still, that's another story.

Mt. Batulao Climb

It was Rein's birthday and he invited his friends for a climb. Fortunately, that included me! Haha (even though we only met 2-3x so far hehe)

The day started tragically, with my phone being snatched/pickpocket when I got off in Pasay at around 4 am. That's why when I got to McDonald's to meet them, I was a bit of in a shock... Mourn for a few moments and scold myself on how stupid I am... We waited there for the others until 5 am, then proceeded to the bus station. We got a bus to Nasugbu (costs PhP 108), went down in Evercrest, and changed into our "gears". (Actually, I just changed into my long sleeves, and took out my sarong.)

Most of the climbers were people I already met from our previous climbs Rein, Alain, Chookies, Gyles, Ben, Ralph, Ynna, and new friends I just met are Dan and Abby. And we have new-found friends from the bus, RR and Jason.

Climbing Mt. Batulao was a leisure climb :) (Or maybe it's because I'm not carrying much haha Generally, just a water bladder and an extra shirt.)

My Malong, the only mountain gear that I really need

It was actually another hot sunny day to climb. (But it's better than Mt. Marami because there were lots of rest stops, where buko juice and mountain dew were being sold.)

See those mountains behind? That's where we're going

The registration takes place approximately 1/3 of the trail. Actually, there's two registration area, near the start, and near the end of the trail. (I think it's because they are the old and new trail?)

Registration Fee (20 for day trip, 30 for overnight)

Rest Stop near Peak 7 (where a female climber died recently) and the Registration Area

There are many routes that one can take to go through the summit. But because we want the shadier route, we took the forest route, where it's cooler by so many degrees. Eventually, the forest ends, and it's back to the hot striking sun (and by this time, it's around noontime too) to the summit.

View from the Summit

Still scolding myself for the loss of my phone

We spent several minutes in the summit, took some photos, etc, then finally went on our way down so we can have lunch on our first rest stop. There was a rappelling area on the way down, fun! Or you could challenge yourself and scramble yourself up and crab yourself down... (Hmm, did I say that right?)

We had a pause, because we can't rappel down because there were climbers going up! Apparently, my friend Yani was one of them. (Her story is posted in my other post Republ1c Wakeboarding.)

Yes, there's a part in Mt. Batulao where you rappel

We had lunch on the first tree that we found on our way down from the summit. There was this white cat there, who according to those who previously climbed, was already there even before. Apparently, the cat has a land spot in this mountain.

Thinking of my new phone

So many rest stops in this mountain! I think this is really one of the easiest to climb... Unless your route was taking the old trail then the new trail, which was more of a challenge! (Ahem, ahem...)

Nth Rest Stop

Anyway, we reached civilization around 2-3 pm. We rode the tricycle back to Evercrest, where we cleaned ourselves up. Urinating costs PhP 5, defecating costs PhP 10, and taking a bath/shower costs PhP 20.
Because I'm a very light packer, I just changed into a new shirt! Haha

In fairness, when I went up to buy something from the sari-sari store, there was a little boy who approached me, asking me if I need a guide. Apparently, I still look fresh enough to climb! Haha

As the itinerary goes, we went to Mushroomburger afterwards because we were very hungry. I should have ordered the mushroom burger steak with rice, based from the original itinerary. But for some reason, I thought I considered it an afternoon snack, and was planning on having dinner at home! (Whatda? Why would I think that??! Apparently, the trauma caused by my phone-snatching is still having an effect on my logic...)

We left around 5 pm, and reached Manila around 8 PM. They had a post-climb in Robinson's but I still had a wakeboarding I have to get up for the next day, and I also have to change my passwords because of my old phone, so I went home.

What a day!

This is a video produced by Ralph to document our climb :)

Katipuneros in Daet

My college friends and I were considered to be "Katipuneros" because we would always traverse the intense heat of lunch to Katipunan just to eat. Anyway, after two years of hibernation in designated hospitals, the four of us met again for some quality time and outing together! (We missed Rizza and Jike though... Okay, maybe Jad... for them? Ha!)

Originally, Loi suggested Anawangin Cove because it's cheap and there are several deals on it. I agree, actually. But then, a friend's sister mentioned the beauty of Calaguas, read on that, and so, I suggested that instead.

Three words: It was beautiful!
Okay, another three words: It was hot!
Got tanned and burned in the process of appreciating this beautiful isolated place.

Anyway, we started with catching a night bus on May 21, 2012, using Philtranco Gold Service, priced at PhP 720.00. (The difference between the two was there is a comfort room in the Gold Service, which people didn't use because nobody saw it! Hmph! I think they're deliberately hiding it...) Basically, the bus was delayed plus there was a road construction somewhere in Quezon, so we arrived in Daet, around 7 am.

Gold Express Philtranco Bus (seated in front; which is a bad idea. it's better to sit at the back)

We had breakfast at the Lourdes Hospital, which my cousin's husband's family owns, then briefly went to the private port, which was still under construction.

Then on to our two-hour boat ride...

Calaguas Islands

We reached Mahabang Buhangin, the popular tourist spot of Calaguas Islands, where we had our lunch. We were scheduled to go to the private island at around 4 pm, so we better get used to the heat and start swimming! At first, I didn't go because I'm not really a beach person.

Mahabang Buhangin, Calaguas Islands, Camarines Norte

This is the life: lounging in the hammock, listening to the waves, feeling the ocean breeze

Buffet in Calaguas Islands (compared to the usual roughing it out)

After lunch, there's no way to go around it but to swim in this freakin' heat! It's so hot! But the sand is so powdery and soft! We basically stayed around the boat's shadows, trying to protect ourselves from the scorching sun, but it was no use. We tanned! Hehe

Powdery White Sand of Mahabang Buhangin, Calaguas Islands

Anyway, sad to say, but we had to transfer and go to the private islands while it's high tide. En route, we saw a floating fish, which our boatsmen caught. It was a very big talakitok. It seems so heavy, I wanted a picture with it, but there wasn't time hehe

A very large Talakitok

In the private island, we had our own bathroom and everything. We had some photo-ops by the rocks, set up a camp, had dinner, washed up, and proceeded to the main event for the night: drinking and talking and star gazing!

View from the Private Island

Rocky Formations

Shoreline of the Private Island

In the morning, we had some photo-ops (except for Loi who's feeling feverish maybe from the alcohol or the hot seat last night hehe), breakfast, and changed clothes again (We had minimum of 3 sets of clothes! Bwahaha! This is an outing meant for pictures and the pictures we got wasn't even enough!). 

When we got back to the mainland, Doc Philip was already waiting for us. We bought some souvenirs, and he toured us around the city for a while. We went to a church (sorry, no picture!) and Bagasbas Beach. Wow, I wanted to surf! The waves look so inviting... even in the midday scorching heat! We also saw the historically first Rizal monument.

Bagasbas Beach on the left, Runway of the airport on the right; View from a beach resort

Bagasbas Beach Shoreline (Low-Tide)

First Rizal Monument in the Philippines

We had free lunch, from the hospital which was actually for the Diabetic seminar participants (well, we are doctors and nurses hehe). Then we went to the Mampurog River for some swimming. (I just love fresh water compared to salt water.)

Panoramic View of Mampurog River

The river was rocky (as obviously seen from the picture), with varying depths because of the rocks. There was a slight undercurrent, which was no problem for me to swim through. Apparently, I made it appear easy to swim across the river. But Loi was basically... washed with the current to say the least; she lost her slippers in the process.

Loi lost, er I mean, donating her slippers to the river

There were lots of palm trees around, and we had some buko juice afterwards.

We went back to the hospital to wash ourselves up, and fix our things. Then we had dinner, and caught the 8 o'clock bus back to Manila.

(Non-Gold Service) Aircon Philtranco Bus

It was just an overnight trip with the girls, but it was fun (Okay, 2D/3N, but since 2 of the nights were in the bus, it didn't count). I really like the star-gazing part (I found two wishing stars! Guess what I wished for? Clue: Inspired!). I really like Mahabang Buhangin too.

For the financial part, we paid a whopping PhP 8,000 for our boat (which if you can compare, you can get from other boatsmen at around 3-4k)... A boat that can fit 35-45 people! And there were just 4 of us, right? Anyway, we didn't know at the start (but we were billed afterwards) with additional PhP 1,000 for the cook. (Hmm, if I'd known that I would just insist we could cook. It would even be more fun that way!) My cousin also told me that there's basically Php 3,000 worth of food items bought (over-budget since we didn't eat that a lot; there's just four of us!), so we paid for that too. Then the bus ride going home costs PhP 540 for the non-gold aircon bus, which was actually faster and I had better sleep than the other one! Since I'm a very budget-conscious person, it feels like we paid a huge amount of money for this trip (rounded to PhP 5,000 per head), when we could have had this trip for a bargain, and still fun! (Maybe more fun, because we would be staying in Mahabang Buhangin. And sometimes, it's actually the "roughing" it out part, that's fun.)

Though if I was really honest about this trip, I sort-of wished I didn't tell my cousin that we were going to Daet. There was just the four of us! Maybe if I had a bigger group (maybe 35 or something?), I would tell her. But since there's only four of us, I don't think the boat or the private island is worth it. Actually, I think I would rather stay in the tourist beach Mahabang Buhangin, because it was just... really... amazing! I was satisfied there already, even if we don't have our own bathroom in the private island. The private island was great with rocky formations and such, but I would rather go with the Mahabang Buhangin. Actually, we didn't even have enough time to go and explore Mahabang Buhangin... Sigh, maybe next time...

Mt. Marami Climb

Climb another mountain for May - check
Reflecting - still ongoing
Socializing - still ongoing

Since I was so pleased with myself for climbing Mt. Pulag, I must have caught the fever, because I want to climb again, as early as one week after climbing that! Haha I even sent a message to one of my mountaineer friends, to invite me even if it's just a dayhike! (Once kumapal na ang mukha, dire-diretso na pala! Hehe Of course, I was still high from the climb, so I was kind of in this feeling where nothing can make you feel down, even if you were rejected?? Hehe)

Mt. Marami was a different mountain altogether. It is located in Cavite, not in Cordilleras. That alone should have given me enough warning about the weather! That and there was Deo's email that it's a hard climb!? (Whatda?!? I invited my friend along, and this will be her first mountain! We thought it was a beginner's climb!) The itinerary seems simple enough:

Day 1 (May 19, Saturday)
0430 Assembly at Lawton Post Office, Manila.
0630 ETA Naic
0800 ETA Magallanes. Registration.
0900 ETA Brgy. Ramirez, Brgy. Hall. Registration.
0930 Start trek
1000 ETA Ilog na Kayrayag
1100 Cross three segments of Bangkaan River; Nuestra Señora de la Paz trail
1200 ETA Kapihan Nipa hut. Lunch
1300 Resume trek to Campsite 1
1400 ETA Campsite 1
1500 Reach Bamboo Forest
1600 ETA Campsite at base of Mt. Marami Summit.
1630 Assault the summit; explore.
1800 Return to camp.
1830 Dinner. Socials
2200 Lights Out.

Day 2 (May 20, Sunday)
0530 Wake up call. Sunrise viewing
0630 Breakfast
0730 Break camp
0800 Start descent
1030 Back at Kapihan nipa hut
1230 Back at jump-off point at Brgy. Ramirez. Lunch
1400 ETA Naic. Bus to Manila
1700 ETD Manila

I was able to invite my friend Tin, to come with me. Deo told us to pack light, and that there was no need for sleeping bags. So there we were, carrying school-like back packs, while most of them were carrying their mountaineering packs! Hehe I know some to most of them already, so we just said Hi. Still, I find it very awkward and generally intimidating because there was a lot of them who has been through a lot already. That and the fact that I need to buy some water, prompted Tin and me to go out for a while to buy some. (Originally, two of my sisters were to go with me, but they got sick, vomiting. So I told them to just stay home, it was a good thing they stayed, because we hardly made it to the climb without some sort of dehydration, what more for them?)

Anyway, so we took the bus to Baclaran, and had another bus to Naic, Cavite. Since I already know some of them from the Pulag climb, I befriended some of those who are new to me (besides, they seem to come in twos, so it's easier for me that way). I started joking around that we should stay together because there were 3-4 pairs of us with a beginner; and if we rest for a long while, it wouldn't matter because we were all beginners hehe

Backpackers United Before the Climb in front of the Barangay Hall

The route was really, really HOT. There was no wind. And Tin and I just brought 2 liters of water! Ha!! Though in fairness, we have a fan each haha The trail started with a few meters of grassland, then dried mud, and wet mud when close to the river (oh yeah, I got into this because of the 3 river crossings; which was negligible by the time that we climbed because it was dry/summer season). It only reached up to my ankle!

Of the four rivers that we "crossed", this is the biggest

"River" Crossing

It wasn't that bad, because there was no inclines yet. But after approximately 1 1/2 hrs of trekking, the incline starts! And there was no trees! It seems that we need 30 minutes of rest, but we just go on a 30-second ascent, our "rest" washes off! Grabe, I thank God that I get bored easily (and doesn't last long) with jogging in the threadmills, and would rather do the stepper or the incline on the threadmill! What more for those newbies, who didn't had cardio fitness? Haha And they're still carrying heavy backpacks! Hehe

The Sweepers Caught up with The Beginner's Circle

There was a "potable" water source, but I'm not sure how potable it is. I saw a carabao drinking from it, maybe it's potable for them? The locals apparently drink it, but it was still water, coming from the rocks, so I don't really trust it. (I can imagine the bacteria and E. coli...)

By the time, we reached camp, it was around 1 pm in the afternoon, so the sun was really, really hot! We had packed lunch (Tin and I didn't realize; it's a good thing she brought Tuna Paella, while I brought Sisig.) Everyone wanted to nap, nobody wants to go the summit in this hot weather! Everyone was also conserving their water, bartering for water, which was the gold up there! Hehe

I tried to sleep inside the tent, after eating. Unfortunately, there was no wind. I don't know how Bea took it, but she was able to sleep! Olive, Tin, and I all had our fans. I couldn't take the oven anymore, so I went out. I asked if there was still space where I can insert myself in their little huddle.

Inserted and fitted myself successfully in this little area of shade

Since we didn't go to the summit that afternoon, Deo made dinner, as early as 4 pm, so we were eating by 5 pm! I wasn't even hungry yet. Anyway, at least that means that we can have our socials early, and sleep early too.

Made our climb worthwhile

Mt. Marami Summit

Tin and I at the Summit

 After climbing the summit, we head back to camp. Found breakfast ready, thanks to TL Deo, who didn't come with us to the summit. (Hmm, I wonder why? :) ) Anyway, we broke camp, fixed the tent, and started the descent. One of our stop-overs was where we can get some buko juice. We were running very low on water by that time. (By the way, I managed to survive with my 2L of water! 1.5L consumed on Day 1, and 500mL consumed on Day 2. Barely made it! I had two buko juice!)

Stop-Over During the Descent

Waiting for the Buko Juice

Eventually, we reached the barangay hall. We ate lunch, and washed up.

Squeaky Clean Backpackers United after the Climb

Grabe! It was a pretty hard climb because of the lack of water, lack of wind, lack of shade, and full of inclines! Yet, it was still memorable because of the company and our complaints against so many things (especially for Tin because this is her first climb yet! Haha Hopefully, there will be a second time for her) hehe But I wouldn't go back to Mt. Marami anytime soon hehe