“A mountain even how many times you have climbed it, will
never fail to give you new twists each time you will try to conquer it!”
I have proven this cliché once again as we had climbed Mt.
Batulao for a quick day trek last Sunday- Sept 1, 2013.
Since I personally believe that Mt. Batulao is ideal for
beginners, I persuaded my team members in Toshiba which are all first timers to
join me in this trip, and they are Mye, Cel and Jen. We also joined by two of
my facebook friends Janice and Fredda for this climb. A day before our climb, I
was informed by Fredda that one of her Italian friend- Diego who just arrive in
the Phillippines would like to go with us, and we gladly said yes, and I
thought that this will be 1st Twist of this Climb!
As the team leader, I have some apprehensions at first if
its just okay to climb with a foreigner (a complete stranger) whom I haven’t
met before considering that all my team members are girls and newbies. But from
the moment we started to mingle with each other from 9 am until the wee hours
that night that we have separated, I realized that Diego is a wonderful person.
Since he was travelling around the world for 5 successive years, he shared to
us enormous and viable information about what’s in and out in the backpacking
activity. Would you believe, we have to speak in English the whole time because
of our new friend Diego. Actually we have an internal joke that its not just
our feet is sore but also our nose,, due to nosebleed in speaking
English.(hehehe).. This is the 2nd twist of this Climb!
Back at the hiking activity, we started our trek at 11: 30
in the morning. The sun is already scorching hot but we bravely fought the sun
ray’s by applying sun block lotions and wearing protection gears. After an hour
we arrived in the peak 1 which is situated near a small hut of which we rest
for a while.We resumed our trek after 10 mins of rest, from there the trail
gradually increases its height and the sun continues to heat up, major factors
that contributed to exhaustion and dehydration. It was then after our 1st
major stop, 2 of our three 1st timers had reached their maximum
potential and decided that they cannot proceed anymore and they are just
willing to wait for s after we come back. This is the 3rd Twist of this Climb!
From 7, we are now just 5 who decided to take on full course
to the summit. After an hour, we arrived safely in the summit. And of course
what to do in the summit aside from the non-stop photo shoot, drink the famous
ice cold “Mountain Dew” sold by the locals. Indeed in Mt. Batulao you can taste
the mountain dew literally and figuratively.
We just stayed in the summit for around 30 mins or so because the clouds is starting to get darker
and we can almost feel the rain drops in our face, and as if on cue, as we
started our hike down, the rain rigorously pour as of theres no tomorrow. We
did not have time to prepare ourselves nor to secure our things. Its just so hot and sunny in one hour and wet and
cold the next hour. This is the 4th Twist of this Climb!
But contrary to what we had thought, we enjoyed the whole
rain experience. Its like we are trekking in another mountain, because the
trail is covered with fogs with occasional thunder and lightning that adds up
to the dramatic effects of the mountain.
As Mt. Batulao is a favourite destination for mountaineers
from Manila, you can just imagine how many mountaineers flock this mountain
last Sunday, and just as expected, we are like a member of a large band roaming
around the barangay as we head back to the road. But the 5th twist
of this climb is that the road is not cemented thus it turns to be very muddy!
Since we have girls in our team and so as the other groups,
you can almost hear a scream every now and then because they get slipped in the
muddy road. There are portions of which the mud extent up to knee level that
can cover your whole shoes. But what’s interest me most, is that during our
whole ordeal with the muddy road, I have never seen a single mountaineer with a
sad face… all is smiling and laughing their hearts out. And the locals are
looking with us in such amusement in their eyes causing us to laugh with
ourselves a little bit more.
Due to our lost battle with the mud, our initial plan of going
to the amusement park Sky Ranch as our side trip becomes just a plan. Since it
was already past 6 when we took the jeepney going back to Tagaytay, we decided
to end our trip with a sumptuous dinner and indulge ourselves to the famous
food now in Tagaytay, what else but BULALO!
As I coiled myself to sleep, few hours after we have
separated from each other. I have learned another thing.
“A mountain even how many times you have climbed it, will
never fail to give you new twists each time you will try to conquer it!”
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