Spiral Track: WANDER ENCOUNTERS : The Mountain Hikes and Euphoria

Ok, so this activity happened not so long time ago but a few weeks back after my son mentioned something while watching a TV news program, I suddenly felt the longing, and the push to probably set this event again this year - Mountain Climbing/Hiking/Trekking (whatever you want to call it (",) ).

We were having dinner and the TV flashed the news about Mt. Pulag. My son just got really excited and exclaimed "Mommy, mountain - WOW!". So I asked, "Gusto mo, punta tayo diyan (referring to Mt. Pulag)". Then, without any further questions or comments he said "Gusto ko 'yan,". And so the nostalgic ME sets in.

It was after college graduation - era of 2005 when me and the rest of our Psychology class decided on having a get-together, more of trekking and beach galore before every one of us will become busy looking for jobs, getting into med school, etc. Since my boyfriend, and now- husband has a friend who have climbed mostly all of the mountains here in the Philippines, we asked him what level- or more of what mountain beginners like us can conquer. Initially one of our batch mates' mentioned Mt. Makulot but then our mountaineer friend disagreed saying Mt. Makulot is a bit commercialized already. So he suggested - Mt. Manabu.

Mt. Manabu is considered to be a minor climb, perhaps level 2 for trail class. Situated in Batangas (Sto. Tomas? can't recall) this is a perfect location for a trekking (overnight) and getting into beach/sands after. So, we planned everything, bought stuff we really need - water (i can't remember but 6 liters may be the standard amount for a hike), rice, canned stuffs, camping gears, trekking outfit, etc. We rode a commuter bus in Lawton and once in Batangas, we hired a jeep to get us into the jump off site. The travel going to Batangas was really exciting and seeing all the good stuff nature has to offer really got us more excited.

The trek to the peak lasted about 3 hours and the more we are near we are to the peak, despite the sweat and the exhaustion, the more we are so thrilled to see the view from the top. It was past midday when we started trekking and we really are looking forward seeing the sunset from the top. And so we did. The majestic view from the peak really gave an almost teary moment, just seeing the most beautiful, simple, calming scene ever in my life. The cool breeze, the fresh air is therapeutic and healing. I felt that after our tedious thesis and defense, dreaded exams, meeting our deadlines for requirements and OJT- the entire experience of this climb is a great way to end the college journey as we embark ourselves to the real world.

We rest for a bit, set our tents, before the sun sets in, took photos (too bad, fb, instagram not yet around that time plus digi cams are still using AA batt, SLRs??) and prepared everything we need to cook dinner.

What did we have for dinner? Adobo, moondish canned laing - best tasting laing or was it because I was so hungry? I tried buying moondish a week after the trek and it didn't taste the way it tasted when we were at the climb. We also had of course - canned tuna, pork and beans, and spicy sardines. It was a hearty meal served with rice. Good thing, our mountaineer friend has a complete cook set and this made our lives easier.

And so the night went by, and during the wee hours- it was completely cold, totally icy cold. We cannot even sleep because the wind that's blowing in our tents is too strong that we felt, it may even tore our tents apart. I felt that there's a huge animal within the campsite. I thought I was paranoid or something but my fellow batch mates felt the same way too. We survived the very cold night, the eerie imagination and the dawn of the new morning is about to rise.

Morning came; of course we are up early to have a fantastic view of the sunrise. The phase before the actual sunrise is the most breathtaking. We saw the actual -sort of "morning dews" forming in some of the plants around -Awesome! Then, we had some coffee, and decided on just having a light breakfast before descend. Our mountaineer friend mentioned that he knows a bahay-kubo located somewhere descend where we can spend some time while he cooks spaghetti. Yup - SPAGHETTI. Cool!

I cannot count how many times one of our friends slip, slide, and fall. Though we didn't want to really find it funny- we cannot help ourselves and laugh. There was like a minute or 2 of interval and he will slide in a pile of plants (balance issues, perhaps) but it was fun, and takes away the exhaustion and length of time we are taking while trekking from the peak. And we reached the bahay kubo.

Our mountaineer friend didn't fool us - he really cooked spaghetti for everyone. Though he used canned corned beef instead of the usual beef it was so tasty. One of us made chopsticks out of the bamboo stem that is easily found around the hut. After a hearty meal comes a very inviting moment to - sleep. Yay!. So we took a couple of hours for a quick nap. Then down to descend.

We headed to the beach, I just forgot the name. Overnight again, eat a good food. Unfortunately one of our batch mates had an injury (which was a recurring injury already in the shoulders, which may have been aggravated by a super harutan in the beach). So the last stop we had was at the hospital.

This is truly a memorable experience. A very nostalgic one. I've got another mountain climbing adventure to tell, and this one is the mountain we climbed in Bataan but I will share that in a separate post since this one seems to be lengthy already. That particular climb is also a story worth to tell with all the eerie/weird scenarios we have been. To be continued..

Photos below: (I am about to scan other photos but seems my scanner is having those days again, will add pics once scanner is back on track)