climb...
I just wanna make wento...
Last weekend, we had our diagnostic climb at Mt. Makiling, via Sto. Tomas, Batangas trail. Traverse (which is a good thing!) and we ended up at UPLB-Forestry.
Honestly, prior to the climb I was preparing for an ANTI-LIMATIK gear... I wore long sleeves and jogging pants, which I don’t normally do... but last Saturday, I was the "gurl in black!". I learned from one of the members of OCMI that limatiks will lose their interest to you when you're wearing black ;-)
I was so tensed until the very last minute... I don’t know what to expect... I was preparing myself for the worst... all I have are just bits and pieces of stories from different people that I've read in the web... fortunately, after two months of inactivity from climbing, I live to tell this story.
As a whole, the prepared itinerary for this climb was not followed. The meeting time is at 4:30 at 7-11 Taft, Buendia. We're supposed to leave at 5:00 but we left at almost 6:00. We reached the jump-off point and had some last minute preparations. Before we finally start our trek we asked for the Lord's guidance for this journey. We're supposed to be riding the tricycle but according to our EL, Ka Fred, we're just going to walk for this will also serve as our warm up before the climb. The weather is not that hot nor cold, which is a good thing. We were expecting that we won't be able to pursue this climb due to some typhoon that's about to hit the area. Good thing, it let us have this "one whatta climb" experience and just changed its route.
What's inside my backpack:
a. 4liters of H2O
b. 1kg of rice
c. 2 tin plates (mess kits)
d. a pair of pajama
e. 2 shirts
f. a pair of shorts
g. 4 small green apples
h. a jacket
i. a malong
j. undies
k. a tiny pillow
l. all the mixes and
m. other ingredients that will be used
n. and other necessities
This is my first climb having only 3 sets of clothes, including my pang-akyat clothes... I usually bring 4-5 sets, for my back-up and for pictorials. hehehe... I started the trek not feeling too well about it, mainly due to anxiety and excitement... My backpack is so heavy, not the usual weight I am comfortable with (much heavier than my backpack at Arayat)... we still haven't reached the foot of the mountain and I can already feel the killer lower back pains, and shoulder pains. But I have to go on with it... I challenged and pushed myself... I have to conquer my own fears... The first leg of the trail was a struggle for me. I’m really not comfortable walking on inclined planes. I can feel all the weight in my knees and legs. After some time, Master and Kulas went the other way to make "basag", Panget and I backtracked and waited for them. What a relief to trek without my big backpack, but unfortunately, that is just for 15 minutes then, we resumed our trek again with backpacks.
There are trails that you have to be on all-fours to climb, and these are my favorites... the load of my backpack is equally supported by my hands and feet... I get to think which route is easier and the most fun part of it is inside my head I try to visualize myself as Lara Croft... nice tripping, no? The challenging part of this whole climb is that we had to climb a 70-90 degrees to reach the camp. We had to use rope. For me this is fun, for once again, I found myself imagining I am Lara Croft.
What happened to me in the last leg to the campsite was something I will not forget. In the middle of climbing (using a rope and some roots) I had terrible cramps in my hips-down. I felt so helpless and stuck. Panget, my bestfriend, tried his best to help me but I could no longer move my left leg. The line up was held up. Panget and Master had been so encouraging and so patient. They let me rest for sometime (I was holding on a branch for my dear life). When the pain subside I resume my climb, after 3 steps I had to stop because my left leg could no longer support my weight and my backpack. That was the time Master decided to call Kal-el to help us. He got my backpack so I can easily climb. It felt bad, I feel like I didn't get that chance to prove to myself that I can do such climb (with my backpack).
When we reached the campsite (peak of Haring Bato), which is located just above the rock climb, we sat down, too tired to move. But when I saw the sunset, my aching leg was forgotten. I took pictures of the sunset. I was waiting for the sun to sink lower but it already got so foggy. Good thing, I have enough shots of the view to satisfy my hunger for more good scenes to shoot.
We had so much food for 7 persons. We had Pork Tonkatsu, mixed veggies, and soup for dinner. Ü Gov brought a bottle of gin-bulag, we had to be contented with that, although bitin it did wonders. Pangpa-init.
As the night progress, it became colder. And at around midnight, we had to go out of our tents to clear up some of our things in the socials area. Our tent (Panget and I shared the same tent, as usual) is already on the edge of the cliff (and we are so tired to notice!), good thing Ka Fred woke us up.
Then Sunday morning came, at around 7am, they woke up to prepare breakfast. I am still trying to sleep hehehe. Then we started to pack our things and prepare for descend. The climbing down is always a piece of cake for me, in comparison to climbing up. hehehe.
Then, we also passed by Peak 2. Here we took a short rest and took more pictures. Ü
There is one part of the descend that we had to use a rope. Unfortunately, I don't have a pic. After some time, the trail started to even out. The trail became rocky. Once again, on the last leg of the trail, my feet started to give up. Until finally we reached the store where we cooked our lunch, Fried Chicken and Chicken Adobo!!! Ü
What I learned from this experience??? A lot! Ü
1. Every time I climb, it never fails to amaze me how God is so artistic, how intelligent and how loving.
Artistic? The sceneries are like life-size paintings, hand-painted by God. Intelligent? When God created mountains, He designed it to have a lot of trees. And the amazing part of it is how the trees, roots and plants were strategically place so that mountaineers can have something to hold on to upon climbing.
Loving? For He gave me Panget as my bestfriend, somebody who will encourage me, help me, and will break my fall during climbs. And, of course, because He let me meet OCMI, the kind of people who are supportive and fun to be with.
2. I also learned that no matter how strong you seem to be, somewhere along the way you will need someone to be stronger for you. And no matter how weak you are, time will come that you have to be strong for someone.
3. In order to reach the peak, it's not all about strength and speed. Reaching the peak should also means enjoying every single thing that comes along the way. (Aside from the fact that I was the only one with camera (Panget's camera), but I guess it's just me, Panget and Master are the only ones who seized up the opportunity to take in the beauty of Mt. Makiling.)
Til next climb... Ü
Last weekend, we had our diagnostic climb at Mt. Makiling, via Sto. Tomas, Batangas trail. Traverse (which is a good thing!) and we ended up at UPLB-Forestry.
Honestly, prior to the climb I was preparing for an ANTI-LIMATIK gear... I wore long sleeves and jogging pants, which I don’t normally do... but last Saturday, I was the "gurl in black!". I learned from one of the members of OCMI that limatiks will lose their interest to you when you're wearing black ;-)
I was so tensed until the very last minute... I don’t know what to expect... I was preparing myself for the worst... all I have are just bits and pieces of stories from different people that I've read in the web... fortunately, after two months of inactivity from climbing, I live to tell this story.
As a whole, the prepared itinerary for this climb was not followed. The meeting time is at 4:30 at 7-11 Taft, Buendia. We're supposed to leave at 5:00 but we left at almost 6:00. We reached the jump-off point and had some last minute preparations. Before we finally start our trek we asked for the Lord's guidance for this journey. We're supposed to be riding the tricycle but according to our EL, Ka Fred, we're just going to walk for this will also serve as our warm up before the climb. The weather is not that hot nor cold, which is a good thing. We were expecting that we won't be able to pursue this climb due to some typhoon that's about to hit the area. Good thing, it let us have this "one whatta climb" experience and just changed its route.
What's inside my backpack:
a. 4liters of H2O
b. 1kg of rice
c. 2 tin plates (mess kits)
d. a pair of pajama
e. 2 shirts
f. a pair of shorts
g. 4 small green apples
h. a jacket
i. a malong
j. undies
k. a tiny pillow
l. all the mixes and
m. other ingredients that will be used
n. and other necessities
This is my first climb having only 3 sets of clothes, including my pang-akyat clothes... I usually bring 4-5 sets, for my back-up and for pictorials. hehehe... I started the trek not feeling too well about it, mainly due to anxiety and excitement... My backpack is so heavy, not the usual weight I am comfortable with (much heavier than my backpack at Arayat)... we still haven't reached the foot of the mountain and I can already feel the killer lower back pains, and shoulder pains. But I have to go on with it... I challenged and pushed myself... I have to conquer my own fears... The first leg of the trail was a struggle for me. I’m really not comfortable walking on inclined planes. I can feel all the weight in my knees and legs. After some time, Master and Kulas went the other way to make "basag", Panget and I backtracked and waited for them. What a relief to trek without my big backpack, but unfortunately, that is just for 15 minutes then, we resumed our trek again with backpacks.
There are trails that you have to be on all-fours to climb, and these are my favorites... the load of my backpack is equally supported by my hands and feet... I get to think which route is easier and the most fun part of it is inside my head I try to visualize myself as Lara Croft... nice tripping, no? The challenging part of this whole climb is that we had to climb a 70-90 degrees to reach the camp. We had to use rope. For me this is fun, for once again, I found myself imagining I am Lara Croft.
What happened to me in the last leg to the campsite was something I will not forget. In the middle of climbing (using a rope and some roots) I had terrible cramps in my hips-down. I felt so helpless and stuck. Panget, my bestfriend, tried his best to help me but I could no longer move my left leg. The line up was held up. Panget and Master had been so encouraging and so patient. They let me rest for sometime (I was holding on a branch for my dear life). When the pain subside I resume my climb, after 3 steps I had to stop because my left leg could no longer support my weight and my backpack. That was the time Master decided to call Kal-el to help us. He got my backpack so I can easily climb. It felt bad, I feel like I didn't get that chance to prove to myself that I can do such climb (with my backpack).
When we reached the campsite (peak of Haring Bato), which is located just above the rock climb, we sat down, too tired to move. But when I saw the sunset, my aching leg was forgotten. I took pictures of the sunset. I was waiting for the sun to sink lower but it already got so foggy. Good thing, I have enough shots of the view to satisfy my hunger for more good scenes to shoot.
We had so much food for 7 persons. We had Pork Tonkatsu, mixed veggies, and soup for dinner. Ü Gov brought a bottle of gin-bulag, we had to be contented with that, although bitin it did wonders. Pangpa-init.
As the night progress, it became colder. And at around midnight, we had to go out of our tents to clear up some of our things in the socials area. Our tent (Panget and I shared the same tent, as usual) is already on the edge of the cliff (and we are so tired to notice!), good thing Ka Fred woke us up.
Then Sunday morning came, at around 7am, they woke up to prepare breakfast. I am still trying to sleep hehehe. Then we started to pack our things and prepare for descend. The climbing down is always a piece of cake for me, in comparison to climbing up. hehehe.
Then, we also passed by Peak 2. Here we took a short rest and took more pictures. Ü
There is one part of the descend that we had to use a rope. Unfortunately, I don't have a pic. After some time, the trail started to even out. The trail became rocky. Once again, on the last leg of the trail, my feet started to give up. Until finally we reached the store where we cooked our lunch, Fried Chicken and Chicken Adobo!!! Ü
What I learned from this experience??? A lot! Ü
1. Every time I climb, it never fails to amaze me how God is so artistic, how intelligent and how loving.
Artistic? The sceneries are like life-size paintings, hand-painted by God. Intelligent? When God created mountains, He designed it to have a lot of trees. And the amazing part of it is how the trees, roots and plants were strategically place so that mountaineers can have something to hold on to upon climbing.
Loving? For He gave me Panget as my bestfriend, somebody who will encourage me, help me, and will break my fall during climbs. And, of course, because He let me meet OCMI, the kind of people who are supportive and fun to be with.
2. I also learned that no matter how strong you seem to be, somewhere along the way you will need someone to be stronger for you. And no matter how weak you are, time will come that you have to be strong for someone.
3. In order to reach the peak, it's not all about strength and speed. Reaching the peak should also means enjoying every single thing that comes along the way. (Aside from the fact that I was the only one with camera (Panget's camera), but I guess it's just me, Panget and Master are the only ones who seized up the opportunity to take in the beauty of Mt. Makiling.)
Til next climb... Ü
posted by Yoyce at 4:06 PM
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