Extra-Ordinary Sunset During My Ordinary Climb – Mt. Gulugod Baboy

It's sad to say, but I didn’t have a digicam or even a mobile phone with cam during my climbing days. All the treks in Rizal area, caving in Biak-na-Bato, and a couple of easy climbs near Manila were all stored in my memory bin. I am just lucky that at least I was able to grab a few photos of my two climbs (PICO DE LORO in Cavite, the highest peak in the province, and GULUGOD BABOY in Batangas) from my friends’ cams and/or Facebook accounts.

Gulugod Baboy:

Those people I was with in my second Pico climb were the same folks I was with when I climbed Gulugod Baboy (or G-Bab for short), only with a few other pro climbers. 

It was an arduous climb at first because of the almost 90-degree steepness of the main part of the journey. However, once we surpassed that difficult part, the rest of the climb was a breeze. We began our ascent at 4 o’clock in the afternoon

It was my only climb wherein we took a lot of long breaks, ate ice candy, took lots of photos, yet managed to reach the campsite and pitch our tent before sunset.

Same people, same activity. It was an overnight stay, and we had another round of convo over a bottle of tequila. I got a slight fever in the evening, but thank God it was gone before sunrise. Thanks also to the paracetamol brought by one of our fellow climbers. While he was packing his stuff at home, he was actually wondering why he had to bring it. He found the answer when I declared that I wasn’t feeling well.

There was actually a beach resort near the area. Since it was too early to go home and we’re itching to take a dip, we decided to “rest” for a while at the nearby resort.

My G-bab climb wasn’t one of the best, but this was where I admired the sunset at the peak for the first time. The word dramatic is an understatement.

 Other photos:

Note: Thanks, friends for the photos!

Thanks, Geraldine, for proofreading/editing my post :-)

Stubborn First-Time Climber – Mt. Pico De Loro Adventure

It's sad to say, but I didn’t have a digicam or even a mobile phone with a decent built-in cam during my active akyat days. At least I was able to grab a few photos (see photos below) of two of my climbs (PICO DE LORO in Cavite and GULUGOD BABOY in Batangas) from my friends’ cams and/or Facebook accounts.

Pico De Loro:

It was where I had my first climb experience. I've been there twice, but my first Pico climb was actually more fun and memorable than the second one.

I was still in college, and Pico was the first mountain I conquered together with my college orgmates. It’s my first, and all first timers were expected to follow the rules. But I decided not to obey the instructions given to us prior to our climb. My bag, which I only borrowed from my auntie, was a sling backpack. That kind of bag’s actually not the ideal one to bring for the akyat activities.  Fortunately, one of our pro climbers (they call him Tak) offered to carry it all the way to the peak together with his already super heavy backpack.

They told us to bring extra clothes, a jacket, and to put everything in a plastic bag. But I thought these things were unnecessary.  Lo and behold, it rained heavily, and we got lost. I was totally drenched, and so were all the stuff as well as the sandwich inside my backpack. I was cold and hungry on our way home, wearing a pair of shorts and shirt lent by one of my orgmates. I had no choice but to wrap the bus's curtain around me to keep myself warm. That incident taught me to be like an experienced climber when it comes to things-to-bring for my succeeding climbs.

It was a four-hour climb, and I was totally exhausted. My leg and thigh muscles were still aching even few days after the climb. But I have no regrets as I was able to have a picturesque view of the ocean and sky in front of me as I finally reached the peak of the first mountain that I conquered. I wouldn’t trade it for anything at that time.

And as for my second Pico climb, it’s an ordinary one. I was with a couple of new people, together with two of my colleagues—one of whom was also my former orgmate. We stayed overnight and welcomed Valentine’s Day at Pico.

Photos from my second Pico climb:

Note: Thanks, friends for the photos
Thanks, Geraldine for proofreading/editing my post