Mt. Timbak

Last February, i was told that there was a climb that was a must to go to. Funny thing was, i may have been asleep when they were discussing the details as I was not aware that it was set on the following weekend, giving me only a few days to prepare. :)


And so the day came, Sir Karl lent me his thermal sleeping bag, tent, and gloves. A lot of briefing went on, what to expect, who I was with, and such. The destination: Mt. Timbak in Benguet.


A shot on our way to Baguio:




A few misfortunes along the way. First was since I was on "nabigla" mode, i didn't have that much. I only had a few hundreds in excess of the supposed fee that I was to pay for. If you are on a far off place, it is a no-no not to have extra cash. :)



Second, given the bulk of our bags, everything was placed on the compartment area of the bus. When we reached Baguio, i found out that my bag was soaked with water, including my jacket. :( So sad talaga. Sabi nga ni Ton, it is always important to waterproof your things. You'll never know what to expect kase.



Stop over for lunch:




And so, after a few hours of travel, miles of roads, dozens of kwento/ chicka with chunli from the back of the van, we arrived in Timbak Elementary School.


This trip by the way, was spearheaded by the Sykes Outdoor Group. They were gracious enough to host the said climb with the sole purpose of providing school supplies to the school. The school consist of 2 rooms, and a separate bath, with a spectacular view of some parts of Benguet. It was chilly enough even at 3PM. I bet you'll never guess kung gano kalamig pagsapit ng dilim (haha!)


Almost touching the clouds:











Twilight. Sea of clouds. Amazing!






Sunrise:





We ate dinner, bongga kase it was pork sinigang. Let me tell you, i tasted Sir Jay-z's sinigang in during our beach tambay in Green Island and it was the best. Literally na "sabaw pa lang, ulam na". Ayan, ginutom na ako..



A view from the summit, the cross, the landscape, and the breath taking beauty of the sky and clouds:



















After appreciating the beauty of nature, we went back to the elementary school to have a late lunch, a few words of reminders from the organizers, and to learn of the plan right after.


Due to cold weather, it is really not recommended to eat a san marino tuna paella as it has the tendency to not taste good. Either way, no choice, ginutom ako eh.. haha!






Pads, one of the organizers informed us of visiting the benguet mummies. And so, we started hiking once more. And oh, we met a local who agreed to let us ride. We went for the top load, of course!






And so we went to see the mummies:



Mejo malayong akyat baba and lakad but it was all worth it kung ganito ung view dba?





Pictures of some of the mummies:







Would you believe, some people go to lengths just to get a hold of these mummies? There are only a few left, and their resting place now has steel gates with padlocks on. We are speaking of their resting place on the sides of the mountain. Iba talaga nagagawa ng pera. :(


So after ng mummy viewing, same akyat baba ung ginawa namen. Oicture picture muna with Ton and Chun li - my new friend sa climb na to.






Mukhang wasted lang :)






Thank you Lord for all the wonderful creations.





For the chance of seeing them up close, even from a greater distance,





And getting to share it with friends who share the same interests.





Of being able to appreciate it more and more, even with hardships along the way.





And to friends, who will continue to support and guide, who in turn will be needing the same.





I may not have the same "bangis" as others, I am still thankful that I am strong enough to climb mountains, overcome their challenges, and still have the ability to FULLY appreciate such wonders.

I may not also tire of saying it always, I am a Pikniker, and a proud one at that. :)