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. :)

Makiling Traverse

Last april, me and my group, the Piknikers went to Makiling and did a traverse dayhike. It was a fun, tiring, and fulfilling trip which would either make you give up or continue with the journey. I chose the latter and as Sir Pik mentioned, it was the emotional fulfillment that would matter most.

I again overcame my fear of fatigue in the middle of nowhere, tested my patience, and my group, no, more like my family were there to support and guide me all the way. Love you guys.

Here are some of the photos as i will be adding more later:

Group shot sa bus:




A signage on our way to peak 3, i think. this was before we took our lunch break:




Hm, matarik din pala ung ibang akyatan, kaya ko to.. YOSH!






What do you know, kaya naman pala..




Yay! made it, pero wasted na. :)




A view from Makiling,


And another.




With Bampy, together with Liriox and Lanie. Mejo makipot ung daan,














Pahinga lang sandali. Mga cuties ng piknikers. :)




Group shot. Single pa ako dito :)




Isa pa habang pahinga. I think this was after the palanggana..



Malapit na daw.. the never ending 45minutes to go..





After 10 million years, narating din namen ang Agila Base. But wait, there's more! Malayo pa pala yan.. Haha!




Finally, a store.. nakapagpahinga momentarily.. Again, malayo pa to sa place na pwede mag wash up.. Pero, nakangiti na ako :)



Mga taong putik.. In fairness, mukha lang pagod, pero mukha pa din malinis.. hehe! Or maybe because katabi ko c Tonton.. :)




It was such a fun climb. Gusto ko umulit, pero wag muna ke Makiling.. I will come back, cguro pag mas malakas na ako. :)

Proud to be in a group who really cares for you. Regardless of how difficult the road to success is.

Mt. Arayat Dayhike

i attended ton's baby's christening two saturdays ago. the idea of a dayhike came from this gathering where the original plan was to do an overnight swimming afterwards. well, the overnight swim was canceled but not the dayhike. so we went to pampanga but met at sir pik's house at around 12am that day. we arrived at nanay ruby's house at around 7am to eat breakfast and started our trek at around 8am.

about to register



on our way up



serious mode



the view from the summit: white rock (?)



the view from the summit: bitukang manok river (wala lang, narinig ko lang)



some pictures with the rest of the group







going back: me in action.. haha!



and so they say that hiking is not for the weak and faint hearted. this is true. i knew that from the first time i experienced the hardships of climbing a mountain. perserverance, discipline, respect and trust for others are some of the traits that one should have. ako, i still consider myself weak and faint hearted. a lot of times, i think of giving up, kaya lang lagi na lang, pumapasok ung realization kapag nasa gitna na ako. might as well enjoy the view on the way to the top. mahirap, madumi, and most of all, nakakakaba. kaya ba ng katawan ko, kinakaya naman. iba kasi ung satisfaction na mararamdaman kapag nandun na sa taas. magandang view, and most of all, ung luwag sa dibdib na tipong "shit, kaya ko pala!"

kaya ko to, i am so proud of myself - mantra ni babing :)



photos courtesy of mark estrella :)