A week after joining outreach activities in the Mountain Province (separate blog post coming soon but for teaser please click HERE), I said yes to an invitation to climb up twin mountains in Rodriguez, Rizal. It's been a long time since my mountain buddy and I climbed mountains together because we're so busy with our respective lives these days. It's nice though that we get to chat every once in a while to update each other on a project we were planning to launch pretty soon.
Meeting place was in KFC near Gateway at 4AM. I was some 10 minutes late because I got lost a bit, being not accustomed to walking around at that time of the day. We chatted a lot and I was introduced to a couple who were just beginning to join the club of mountaineers. All three of them are architects and I'm the odd one out but well I'm an archaeologist so we still have something in common: ARCH. LOL
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| Our guide for the day: Jason is quite adept at taking photos :) |
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| THE seat |
We left at 5AM boarding an FX to Eastwood where we then took a tricycle all the way to the registration office. I wasn't able to get much sleep because there was no traffic.
We had to walk on an inclined paved road first before getting to earthy grounds. It was as always a pleasure to breathe the fresh mountain air. I still can't get enough of it. It's this addiction that keeps me going back to the mountains, plus the nice views from the top, and the chance to sweat out body toxins out of my body.
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| mountain buddies |
It was a gloomy day but the air was dry so in just a few minutes of hiking we were already drenched in sweat. The trail reminds me of Mt. Daraitan because of the high steps which posed a challenge to me. We also entered a small cave. And then the rockies which were reminiscent of those in Norzagaray. But the view is impressive nevertheless as we were treated to lush greens. Healthy mountains are always a pretty sight, an assurance that they will be also enjoyed by future generations. It helps also that the local government is exerting efforts to ensure that these are well-protected.
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| rockfalls on the way down |
I was able to nap for some time under a big cool rock near the peak. There were a lot of noisy people who took a lot of time taking photos and selfies so I took the chance to rest. Having had few sleep lately has been taking a toll on my health.
On the way down, we were a bit challenged because of the loose soil. When we got to the area where rocks had fallen, it was even more of a challenge. My buddy got a deep wound on his knee! But because we wanted to have cool drinks already we decided to descend down straight.
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| we passed by these hidden treasures and I couldn't resist taking photos... (I just LOVE mushrooms!!!) |
We rested for a while in a makeshift kubo where the owner sells cold softdrinks. Buddy had been going on for hours about Mountain Dew so everyone followed suit including me. I don't even like softdrinks but it was hot and they seemed to be enjoying the cold drink so I indulged eventually.
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| newly planted seedlings protected by bamboo covers |
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| half rice and pinakbet (because I am on a budget) |
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