Batangas

Wa Poise Pico de Loro (First mountain climbing experience)

Pico de Loro / Mt. Palay-Palay climb kahit na wa poise is love. :))

Is Pico de Loro a mountain for first timers? Suuuuure. Why not! :)

Last April when I posted my Anawangin Cove and Capones Island blog entry link: here. I wrote there that I also want to try mountain climbing. Fast forward to April 24, I saw a sponsored facebook post of Arcobaleno Trailout Tours which said that they have a scheduled climb on May 1, 2014 (Labor Day).

Thursday: Saw the advertisement on Facebook
Saturday: Paid the fee at BDO (P 1,380/person all-in)
Thursday: Climbed Mt. Palay-Palay

That's how impulsive we can get.

Thank you, Louise for going with me at hindi na talaga ko uulit na ayain ka sa mga ganitong bagay if ever. Magswimming na lang. Ooops, unless ma-tripan mong mamundok ulit. :)))

My first summit!
Same trail but definitely different personal experiences and hardships.
'Yung nasa likod ko ay ang summit ng Mt. Palay-Palay. 

Here's my side of the story:

Since this, once again, is a group tour. I don't know the prices of the fees nor where should you pay them.
Meet-up was in McDonald's at Aseana City in Pasay.
I was asleep the whole travel from Pasay to Cavite (Uhm, may bago ba dyan? Lagi naman ako tulog sa byahe. hahaha)
DENR
We prepared for the climb, did some briefing and stretching here.

Even if I googled some blogs regarding their Pico de Loro experiences and I also asked someone regarding his, I still didn't know what to expect for mine. Kahit pareho naman kasi ng trail, magkakaiba kami ng kakayanan umakyat. 
We started trekking at around 7 AM.

Good morning, sunshine! 
Arrived at the base camp.
I wasn't that haggard and dirty looking yet. 
Listened to another mountain climbing orientation.
That guy explained the do's and the don'ts of mountaineering.

 TAKE NOTHING BUT PICTURES. LEAVE NOTHING BUT FOOTPRINTS.
I enjoyed every step, every view, every breath. Yezz, may ganyang drama. Hahaha.

I can do this over and over again. I found another thing worth all the body pain I felt the next day.
This is just a glimpse of the trail.
The whole thing is for you to find out.
And then we reached the camp again.

We ate our lunch, took pictures and rested for a while before ascending Mt. Palay-Palay's Summit. 
Picture pa!

Still oblivious of the challenge she is yet to face.
In the summit, you'll see the different coves of Batangas.
Ang ganda ganda ganda pls.

Those persons are forming their line waiting for their turn to climb the monolith that is named Pico de Loro or Parrot's beak.
The Parrot beak's at my back. 
At this point, only my hands and my shoes were covered in dirt.
One of the many coves you'll see in the summit of My. Palay-Palay.
I only reached the summit. I forwent ascending the Parrot's beak simply because I had no confidence in my upper body strength. 

 Some people say that the Pico de Loro hike isn't complete without going to the Parrot's beak, ah okay sila na lang. Lelz, I consider going/climbing this summit an accomplishment itself. But since this is my mother mountain, I might come back someday and by then climb the monolith.

Sige, i-feel mo na ang kalinisan. :))
And this is how you descend the summit. It is so steep.

I thought I was doing fine and I'll be able to go through everything without any complains and shouts until I had to descend.

Grabe, takot na takot akong bumaba dahil baka pag nagkamali ako ng tapak e gumulong na lang ako bigla.

I won't be able to go down there on my own. As in, baka mag-overnight at tumanda na lang ako sa summit kung hindi ako kukunin ng chopper. hahahaha. But I was able to face my fears with the help of our guide (Thanks, Dan!) and another guide (whose name IDK). They taught me where to step and what to do and thankfully, I was able to go down alive.

This was obviously the hardest part for me. Your experience would definitely be different though. Maybe you'd find the ascend more difficult or you'll find both easy as pie. 
Wow, ang long-legged naman ng babaeng 'yan.

Halfway the descend, I thought that I can't make it down alive should I continue descending the "normal" way kaya ayan, umupo na lang habang bumababa. Yes, poise? Iniwan mo ko nung nag bundok ako!!!

Friends, in the battle of your poise and survival, the latter always wins.

 I held onto stones, bamboos, to whatever is there just to be able to climb and go down safely.

 'Yung lupa ng summit, naging putik na sa katawan ko dahil nahalo na sa pawis. Imagine?! Hindi naman ako maarteng tao pero hindi ko pa talaga na-experience 'yan kahit kailan. 


This is the dirtiest state I have ever been in my whole life and I didn't even have enough water to wash my arms well! Hahahahahaha. Maybe it's true that mountain changes you (rhyming pa 'yan). Nawala 'yung arte kasi mas gusto mo pang mabuhay or in preparation to my tree planting wish ko 'to?
And the documentation ended when we reached the base camp again.

The last 30 minutes - 1 hour trek after passing this kubo/store was the toughest part of the trail naman for me kahit nadaanan naman na 'yun nung umaga nang walang problema. Andun 'yung anticipation na "WALA PA BA TAYO SA HIGHWAY?" at nandun na 'yung pagod at 'yung kagustuhang makainom ng tubig. Nga pala, dito sa Manila ay ayoko nakakarinig ng tricycle na maingay pero dun, music to the ears ang bawat ingay ng tricycle na narinig ko dahil ibig sabihin nun ay malapit na kami makabalik sa DENR. :))

At, dun ko lang din na-experience 'yung sa bawat dikit ng sapatos ko sa lupa ay may kasabay pawis na bumabagsak. Kinulang nga 3 panyo ko eh. Grabe, ang saya lang.
First Mountain Climbing Experience?

Check na check!!

At dahil na-inlove ako, NAMAN!!! Marami pang beses 'yan sigurado. Samahan mo akez pls! :))



REMINDERS:

1. Pack light! Leave all your unnecessary things. Ours started at 7 AM and ended at 7PM. Baka gustuhin mo nalang itapon 'yung mga gamit na hindi mo naman gagamitin pero kailangan mong bitbitin.

2. There's a store in the mountain but make sure to bring enough water to keep you hydrated and trail food (ours was provided by arco) to keep you energized. I brought 2,500ml of water but it was still not enough. If possible, freeze your water before leaving home so that you'd have cold water to enjoy.

3. Greet other mountaineers. This felt awkward for me at first. Sinabi kasi 'to nung guide sa DENR na bumati ng good morning, good afternoon ganyan. But when it's the "normal" thing to do when you're there, okay lang pala. Ikaw pa ang maa-out-of-place kapag hindi ka namansin. Nakibati rin ako ng, "Good morning. Good afternoon. Ingat po." Kaso hindi ako nauna kahit kailan, sumasagot lang ako pag binabati ako. hahahaha. Hindi naman sa isnabera, hindi lang ako sanay na bigla na lang mamansin.

- Pagbaba ko galing summit, meron akong nakasulubong na dalawang lalake.

Parang sila, "Good afternoon, Ms.!"
Ako, *tingin lang. May ngiting hinaluan ng ngiwi. Dahil sa pagod at dahil sa linis ko siguro.*
Sabi nung isa, "Uyy, pagod na pagod si Ate. Hindi na makasalita."
Ako, *ngiti ulit* Nga eh... Sige po.

Kung nababasa niyo po 'to, Hello!!! Sorry.

P.S. 'Yung ngiti ko, hindi ko rin alam kung nakangiti ako sa paningin nila o mukha lang akong mamamatay-tao. :))

4. Although it is supposed to make you feel fresher than other colors, refrain from wearing white colored shirt. Halatang halata 'yung dumi eh. Pero alam mo 'yun, ako lang 'to. Baka hindi naman kayo maging ganyan kadumi pagbaba.

 5. I won't say that the hike was easy nor would I say it was hard. Thing here is, no matter what happens to you or no matter what you feel the moment you're there, continue. Even if you're the last person to reach the summit, it won't matter- it does not matter. :)


Doing this tour yourself could be cheaper than joining a group tour. You also won't get lost since there are guides in DENR (yata) and the trail is easy to follow but we preferred the convenience of being in a group and paying a fixed price for everything. First, dalawa lang kami. Second, hindi namin alam kung paano pumunta dun at kung anong gagawin dun. Third, mas convenient at mas sure na makakarating.
Tinanong ako ng Nanay ko bago ko uamlis ng bahay, 
"Nagbayad ka para pahirapan ang sarili mo at delikado pa yan, ah?"

I guess, it's something that not all people will understand. As for me, the moment I started trekking and especially that moment when I set foot on the summit of Mt. Palay-Palay, I knew that it won't be my first and last. Hindi ko naman inaambisyon umakyat ng Mt. Everest pero para sa mga mas madadaling mountains na meron dito sa 'Pinas, gusto ko rin maakyat 'yung iba na meron tayo. Iba lang kasi 'yung feeling ng nakaabot ka dun sa taas pagkatapos ng hirap. 



Thank you, Arco for making my first climb possible! See you next time, other mountains!



Check out Arcobaleno Trailoutours Schedules link: here. Tara, Mt. Manalmon saka Mt. Pulag tayo! :))

Tin Gallemaso

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1 comments

  1. Elle | Style and GlowWednesday, May 21, 2014 at 5:04:00 PM GMT+8

    Yehey! Congrats on your first climb. It was fun, right? Wa-poise at tanggal kaartehan talaga pag umaakyat, pero super enjoy. It's also a big help when you're climbing with mountaineers.

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