Thursday, June 9, 2011

Rainy Wednesday

I went mountain climbing yesterday with a friend. We didn't know it would rain when we planned it Tuesday night, and when it rained Wednesday morning when we were about to leave, it didn't stop us thinking it wouldn't be raining in Laguna where Mt. Kalisungan is.

Last time I went mountain climbing with K was when we did Mt. Manabu. It was the first time we didn't get a guide. Thinking Mt. Kalisungan's trail was as established as the trail of Manabu and the other mountains we've hiked, we also didn't get a guide yesterday.

Little did we know that the forks of the trail were so misleading, as well as some people. A young man we passed by gave us the wrong directions so we ended up heading in the direction of a different mountain.

Good thing we ended up in the house of a very old couple who live there by themselves. The kindhearted man in his late 60s voluntarily brought us to a trail leading to the summit.

The trail, though, brought us to a vast cogon area where we couldn't find an opening. We took the slightest sign of parted grass as opening and made our own way through the thick cogon area. It was raining all thoughout but it rained especially hard that time. And since we're nearing the Kalisungan summit which is known for its strong winds, our ordeal in finding our own way through the cogon grass was made even harder because the grass kept slapping at our faces caused by the strong wind.

K was beginning to have doubts we could find our way through, coupled with fear of snakes that might be present in the thick foliage. I just kept on being positive, telling him we're already near the summit. And it's true because what we could see beyond us was only the dark skies threatening heavier rains. There's no more mountain. No more trees. So I knew we're almost there.

And then God gave us a sight of the summit. I was ecstatic. But K wasn't because there was still no trail. After about 45 minutes of finding our way through the cogon foliage, we stumbled upon the main trail. I shouted. And let go of the fear that has been building up inside me. No matter how positive I wanted to be, I couldn't help but be afraid. It was almost 4 PM. In the middle of the cogon area with no trail. Drenched in rain water and the skies threatening to pour more.

My pocket camcorder and digital camera were useless. I couldn't use them much because I didn't want them to get wet. Those two are my life. But I braved taking some shots. It's useless trekking that long and not have even just a picture of the summit.

But it turned out we took quite a lot.

Anyway, here's Mt. Kalisungan's summit from a few feet down.

mt. kalisungan3Despite the fear of landslides, I really like climbing when it rains. Less heat, I don't get easily out of breath.

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