Featuring My First Mountaineering: Mt Gola and Bagong Bali

My First Climb

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. 

Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. 

Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. 

And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition." - Steve Jobs from Brainy Quote

I just talked a little about my hometown in the first write - up. Now, Let me share to you a dream which I thought would never come true. 


I grew up in a town where mountains and hills are just along side the residences but believe me or not, I had never been to nearby mountain ranges that comprise the municipal land area. No offense to those people who share similar ideologies with our brothers and sisters in the mountains but my mom would tell me not go to those places because of the NPAs. She was afraid I might be suspected as a military spy cuz I dont look as someone who resides in the area. I didn't know what she was saying at first. I was just a kid by then and was only concerned about being able to eat, play, and go to school and nothing else. In other words, mountaineering was not an activity that I would most likely get indulged with, not even when I'm grown. That was what I thought days back. 


Things changed as I grew up. Slowly, I developed a surprising interest toward mountaineering. I began to adore people who've been to mountains and somehow get envious a little bit. I tried to join my friends in their visits in the mountain area but my parents wouldn't let me. It was so hard to get permission from them. The only instance they allowed me go to mountains was when I was tasked to feature  "Bukid Tabur" in Spectrum, our college publication. That was my first mountain experience but I couldn't call it a climb simply because we didn't really climb the heel but rather came to visit the community in the mountainside. Anyhow, that visit was remarkable for me and that set the birth of my attraction toward mountains, an attraction that feels like having a special shoe design that only I, myself, could wear. 


With parents against mountaineering, I had a late start. I guess I had to wait for the time when I could make responsible decisions, a time when I no longer have to ask permission from my parents before I could act on something.  It was only in 2011 that I finally got the opportunity to do it. I took my first courage not to ask parental permission anymore, and I'm not saying it's a good thing to do but that was the only option favorable for me.  


In May 2011, I joined a group of mountaineers (The Backpackers) in a "Three Peaks" challenge where they were going to climb three (3) mountains in two (2) days in Bulacan. It was a very difficult climb not only because I was a first timer but also I got a knee injury two weeks before the climb. I wasn't supposed to do any extraneous activity until my injury got healed but the high spirit was already set and I just couldn't stop it. Besides, I had my brace on for my kneecap and when I tried going up and downstairs, I felt I was perfectly fine and capable of mountaineering life. And so the actual date came.

With Weng

I have a friend, Weng, who loves mountains as much as I do and she really likes to try mountaineering. Prior to the climb, I phoned her and asked her to join with me. I knew she wouldn't say "NO" because I kinda know some of her passions, and that include this big thing. So we both joined the climb. We're both excited that together with Sir Alex, another guest, we were among the first people to reach the assembly area, the ES Transport Terminal in Cubao.  When the group was complete, we then left for San Miguel, Bulacan. 


While on our way to San Miguel, I was thinking how would I be able to survive the mountains. I didn't have common kits such as sleeping bag, flashlight, not even a tent. I knew the group will provide tents to its guests but I was still not comfortable with the climb. I realized along the way, I wasn't prepared completely and now I dared to go to mountains! So the negative feeling of fear and uncertainty struck me but I was on board a bus so there was no going back. Besides, Weng was with me so I guess I would be fine, so let's see! 



When we reached the jump-off point, the excitement was all over me. I couldn't wait to do the actual climb. The previous anxiety suddenly subsided when I saw the river with kids swimming on it even though the water was not clear due to heavy rains. To cross the river, there were two (2) options given. First was to take a raft and second was to do the tyrolean traverse. I chose the second as it appeared to be more challenging for me. It will test my balancing and the strength of my knees. Besides, it's something I have not done before. 

Whoah! That was an amazing traverse! I couldn't wait for more! So far I was enjoying it. Let's see if I could sustain this when the actual climb came in.


After lunch, the group started the trek. It began with a short passage inside a cave. Oh Gee! This is one of the things that bug me. I didn't bring a flashlight so as expected it was so dark inside the cave. I couldn't remember how I survived that aside from obvious walking but I managed to get out, and the moment I got my eyes on stuffs outside, the more I got all the thrills in the world. The Madlum river and the rocky mountains, they just made the environment so refreshing and stunning. For me that was already a nice present for my birthday!

Photo Credit goes to King Aguilar

Photo by King Aguilar

The group continued the trek. It was long but manageable. We didn't have to ascend yet. And then there was this river crossing that added more substance to get people in frenzy! 

Photo by King Aguilar

Wow. That was another "first" in my list!


And so here comes the actual climb. Every step needs enough strength from both knees and as my left leg could not really support 100%, I had the difficulty but when I reached the summit, everything I saw at the summit and the feeling that I reached the peak, they all paid off the hardship. It's all worth it! The feeling was different, that I could not believe I got myself standing at the top of the mountain. It's my first climb, one of the most unforgettable challenges I dared myself on, and I'm so happy.

At the top of Mt Gola

But hold on, it was too early for me to celebrate. After Mt Gola, the group continued its trek to Mt Bagong Bali, and this was where all my "calvary" started. As my left knee was injured that time, it must not be forced to stretch or slide or any type of "forced activity" should be avoided. Thus, I was so cautious with my steps. However, things happen even the most avoided. I didn't know how long we had been walking but it felt like forever. The night had fallen and we were still walking, crossing rivers. And since I'm not a good girl scout, I didn't have my own flashlight so tendency was to fall on my knees, get out balanced and slide on slippery rocks in a river. That happened several times, more than 10 counts at most. I could feel my left knee was struggling so hard that I couldn't walk farther. The pain was increasing and all I could do was cry and ask myself "what am I doing here?" It was a bad idea for me to join the group when I just had an injury. I know that but I'm hard headed and stubborn sometimes. More steps to do and I could no longer do it. I wanted to discontinue the trek but that is something more dangerous as we couldn't tell if the water from the river would go up. Besides, it wasn't the best place to camp, and I was afraid to be left alone, so I need to find another source of strength, but where am I going to get that when my body is begging to stop and rest. I didn't know, but the idea of getting the right place to camp so I could rest and sleep was stuck in my mind and I guess that gave me the courage to carry on, not to mention Weng and Sir Alex were also helping me so I survived the night trek.

                                                Photo Credit by King Aguilar

  

Night trek. I started to hate it but that is part of what they call "The Unexpected". When we reached the campsite at Bagong Bali, the group set - up the tents. I didn't know how to do it so one of the BPs helped me and Weng set it up for us. I got myself cleaned then I fell asleep and woke up the next day. Oh Gosh! I didn't know what was happening around me. I was sound asleep. Weng and the group said I was snoring loud. Oh my, I was so tired. There was supposed to be a "Socials" at night but I missed that because my body needed to rest and my eyes could not stay awake any longer. 

When I woke up, the beauty of the mountain ranges as seen from where we at struck me again. I had a hard night on a trek but I seemed to forget it. Truly, when one reaches the summit, all the positive energies are absorbed by the body so all the things that a mountaineer could feel and think of are those happy moments.  

Photo by King Aguilar

Photo by King Aguilar

Photo by King Aguilar

Next stop for the group was Mt Manalmon, the third peak in the itinerary. I could no longer walk. My left knee was swelling and aching so I asked the group to exclude me from the challenge. Together with other peeps, we waited at the Madlum River while the rest went on to complete the challenge. There was also an spelunking activity after the three-peaks challenge but I no longer took part of it. I had enough. My knee had been complaining so I must rest. 


This was like a dream - come - true drama for me. I never thought I could climb mountains. My parents had been against it. The doctor also said it's something that I can't do yet given the circumstances with my knee injury. But like I said, I'm stubborn at times. When I want something, I get it despite the risks. This could be a bad attitude but this could also be achieving a passion beyond the set limitations. And that's joy and self-fulfillment at the end. 

A Jewel of Northern Samar

Mondragon: My Hometown


With several travels I made to different places in the Philippines, I thought of writing my experience in each travel. I had written travelogues and they were published somewhere else but they are no where to be found online. Thus, a re-write comes in to my mind, and this time, these will be in my own blog. Write-ups for those travels may be a bit late but as the saying goes, "...better late than never." 

To begin, I thought of putting a feature of my hometown on top of my list as this gives me a sense of fulfillment to be able to write something about the place where I grew up. 

Mondragon. That's my hometown. It's one of the municipalities comprising the province of Northern Samar. It was known as Quinay long time ago and I forgot when the name was changed. Its people are sometimes called "Mondragenios". The town is rich in agriculture and I guess that is the main source of livelihood by most people. When you get the chance to roam around, you will see vast of lands used for farming and also rivers and seas where people go fishing.


My dad is a son of farmers who own hectares of land but he chose a different path. Apart from farming, he spent most of his time fishing, and I am proud to say that he's the best fisherman in town. 







When school is over, most kids spend their time playing either on streets or in their yards. I remember when I was a little, I spent my childhood doing household chores, selling fish on my free time, going to the beach or listening to dramas aired on radio stations. What I'd like to do the most was swimming. Well, our house is by the ocean so it's very easy for me to sneak out and go to the beach with other kiddos. 

This is the "Kaldera Beach" that most people call the place. Kaldera refers to that big round thing that's made of steel.

There are no tall office buildings and schools in the town as compared to what we see in big cities, and this is typical to third class municipalities like Mondragon. However, in terms of road constructions, we have smooth and concrete road ways all from North to South. Hence, transportation is not a problem in the town.

Mondragon is a neighboring municipality of the provincial capital. It's 13 kilometers away from the capital and about 15 km from the airport. It's accessible by both air and land transport.  There are buses in Cubao, Quezon City that hold their regular land operation to transfer passengers from Manila all the way to Mondragon up to Catubig, Northern Samar. It takes a minimum of 19 hours to reach the place, inclusive of stop-overs. Now, if you are not fond of long trips, tiger airways has its regular trip to Catarman, the provincial capital.



The Beaches and Monbon Island:

The town is also known for its beaches and a sandy island called Monbon. Most of the locals would hold their gatherings such as family reunions in Malobaroc beach, 90 meters away from home. As that beach is now managed by private owner, some would just bring picnic tables and food and gather in what we call "Harapit", an open beach adjacent to Malobaroc. That way, they don't have to pay for cottages rental and other fees.

  


Those who own or can rent a boat prefer to spend some time in Monbon during low tide. Monbon is an island that's composed mainly of sands that could be used as components for building bricks. As the place is near where I live, it's my favorite local destination. I could see it from my house and its view is just so terrific that I would always want to spend some time there and relax and ponder things. The only con of the island is its being an open area. Hence, there are no trees, no plants or caves that can give anyone shelter from direct sunlight or rain, not to mention windy environment. So, it's not the best place for an over night camping or a longer stay.   

Life in Mongradon is so simple. Everyday I see kids going to school except weekends and holidays or vacation. I also see people doing their regular business to earn money. Some go to the farm. Some go fishing. Some just stay at home and attend to some business. Whatever it is that every individual does, I could see a happy spirit inside them despite scarcity of so many material things, whether it be digital or automated. Maybe that's the basic foundation of being happy - the simplicity of life.