Going Places: Mt. Sembrano (Solo Hike) (Late late late post!)

Intended Publishing Date: February 19, 2015

Ever since I got back to climbing mountains again, I've been often asked why and I've thought long and hard for the answer but nothing substantial comes to mind. Fortunately I could borrow the words  of someone who wanted to conquer the extremes, George Mallory. He was asked before "Why do you want to climb Mt. Everest?" to which he retorted (and I firmly believe with every ounce of sarcasm he is capable of) "Because it's there." I am not saying that I can climb Mt. Everest, but I am not saying that I won't either. The human spirit is limitless, like the God that created it.

Mountain climbing or what is now more commonly referred to as hiking, offers recreational release you won't find anywhere. Some of the advantages of hiking are as follows: 

1. It's free - aside from the fare/transportation and food expenses that you would also be spending in a paid recreational outlet (resorts, hotels and the kind), hiking is relatively cheaper.
2. It's challenging- try ascending on a land form for hours on end with a heavy pack without breaking a sweat, the thought alone is impossible for me. The whole activity requires a set of skills that you can't cultivate in the city. 
3. It's gives you the time for the much needed introspection- take it from me, climbing mountains is a much better alternative than seeing a therapist.
4. It's a whole body workout- Don't get me started on the cardio alone, plus the endurance you develop! Man!
5. As cheesy as it sounds, it's an opportunity to go back to nature- People transform both literally and figuratively when taken outdoors. Exploring the greater greens and understanding how it works just gets to people, even if they hate it. 

My list could go on and it'll only prove how awesome it is to be exploring mountain tops. Don't get me wrong, it is not without hazards, but these could be averted when armed with proper research and preparation. Being careful doesn't hurt as well. To be totally blunt, I don't mind dying on any peak, if not for the great possibility of my mother going berserk if that ever happens. 

BACKGROUND!

Now that I am done with all  the (boring) introduction let me get to this month's adventure offering! The idea of a climb this Lunar New Year (most commonly dubbed here in the Philippines as Chinese New Year) came about after the Pico De Loro climb I had with some Church friends last January 2. I think starting the year with an intense climb like that sort of brought on a new goal for this year, and that is to climb a mountain every month. The plan was put together, and a facebook invite (cause that's how people do it now) was sent out and there were confirmations. I was so excited about it that I started preparing for the climb by using the stairs at work (my office is on the 6th floor and I go out a lot, try imagining that). It was a week before the climb when our organizers informed me that it looks like it won't push through since Lunar New Year (February 19) would be a Thursday and we have a Church service that night. I decided to take over the event organization and some of the people who confirmed stood their ground and wanted to go through with the plans. I checked out some blogs to get to know the mountain and at least have an idea of the duration of the climb, the itinerary and the expenses. GalaMalaya's and Lakbay Diwa Pinas' posts helped a lot, of course I checked out my mountain climbing Bible Pinoy Mountaineer's take on this mountain. There are numerous of information available online, but these 3 posts gave me what I am looking for and so I set out. It wasn't until 14 hours before the climb when people started backing out and before I knew it I am the only one available for the climb. I stubbornly declared that I will still go and earned in return looks of worry and disapproval. In my defense, Lunar New Year is one of the only 3 Korean Holidays that match with Philippine Holidays, and having 2 jobs limits my chances of being totally free to climb a mountain peak whenever I want. I was promised a great view by my research and I just tried looking forward to that knowing that it'll be harder ascent since I will be doing it alone. As a requisite of any climb, an itinerary must be prepared, this was what I came up with:

I also came up with a ballpark budget of 500 pesos to get me through the entire trip and back to Manila. 

THE ACTUAL CLIMB

I came up with the itinerary with the thought that I'll be having people with me, but with the turn out of events there was nothing for me to do about it. On the day itself I gave myself time to rest a bit, pushing the departure time to 6:30 am. I work with a hectic schedule that I have to wake up at 4:00 am e-ve-ry-week-day-morning and holidays are always welcomed, so my body was actually crying out to stay in bed. To be really honest I actually thought of not going through it myself, but with my very public and very stubborn declaration just hours ago came with the expense of my pride. I got out of bed and traveled to Cubao via jeepney and from there took a bus to Crossings where the terminal to Tanay is. I haven't decided yet whether I would be taking a jeepney or a van to Tanay, which are both available there, but given my aforementioned schedule, its physical toil on my body and the prospect of comfort only a van could offer, I took the latter (bad decision, it was so cramped). 

I want to tell you about the scenic view of Rizal and how laid back the way  of life is there, but I can't, because for the entire 1 and half hour trip from Crossings to Tanay, I was sleeping (or trying to sleep). The nap gave me the charge I needed for the climb (I swear that is not an excuse.) I got off the van and arrived at Tanay at exactly 8:30 am and bought packed lunch. There are a lot of offers from tricycle drivers to different sites you can visit in Tanay. There is the locally known "Bakasyunan" Resort and also the quite popular Daranak Falls, but I am in Tanay for very different reasons. After buying my lunch, I headed to the jeepney terminal that would take me to the jump site. The commute to the jump site takes about 30 minutes and along the way you'll be greeted by the sprawling trees and bushes that made up the roadside. There's that particular freshness in the air that is only found in the province can make anyone smile. I arrived at the Brgy. Hall and was greeted by the friendly barangay officials, got my self registered and I started the hike. 

The day is starting and the residence of the area were going about their daily routine. The road leading to the feet of the mountain is paved and cemented that I actually looked out of place in the area, with my climbing attire and my bulky bag.

 The walk up to the dirty road can actually be a good warm up and preparation for the more challenging part of the hike. It warms the calves and the stronger part of your legs, good thing that the sun is not yet that high up in the sky and that saved me from the excessive sweating I could have been sweating by then. Actually the sky is pretty cloudy, ideal for climbs like this. As an option, you could take a tricycle just round the corner up to the muddy road just before  the residential houses end. 

The muddy start of the actual climb. 

It was an interesting climb. Some may say it's hard but that is expected in any climb in my opinion and so I opted not to use that word to describe this experience. Interesting I daresay cause I got lost, 3 times. Yep. I am pretty oblivious with directions and I have accepted it as a part of my daily survival. The first time I got lost during the trek was when I turned left when I should have turn right and so I found myself in another residential area. A grandpop there told me that I am on my way to a totally different mountain and may have to descend down to Laguna. This happened 2 more times and it made the entire climb all the more interesting.

Ang paalala sa akin nung nagturo ng dapat daanan ay makikita raw ang ilog, 1 hour later ayan na sya!!

I retraced back my steps and finally found the river that would mark the first hour of the climb and it'll proceed to get more difficult from there as mentioned by the goodly lolo that I had the fortune of meeting. 

Panahon ng amorseco noong pumanhik ako at ilang beses akong tumigil para lang tanggalin sila. 

Amorseco was bountiful in Sembrano and I got some stuck on me among other stuff that can get on you when you  go on a hike.

This kid is kind of a jerk

Oh hello Horseys!

About 45 minutes after reaching the river, I stumbled upon 2 horses on the way. I stopped for a while to admire and to yet again take out some amorseco that got stuck on me. I was busy picking the prickly plant when I realized that this little fowl came approaching with a determined look in his eyes. Instinctively I stood up and slowly backed away. I heard that a good impression will let a horse decide whether it will like you, I guess being grumpy while taking out those nasty amorseco pushed his buttons. I managed to get away from him but I was so terrified I was practically panting.

I arrived in Mangahan camp a litte before 11am and I was so thirsty! I happened to arrive just in time when the camp caretakers are taking down some fresh coconut and of course I drank to my heart's desire.



Let me say this as honestly as possible, Coconut water is a nectar from the Lord. It is life. It is salvation.



I took a short breather and proceeded with the hike. What confronted me is yet another hour of arduous climb. I also came face to face with the 90 degree ascent as mentioned in those articles. There's this incident with the yantok tree where I almost slipped and out of instict got hold of the nearest thing which happened to be a rattan bark, it was painful, later I found out about a feet away was a cliff, I couldn't see the bottom. Reeling from the near death experience while picking out thorns from my right hand the first "why am I doing this to myself" thought came. I wanted to cry. So I cried. I cried for a good 3 minutes because I heard voices nearby. It turned out, once again that I am lost. I retraced about 20 minutes worth of climb and found myself ascending up on a steep slope. In between pants and wiping off sweat from my brow I approached a clearing.



Weirdly, it smells nice here too...



5 minutes after that and this view...

That is the freaking Laguna de Bay people!!!!

As what usually happens when I reach the peak of any mountain top, I cried, goodness I cried. This is just the clearing mind you, I have yet to reach the 1st and 2nd (final summit). I just stopped and collected myself.

I failed, obviously. I needed to pick myself from the ground because I was just so overwhelmed.

About 10 minutes of gradual ascent and I reached the first summit.

A view from the first summit



I needed to pause again and sit. Nagiging emotional na naman ako. I needed to take everything in muna before pressing forward.

Man, having this scene in your backyard? Awesome

Still in disbelief

Can I just stay here?

Another angle of Laguna de Bay

My eyes are already puffy because of crying, gahhh

I had to force myself to get up, my reasoning was, "I am already at the summit, technically, I can just stay here and call it a day." But I don't want to live with yet another what if in my life and so I had to stand up and finish this climb. What welcomed me is about 30 more minutes of walk through a grass land.

Mid-way to the Final peak I started hearing voices again and was convinced for a moment that I may be tormented by entities. The wind started howling then as well. Still, I pushed forward.

Upon reaching the top I found out that a group of young hikers were there already and they were the ones I'm hearing during my climb. This is how the Final peak of Mt. Sembrano looks like...

The clouds descended quickly just as I was having my lunch (may I note that that was the best adobong pusit ever?!) and so I had to bring out my umbrella and stay still. 

  

Only then did I realized, "Why not take lots of pictures of myself?" right when the fog started setting in and obscuring the lovely view, quiet a timing, right?

Yes, I am wearing your shirt. My fault, bad habits die hard.

One of the reasons why I still consider this as my favorite climb so far (yes this even trumped that climb I had with him) is because this was when I met some really good friends. The earlier hiking party that I met on that peak were really good people. We remained close and even up to this day we still make plans to climb another mountain together (we managed to climb one last September 2015, 7 months after these pictures were taken). They are such a nice bunch and quite varied as well. Just my kind of people. 

We started descent at around 1:30. I also noticed that climbing a mountain with someone makes it faster, maybe because you have to keep up and you don't have to rely on yourself when it comes to the pace. We arrived back at Manggahan camp in less than an hour. 

Just below the camp is the Kabayo falls, apparently the horses I saw earlier frequents here. I made a quick exit just to take some pictures. 

                                             
                                               

                                   

I find that side trips to any body of water as the icing of the cake of any trip. Even though I didn't get to dip into the clear cold water, it was as refreshing. Oh Lord, what beauty You created. 

I got back to the group and soon after we started the final descent. The trip down was uneventful. We arrived back at the Barangay hall and I took a bath because I will still be attending the Church service that night (02192015 was a Thursday). I was surprised to find that the group I just met actually waited for me. Iba talaga, hahaha.

We traveled back together to the City with nothing much that happened. Arriving at Shaw Blvd, this group (I shall now reveal to you people that we named our selves TheAkyaterZ) managed to convince me to get on the MRT. Grabe. It was quiet an experience surviving yet again another adventure. The trip was fun and I stayed in touch with these people, more awesome adventures followed after.

Actual turn of events

I managed to stay in my budget, though I forgot the breakdown the entire trip to and fro was just below 500 pesos. I even managed to drop by Jollibee to eat after the service because I still have money.

Amazing things can still happen even if you are alone. It will lead to self discoveries somewhat improbable when you are travelling with someone. A word of caution still, it pays to be careful. Mt. Sembrano was known to be a former camp of NPA and there are some articles posted online about thievery in the camp sites (there was this really scary account of 2 hikers being pursued on their way down to the barangay hall). Huwag ipilit kung mukhang tagilid, it's better to put off plans than be sorry. 

I am blessed. This day was so awesome. More climb please, D, more discoveries please.

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It makes me wonder why I kept on putting off the finalization of this post that it even took more than a year to finish. I got to climb another mountain (a higher one) 2 months after this climb but it didn't surpass the excitement of travelling alone. I am still getting around to finally posting some of the entries still slumbering in my draft box (o kasipagan at inspirasyon maging masugid kayo). This post is peppered with my face as well, deal with it, hahaha. 

I pray to be more consistent in posting my travels 'cause most of them, I go on survival mode and I think that's worth sharing to other people, right? (come on, reassure me).

April's about to finish, let's go on another trip!