"Mountain climbing is fun," the streamer from the mountaineering society read, encouraging students to try mountain climbing. A freshman then, I had no clue about what groups like these are into, so I browsed different pictures of their mountain trips.
Viewing several high-altitude shots, I asked myself, "what's with mountains that encourages them to engage in such a physically challenging activity?" Not knowing the answer to this question then, I was never encouraged to try mountaineering.
Lost times... If I only knew how fun and fulfilling it is to be on the mountain summit viewing nature at its full expanse, then I should had joined the club.
Although I could not bring back those times, I realized it is never too late to try mountain climbing. And that's the nice thing about the sport -- it doesn't matter how old you are or whether you have experience or none, for as long as you have enough endurance to walk for several hours, you are ready to go.
Trip to Mount Batulao, Batangas
Last month, I did my first climb at Mount Batulao, Batangas, together with some of my churchmates. It took us only an hour to reach the destination, good thing we left Dasmarinas early at 5:30 am. The place was easy to locate and very accessible -- you just need to look for the Evercrest Golf Club Resort along the way.
After we entered the resort, we searched for a parking space. And finding one was not a problem, for there were villagers who offer parking spaces for visitors in exchange for a little "tip."
From the parking lot, we walked for 45 minutes (more or less) to reach the foot of the mountain. There are two trails to choose from once you reached the beginning mark. The first is the "old trail," which is longer but less steep, and the other is the "new trail," which is shorter but steeper. We decided to take the new trail going up and then the old trail going down, as we rather do a steep climb than descend on a difficult angle.
Mt. Batulao has 12 peaks, and each one has its own level of difficulty. For me, the real challenge started on peak 10, wherein we started walking on narrow paths and climbing on steeper parts of the mountain.
I have thought for a while then whether it would be possible for us to reach the last peak. From peak 10, which took us two to three hours before reaching, the succeeding peaks seemed to be miles away from where we were standing.
Although challenging, I never doubted myself. “This is my first climb and I have to reach the summit and take a jump shot pic up there,” I told myself.
We managed to climb 11 peaks before finally reaching peak 12, the summit. Up there, there is a feeling of euphoria. For a while, you forget all your worries and fears, and feel that you’re the king of the world.
If I only knew way back in college that mountaineering is this fun, I would have climbed several peaks already. Nonetheless, climbing Mt. Batulao is a good start for several more climbing adventures.
