Terrain in Pico De Loro
It was a group of 5 people including me wherein it should have been 10. Bummer for those people who promised but never came! Moving on, we started the trek at around 10 or 11 am after we registered (Php 20.00) at DENR. This trek was pack of fun and laughter. Before we started the trek, we had some stretching first led by Kitel and with music of Bruno Mars “Locked out in heaven” hahaha . The other groups were smiling and looking at us coz we were foolin’ around because of the music.
The first 30 minutes of trek was way to easy. Man I thought it’s gonna be that way up until the base camp, but it wasn’t! It was just a warm up. I was fooled by this Mountain =) A few more minutes and the trail gets harder and steeper.
Jan leads the trek while myself, Al and Richard kept changing positions as sweeper to make sure no one gets left behind and Kitel (the only lady) stays in the middle. We never had any silent moment while we’re trekking coz Richard keeps on talking and making us all laugh. It was fun the whole time.
When we saw the sign after more than an hour of Trekking, we thought that we’re near the base camp, fool me! It’s 3-4 hours more to reach it. It was a sign that we’re near the Subi-neer camp site. Bummer! hahahaha A few more minutes and we reach the first stop which is the “Subi-neer” . Four groups of campers where already there havin’ a rest and some were cooking for their lunch. We all decided to have our lunch on this place since we’re all hungry anyway. So we cook some rice and fried some fish that we bought before we went here.
After havin' a good meal, we continued our trek towards Mt Pico Deloro. The trail gets more difficult than I expected. Big rocks and mud makes the trail hard to step on to. I don’t know how many times we had our 5 minute break during this climb. It was really exhausting. This climb was not easy at all!But when we reach base camp, man the feeling is overwhelming! Seeing the landscape from up above was so beautiful. I felt re energized by it! I took a moment to be with nature and savor the moment while it last.
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View of summit of Mt Pico De Loro |
The mountain it self is really beautiful. The only thing that turns me off with it, is the fact that more than 30 groups of campers were set on that day. Imagine that! more than 50 tents were set. It was such a disappointment! And who the f*%k allowed the store owner for him to set up on a mountain? Such a disgrace! The store sell’s can goods, liquors, junk food and some other things. Wow! I was dismayed by it! And at night, it was such a chaos. Groups and hippies were gettin’ drunk and stoned and they were very noisy. Each group has it’s own sound system. I was like “oh sh#t, i’m in the town partying” ! Crap! Since it’s already there, we decided to get drunk as well so we could rest after drinking. We met a group of campers whose next to our tent and decided do drink together. We call the night at around 2 in the morning. It was an awesome night somehow. Ow, I almost forgot, the sky was clear that night and stars were all over it. It was beautiful. It was hard to wake up the next day! It’s cold and my head is pounding. I guess i drank too much. I need coffee please. hahaha We started to descend at around 9 or 10 in the morning so we could have our lunch on the falls. The mountain was beautiful but the people were not. I wish that somehow, people would realize that the reason why we climb is to enjoy one’s solitude, be with nature, to relax and unwind and be away from the city even just for a while. That we hike to hear nature sing, not to let them hear our music, to hear the wind shout, not us shouting! And for god’s sake, please! Don’t put up a store on a mountain! Leave it alone just like the way it was. My experience for this trek, it wouldn’t be fun at all if i wasn’t with this group. I ain’t going back on this Mountain. Not unless they remove the store and make the hiker’s learn to respect the nature.
How to get to Pico De Loro
- Take a bus from Lawton to Ternate (Php 70.00 – 80.00)
- Ride a tricycle to take you to Magnetic hill (Php 200.00/tricycle)
- Register at DENR (Php 10.00)
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