Never go out with the people you don’t know. That’s what my grandma told me when I was young. Yah right! I’m old enough now ma so im good. Hahaha Anyway, I did go out with these people that I’ve never met in my whole life. Totally strangers. What the hell was I thinking huh?!
Last 29th of June just this year, I was with a group of Mountain Climbers named BackPackers. I’m an avid reader of their Blog titled TheBackpackersAdventures.
There was a post on their fan page in Facebook about their climb that will be held in Mt Tangisan on the 29th of June. I then hurriedly emailed Mr Heinz Henry and ask if it’s possible to join the climb since i’m available on that day and I haven’t climb for more than a month and my feet were itching a lot! =)
And guess what? I wasn’t disappointed at all. He quickly replied and said that I can join the climb. Oh yeah! It’s on baby!
Cut the crap! Let’s talk about the climb.
So it was past 12 when we exited the boundary of Manila due to some delay. You don’t want to know the whole story for it. Hahaha We arrived in San Jose Tarlac at around 2 or 3 pm in the afternoon I guess. After a few checks and a prayer, I found myself walking excitedly towards Mt Tangisan. Oh man, this is it. After more than a month of rest and pure crap work, I’m finally in the jungle. The real world as what I think of.
Mt Tangisan trek
It’s gonna be a long day ahead…
Sir Ivan,author and lead of the group thebackpackersadventure , lead the the climb along with the guide that we have and myself and erwin and heinz were assigned as sweeper. oist! hahaha
It was a good weather for the first 30 minutes of our trek. I was with the other guide at the end of the tail and talking about how they live their lives in such remote area and some other stuff.
It was all good and a typical weather that time. But when we reach the foot of the mountain, the sky darkens and rained really hard. I hoped that it’ll pass by, but it didn’t! It gets stronger and with thunder. While walking, I was praying not to get hit by a lightning. Silly eh? hahaha I wasn’t able to capture our trek due to heavy rain through-out the climb up to the summit, But I was able to manage to snap a beautiful sunset when we’re near the summit. =)
We reached the summit at around 6 pm. We’re all wet and cold. I then set my tent and change my clothes. We had our dinner at around 8 I guess and had some booze until 2 or 3 in the morning.
As i’ve said, I don’t know who they are. But during the trek and the night, I almost know all of them. They were all cool and nice. I’ve never felt that I was a guest of their group. They all made me feel as if I’m one of the group. Thank you again Backpackers . The experience, the fun, the trek. You all guys rock! So if you guys want to join their adventure, go visit their blogspot at thebackpackersadventures.blogspot.com and email Heinz or Ivan. I’m sure you’ll have fun with these guys.
Through out the night, it was raining and windy and even in the morning. It was
a cold night. When I woke up, the clouds were too thick blocking the view that we all came for. A sad day for us.
After our quick breakfast, we started packing our stuffs and got ready for our descend before the rain starts pouring again. We all knew that since it was raining from the time we climb, the trail isn’t gonna be that easy. And yes it wasn’t! It was really muddy and slippery making our trek really hard. It was much easier ascending than going down. And i’m wearing a white shirt? Wrong move! Dammit! We started descending at around 10 or 11 in the morning.
It was 1 in the afternoon when we arrived at the jump off point. Exhausted , tired and dirty. Still, it was a good day for me. I never complain when it comes to this stuff.
The last view of Mt Tangisan.
My experience during this climb was really great. I was with another group of great people who has the same passion as mine. Travel, explore and have fun. That’s how we do it. No one can stop us. Even my mom, grandma or the storm will not stop me from doing what I love. This is me. Again, Sir Heinz & Ivan and the rest of the group of Backpackersadventures , thank you for the great adventure! I will definitely see you again guys!
Now we’ve reached the end of the story.So go ahead and do your thing or pack your stuff and start doing an adventure of your own! Stop layin’ around and just watching tv or surfing the web. Go out and find yourself! Explore the nature, know your limits and push yourself. Don’t listen to your mom! hahaha Kidding.
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| After reaching the jump-off |
Some details about the Mt Tangisan
Jump off point: San Jose, Tarlac
Specs: Minor Climb about 491-500 MASL
Difficulty: 5/9
Hours to summit: 2-3 hours
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