Last Saturday, Jan, Bretch, and I trekked General Santos City's hidden gem - the barely touched Amsikong Falls.
The road going there isn't easy. There's not even a road to begin with. Of all my travel adventures, riding a habal-habal is the very least of the things I enjoyed. Heck, I never really liked it at all. I just have a high tolerance for heat, dusts, and leg cramps. And that was it. But believe me when I say I enjoyed this ride. This rough and rocky ride.
To celebrate a year of dating and loving, Jan and I decided to climb Mt. Puting Bato - Samal Island's highest peak. Just so you know, Mt. Puting Bato is only 1,755 ft above sea level. It's not that high but this is where I was able to put into heart what other experienced mountaineers always remind me: Never underestimate a mountain.
Now let me tell you about a misadventure that took place on the first day of May that could've cost our lives. Okay, I am just exaggerating. But yes, it could have, if we aren't really prepared and smart enough to outwit trouble.
Our plan was to hike Mt. Puting Bato via Tayapoc trail because basing from our research, it is only a 30-minute hike but steeper compared to Guilon trail which is a 2-hour easy ascent. We, of course, chose the shorter trail to save time as we still have other places to go to.
We started hiking at 1:30pm and reached the peak by 2pm. Just in time. But when we got there, it is not the same Puting Bato that I have climbed about ten years ago. It looks totally different. But the view that was set before us is just the same. Beautiful. Breathtaking. And the feeling of freedom that comes from scaling heights, I think, is the the only thing that doesn't change over time.
I have asked myself that question a thousand times during our hike to Mt. Parker. And even before we started hiking, the road to the jump off point was already unforgiving. More than an hour of dusty habal-habal ride was just enough for my nostrils to gather up dusts and turn it into the biggest snot I ever had my entire life. Gross, I know. Haha.
I may have climbed several mountains before, even with higher elevation than this. But six years of mountaineering hiatus just felt like I am a newbie once again. The only difference is, I still know the essentials of mountain climbing which I still applied during the hike.
Trudging up an easy trail was already a lot of work for me. There are times when I was on the verge of quitting especially when the sun was trying to fry me and my back was about to raise the white flag. But there's no way to quit when you've already covered at least half of the entire hike.
Since we couldn't keep up with our company's pace, Jan and I decided to just enjoy the trail instead. After all, we can't get lost in it as there's only one trail up. We started hiking at our own pace and did several rests in between. Yes, technically, it was only the two of us hiking, constantly checking up on each other, looking for that tiny bird species that can surprisingly make a sound as loud as the ambulance sirens and admiring the unusual flora while others were already way ahead of us.
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