RC 102 (Uling Edition) with Elle Viajera
Venue: Uling Wall, Wawa Dam
Brgy. Wawa, Rodriguez, Rizal
Trip Date: September 8, 2013
Prelogue: Exactly a year after my first romantic experience with the Uling Wall, I was back for some more. It was unexpected, unplanned, and gathering participants was difficult because of such short notice.
The original participants were 8, and I was supposed to bring them to another rock face. However, 4 of them had backed out a day before and it was just fortunate that three additions had committed themselves for the event, making it possible for us to push through.
It was Marc's crazy idea to push it through, only to feel half-hearted a few hours before the event. I was like, "How was I supposed to face these seven sure participants if we didn't push through?" I knew it was suicide for him. He had a bridge rappel event the day before that got him up until around 1am. "Please extend the assembly time to an hour," he begged. I obliged.
It was past 7am when he arrived in Cubao, he was dashing and filled with energy, no trace of tiresome Saturday in his face. I introduced him to everybody and off we went to Wawa, Montalban, Rizal. Marc and I squeezed ourselves in the front seat, beside the FX taxi driver. I asked Marc to have the driver pass by a lechon manok stand for me to be able to buy us lunch.
As we neared the venue, the rain poured heavy. We had to let it pour yet before we could proceed with the trek. Originally, we were supposed to climb the beginner's wall of Wawa, but because of the rain, we had to choose the drier wall, Uling. It is an intermediate wall, but it's better than the wet beginner's wall. I listen as Marc and Jeff discussed. Their equipment were not for the Uling Wall. Jeff was reluctant that they would be able to pull it off because they didn't bring any quickdraw. Marc asked how many carabiners they had and if Jeff brought any string. Luckily, he did. and so Marc came up with a plan--improvised hardware.
When we reached the top, Jeff made use of Marc's improvised equipment to be able to do lead climbing. When he was done, Marc had me gather everyone up for the introduction. It was past lunchtime when we finished introducing ourselves, but everyone was too excited to climb to have noticed it. I climbed first--to show everyone that the Uling Wall was climbable for beginners. I was able to reach the top after falling twice on the rope. The others were either unable to finish or were mechanically helped to get to the top, except for Edwin. The guy has gotten my respect in his ability to climb. He's a natural... Others figured out that they had to lose weight to be able to lift themselves up. Wrong notion. Nevertheless, we all had fun!
Just before everyone had had enough of climbing the Uling Wall, I asked Marc to permit me to wear the dress and stilettos I prepared for my yet another rock couture stint. He agreed. He helped me rope myself up. I was a lot harder than it seemed, but doable.
After my stint, the others had yet tried one last time at the wicked wall, but all the grips had been used up. Marc had decided to climb, to my surprise. He rarely climbs in my presence or so I had often complained. I was flattered that he wanted to impress me. "Stop, you've already swept me off my feet," my heart exclaimed.
We got to Cubao around 9pm. We had dinner with Anna, one of our participants/friends. Anna left around 11pm, and Marc and I had time for ourselves to talk. We spent another hour and a half before calling it a night as I still had to report for work the following day. It was one of those nights wherein I wished didn't have to end...
Prelogue: Exactly a year after my first romantic experience with the Uling Wall, I was back for some more. It was unexpected, unplanned, and gathering participants was difficult because of such short notice.
The original participants were 8, and I was supposed to bring them to another rock face. However, 4 of them had backed out a day before and it was just fortunate that three additions had committed themselves for the event, making it possible for us to push through.
It was Marc's crazy idea to push it through, only to feel half-hearted a few hours before the event. I was like, "How was I supposed to face these seven sure participants if we didn't push through?" I knew it was suicide for him. He had a bridge rappel event the day before that got him up until around 1am. "Please extend the assembly time to an hour," he begged. I obliged.
It was past 7am when he arrived in Cubao, he was dashing and filled with energy, no trace of tiresome Saturday in his face. I introduced him to everybody and off we went to Wawa, Montalban, Rizal. Marc and I squeezed ourselves in the front seat, beside the FX taxi driver. I asked Marc to have the driver pass by a lechon manok stand for me to be able to buy us lunch.
As we neared the venue, the rain poured heavy. We had to let it pour yet before we could proceed with the trek. Originally, we were supposed to climb the beginner's wall of Wawa, but because of the rain, we had to choose the drier wall, Uling. It is an intermediate wall, but it's better than the wet beginner's wall. I listen as Marc and Jeff discussed. Their equipment were not for the Uling Wall. Jeff was reluctant that they would be able to pull it off because they didn't bring any quickdraw. Marc asked how many carabiners they had and if Jeff brought any string. Luckily, he did. and so Marc came up with a plan--improvised hardware.
When we reached the top, Jeff made use of Marc's improvised equipment to be able to do lead climbing. When he was done, Marc had me gather everyone up for the introduction. It was past lunchtime when we finished introducing ourselves, but everyone was too excited to climb to have noticed it. I climbed first--to show everyone that the Uling Wall was climbable for beginners. I was able to reach the top after falling twice on the rope. The others were either unable to finish or were mechanically helped to get to the top, except for Edwin. The guy has gotten my respect in his ability to climb. He's a natural... Others figured out that they had to lose weight to be able to lift themselves up. Wrong notion. Nevertheless, we all had fun!
Just before everyone had had enough of climbing the Uling Wall, I asked Marc to permit me to wear the dress and stilettos I prepared for my yet another rock couture stint. He agreed. He helped me rope myself up. I was a lot harder than it seemed, but doable.
After my stint, the others had yet tried one last time at the wicked wall, but all the grips had been used up. Marc had decided to climb, to my surprise. He rarely climbs in my presence or so I had often complained. I was flattered that he wanted to impress me. "Stop, you've already swept me off my feet," my heart exclaimed.
We got to Cubao around 9pm. We had dinner with Anna, one of our participants/friends. Anna left around 11pm, and Marc and I had time for ourselves to talk. We spent another hour and a half before calling it a night as I still had to report for work the following day. It was one of those nights wherein I wished didn't have to end...
