Climb 006: My First Major Climb

with Tribung Kalat & Sosyal Klaymers
DESTINATION: Tarak Ridge 1,130 MASL

JUMP-OFF POINT: Brgy. Alas-asin, Mariveles, Bataan

SPECS: Major climb, Difficulty 4/9, Trail class 3

CLIMB DATES: July 31-August 1, 2010

My first major climb started as an invitation from Sosyal Klaymers--the group we met in Mt. Kalisungan. Wilson made a positive remark about the climb and decided to choose it as his birthday climb since we had also been planning for one. Melle, aka Assault Summit Boy, also expressed his excitement about the said climb. Thus, we confirmed with only three initial attendees. Lloyd was supposed to have another climb on the said schedule, but it was cancelled. He decided to join as well. On Wilson's birthday dinner in their house, Kim confirmed and the couple Tom and Jonah also expressed their desire to join. We thought they weren't determined, but the next day, they have already finished buying mountaineering stuff. Excited? Harhar!

And so, on July 31st, there were 12 of us: Melle, Wilson, Kim, Jonah, Tommy, Lloyd, Hyago, Ate Beng, Ayie, Mervz, Julius and I.

I shall never underestimate the power of networking sites as we were able to coordinate with one another through it. Only two of the Tarak Team members are unreachable through FB: Melle and Ate Beng.

Friday night was to be spent at Tom's and Jonah's place. Lloyd, Melle, and I slept over. The following day, we would be heading for MOA Supercat Terminal where a ferry boat awaits and it shall bring us to Orion, Bataan in less than an hour. The two guys only had two-hour sleep, sharing Gin Bulag aka Cuatro Cantos. We joked around the following day saying they each had Dos Cantos.

The couple, Kim and Wilson, were the first ones from our group to arrive in the terminal. Hyago and Ate Beng had already been there. The three members of Sosyal Klaymers were having a breakfast at a nearby McDo resto when we arrived. A few minutes later and after introduction and phototaking, we were aboard Supercat.

We arrived in Orion around 11am and soon we were headed for Brgy. Alas-Asin riding a rented van. We compressed ourselves, all 12 of us, so that we would only pay for one. we registered at the Brgy Hall and found out that there were 27 others who've gone ahead of us. We had quick lunch in two of the carenderias nearby, then left for the trek at 12:30pm. And the 5-and-a-half-hour journey began...

The first part of the climb was walking on an inclined concrete road that led to a grassland and later, into the woods.

It was cloudy but considering the fact that it was high noon, the atmosphere was so humid that I had to inhale two puffs of my asthma remedy after 10 minutes of trekking just to get by.

I was praying for rain, my companions weren't.

After about an hour of walking into the woods, we saw a semi-concrete infrastructure. That's when we met a no-nonsense woman, Aling Cording. She was motherly accommodating, she spoke Cebuano, and she was expecting us to give them money. She even showed me her husband's gangrenous wound on his foot. I had no smaller bill with me and my companions left without us discussing about the amount of money we would hand them, so I left my raisin loaf. I was so touched when she said, "Dili na ko maulaw, kaunon na nako ni ha?" (I will not feel ashamed anymore. I shall eat this now, alright?) I was in tears as I walked away...

A few inclined steps away from Aling Cording's, we found a clearance--a great view of the Mariveles Ridges! It was breathtaking! We decided to stay there for a while.

Soon, the rain fell. I felt relieved. Although it was going to be muddy and slippery, I preferred that over dehydration and asthma attacks which had slowed me down in the past climbs. I was wearing the hood of my rain gear at first. Later, I decided to take it off as I want to feel the raindrops on my head. Dang, I had never felt refreshed!

A steep cliff was to be crossed and the newbies had a hard time getting through it, but they managed. Kudos to Mareng Jonah and Pareng Tom!

The wonderful Papaya River presented itself to us and we were all mystified. The rain was about to stop and we stopped to rehydrate ourselves from its abundant flow. The water was pure and clean and it tasted good.

We only stayed there for a while because we would be having a night trek if we stayed longer. It would be more dangerous to have a night trek on the slippery cliffs. Two more hours of climb. The trail was accommodating--giving us the roots, the vines, the stable rocks that we needed to cling on to, to be able to push ourselves upwards. There were times when I had to deal with the trail alone. I would stare hard on the things around me. I felt that my senses were becoming more and more receptive. While I was staring hard at a rock, I was able to sense something. After a while, I felt as if I could actually see the rock staring back at me. I took a deep breath. After a while, I could actually hear the trees breathing with me. I savored each rain as its drops touched my face. After a while I could actually feel the raindrops kissing me on my eyes, my cheeks, my lips--!

I was tired, yet I was at peace. I was overwhelmed. I was in one with nature!

We reached the peak at 5:30pm. Melle and I were the first ones in our group to reach the camp site. We immediately pitched the tent at once because it was so cold at the top, the fog was beginning to eat any trace of warmth. By the time our companions arrived, I had already changed into dry clothes and was claiming heat inside our Johnny Walker tent.

After everyone had pitched his tent, dinner was being prepared and socials were held first with Mervz as the tanggero. We had vodka with strawberry juice as the chaser. When the sinigang na baboy was ready, we had no choice but to pig out. The result? Most of us got sleepy and were unable to join the socials part 2.

It wasn't easy getting up early the next morning. The place was cold and covered with fog. Melle woke up the earliest and the rest followed. The noise from campers talking outside the tent woke me up and the other sleepyheads.

After breakfast, we started the descent. It was more difficult going down than it was going up. The fear of falling off the cliff fogged my mind. Only the determination to see my own house once again kept my mind focused. Any miscalculation on the step we took would cost our lives. As we moved downwards, the trail was becoming much much friendlier and less scary.

We settled in Papaya River and had our lunch there. Immediately after lunch, we took the remaining distance and headed back to civilization.

When we reached Brgy Alas-Asin, we found the place where we had lunch the day before. There were isaw, adidas, and helmet on skewers being displayed. It was a barbecue festival for Melle, LLoyd and me!

We were so full when the others arrived and then, it was time to head back to the Supercat Terminal to catch the last trip to Metro Manila.

We reached MOA at around 7pm and so we decided to have dinner at Gilligan's. The four others had to leave early, so only the eight of us had a sumptuous meal together. It was a friendship climb worth remembering.

The post-climb dinner ended with a plan to revisit Pico de Loro on the 14th. Hope it pushes through. I can't wait to conquer the Parrot's Beak this time...