Pre-climb at Malasag

Big day tomorrow. It’s our country’s Independence Day. Freedom. Another adventure in Bukidnon, one of my favorite places in the country, for the Mt. Dulang-Dulang - Mt. Kitanglad traverse. Things are ready, ahh medyo ready. Even if things at the workplace were stressful, I should not wear out. Expect for the worst. Windy and cold rains on those mountains, I should be strong even in wet conditions. Still there are questions unanswered. There were mixed of feelings - excitement, nervous, worries, paranoias. It’s like having a first epic cross-country mountain biking. What it’s like to cross over unknown terrains? Am I prepared enough for such outdoor activity?

Conquering the peak of Mt Dulang-dulang(2nd) and Mt. Kitanglad(4th) is one of the quests a Pinoy mountaineer can have. Aside of being listed in the top 5 highest peak in the Philippines, these two giants serves as home to different wild species like uhm.. a wild man looking for his water bottle?

There’s nothing wrong with thinking too much about the risks and expecting the worst. Plan ahead. Easy to say, but not quite hard to do. Perhaps I should not forget about the reason behind all of these tiring outdoor activity. The pleasure of being alone with the nature, the calmness when you get at the peak, the green surroundings that gives you enough energy to enjoy life more and cleansed our tiring souls. But that’s when you reach a camp, after a long trekking, with forest rains expected, muds on faces and limbs, sweat and to these natural cuts from sharp grasses and leaves. Thought about getting rest for weekend, why it seem everybody’s wearing themselves out. It’s hard to explain. There are cases that I personally whine about how steep a hill or how far the destination is. The thought of being THERE maybe one of the reasons why I’m so in love with outdoors. It’ll gonna be awesome!

View from the highest point in Malasag, facing Bukidnon. Clouds covered Mt. Kitanglad.