Nature-ral High

Nature-ral High
Do not follow where the path may lead. Go, instead, where there is no path and leave a trail

November 9, 2009

Mt. Manabu : Gianne's First Mountain


After the several cancellations, our climb to Mt. Manabu was finally put to reality. It was still raining for several days last week but the sun came out on thursday prompting us to proceed with our hike. Five of us were originally scheduled to climb, but at the last minute two back-out which left the three of us (Gian, Cris and Me) proceeding with the trek. This is Giannes first climb and it was organized for her.
This is not may first time to climb Mt. Manabu, but since this is the mountains first entry to my blog, I'm also adding the some details on our Itinerary. From Buendia bus station we took the bus going to Lipa, Batangas. From Lipa we hired a trike that took us to the jump-off. There is a 'kubo' bath/rest place at the jump-off, but I was surprise to see a new man managing the place. I later learned he was the husband of Ate ___, who died last march due to breast cancer (may she RIP). The last time I was here she was just diagnosed with the diseased, cancer is really a fast-silent killer.
Going back to the climb. We arrived at the jumpoff around 12PM, the weather was good. We immediately started to our hike. Starting from the jumpoff up to the 1st river crossing, the trail was also being use by locals for their livestocks path (cows, horses etc) hence eventhough the soil was not that wet its very beaten. This mountain is really for beginners, the trail is very easy after the river. It only got steep after Mang Pirings place, but was immediately compensated by the ropes stationed along the way. we arrived at the campsite at around 4:00pm and we were so surprised that we were the first climber to arrived. After a bit of rest we set camp, cook our dinner and enjoy the surroundings. According to my watch the summit measures 750++ masl, but I was really amazed how cold it was. Fog was everywhere when it started to get dark. At around 2:00am the next day I woke up chilling.Good thing I brought my jacket.

Start of trek

Nice river

 At the trail


Cold while cooking?

So whats for dinner?

The next day we woke up to a good weather again. We were able to view sunrise from our campsite. After taking our breakfast we broke camp and headed for the summit. We took several pictures then decided to go down. And then it started to drizzle, o-oh the trail is gonna be muddy - plus the fact that several climbers went ahead of us. But Gianne was able to manage her balance well, I was really amazed. To think that she grew up in the city (I grew up on the country side). I'm not sure if this is due to genes or that I brought her to jogging 1x a week or maybe a little bit of both? After several hours of trekking we arrived safely to the jumpoff. We cleaned up, went back to Lipa bus station and headed back home. But of course not before taking a hearty lunch in Lipa with their famous Goto Batangas.

Theres a Mountaineering saying that the first climb is always the deciding factor if a newbie will climb again. So whats the verdict for Gianne? Very positive. She really enjoy our climb and even asked me when are we gonna be climbing again. She's very curious with critters and we saw several fauna on our climb. 




Sunrise!


Group shot

At the summit.




Gianne's First Mountain Jump Shot



Cross at the summit