NO EXPECTATIONS
Our disappointments in life are not really a result of the outcomes of events and actions of people but from our expectations. To be better at handling disappointments, we have to be better at managing our expectations.
Welcome to another one of my trekking posts. I've been busy these past few days because of my experiments at the lab and I've also just come back from a trip with my girlfriend from an island resort.
This trek happened in July of last year (2021). My girlfriend initially planned on going with only her friend but the schedule got moved and I had the chance to go with them. I didn't know that there were trekking sites in Carcar where my girlfriend lives. The city is more famous for its Lechon (roasted pig), chicharron, and old Acacia trees.
When my girlfriend told me about this trek, I wanted to know as much information about it as possible but she couldn't give me a lot of details because it was her friend that was going to guide us through the trek. I didn't even know the name of the mountain or the peak that we were going to. I also had no idea if the trek was going to be difficult or easy but I think my girlfriend told me it was going to be a chill climb.
Anyway, the day came and we met up with her friend, Jeff. We took a tricycle to a far barangay in Carcar. I sort of just went along because I had no idea what to expect. We arrived at the barangay and Jeff and my girlfriend approached some motorcycle drivers. Turns out, we still had to ride motorcycles to get to the drop-off point of the trek. The fare was P100 (2 USD)and I thought it was a bit much. And then, we started on our journey and I immediately changed my mind about the P100.
The ride was long and it seemed like our destination was very far. We passed through dirt paths and drove through a river. We drove through steep roads going upwards and downwards. We drove beside deep cliffs and gorges. I was growing a bit anxious about the trip. Again, I had no expectations about this trek and I wasn't prepared for the motorcycle ride. I trusted the driver and he seemed really skilled and familiar with the roads.
I was still new to driving a motorcycle back then and I was imagining whether I could drive through these kinds of roads using my motorcycle. And the clear answer was no. But now, I think I'll be able to do it.
The consolation to that worrisome ride was the view. There were moments when we drove on the side of the mountain and I could see stunning landscapes of the mountains of Carcar. They were enough to get my mind off my worries.
I checked the timestamps of the pictures from the ride and it didn't actually take long. Only more than 10 minutes. But it felt so long because I didn't know when or where we were going to stop. When I thought we were almost there, we still kept going. I remember thinking, "How far do we still have to go?"
Of course, I couldn't really complain. All I had to do was sit, ride, and enjoy the view. There was no use worrying whether we were near or far. We were still going to get there.
The last part of the drive was through this downward road with loose rocks and soil. If you'd look down, you'll feel fear but if you'd looked up and focus on the view of the sky, the mountains, and trees, there is nothing to be scared about.
GETTING LOST
I seem to be writing a lot of content about getting lost. In my previous trekking post, I shared about the time when I led my friends to a waterfall which ended in an unwanted detour. In my latest Liketu post, I also talked about how my girlfriend and I got lost on a private island.
For this trek though, I wasn't the one leading. Jeff has been on this trek before but he told us that he had already forgotten the trail. After getting off our motorcycles, we asked around which way to go to the Tower Peak. The locals told us we'd already passed by the starting point of our trek while others told us to walk further because Mt. Kalatkat was only a short distance from where we were.
That was the first time I heard the name or the names of our destination. We were going to a peak with towers or maybe it was Mt. Kalatkat (which means climb in Cebuano). Jeff told us that we were going to the towers. I know now that the name of the peak was Mt. Binabag. It didn't matter though. We started climbing and followed Jeff.
The trail was upwards toward a mountain. It was a steady climb and after walking under some trees, we arrived at a clearing. The view there was quite nice. We saw another local and we asked if we were going the right way. He told us that we were going the wrong way and that we had to go back and gave us instructions for the correct trail.
Of course, we had to go back. I was only slightly annoyed that we had to double back but because I knew this trek was going to be unfolded as I go along, I kept my disappointment in check and walked on.
We found the trail according to the local's instructions and I was ready to trek straight through towards our destination. With the thought of a 'chill climb,' I didn't really prepare much for it. I just wore my Hive Shirt and a pair of shorts. I know I should've worn pants but I only brought a few clothes when I visited my girlfriend.
I knew this was only going to be a day trip and my clothes should be enough. We passed by a brook or maybe it was spring. The water was so clear and it looked like people made an enclosure for its source.
REST AND CHAT
It was my first time meeting Jeff and the only thing I knew about him was that he was Tricia's friend back in high school and that he went on a lot of treks before. Of course, when meeting new people, you have to go through the (getting-to-know-you) GTKY stage.
Some questions were asked and answered, and a lot of times, we all had to stop and talk. We ended up resting more than we needed to. We stopped by this part where there were a lot of trees and the sun was shining through the branches. I took pictures of the sun and I captured some flares. I thought it was a bit cool and I remember the time when I used to capture a lot of light flares.
Anyway, Jeff and my girlfriend talked about people from high school and what they were doing now. We also talked about Hive and how it works.
We continued with our trek and for some time, the trail was covered by the shade of the trees. It felt good to be shielded from the heat of the sun. We arrived at a fork and we weren't sure which way to go. We tried one path and realized it was the wrong way and went back to go the other way.
We noticed there were so many Buli or Buri Palms on our trail. They were really tall and some of their branches with sharp serrated thorns were hanging dangerously on their sides. I brought up a random trivia about getting landang from the resin of the tree. Landang or native tapioca is an ingredient in a popular food in Cebu called 'binignit.'
We rested again and chatted and one of the topics was how useless money becomes when you live in a secluded area. Jeff talked about his experience in climbing Mt. Apo (or maybe it was Mt. Talinis, I can't remember). They've used up most of their water and the nearest source was hours away. They all had money with them that they could use to buy drinks but there were no stores to offer them that.
After resting for a few minutes, we continued and the cover of the trees ended and we emerged to a field of vegetables. There were fields of eggplants and squashes. They were really cool to look at, rows and rows of growing vegetables. The trail on this part was plain but it soon ended and the upward climb started again.
I think this was the most difficult part of the trek because it was an upward assault and there were no trees to offer us shade. But this was also the start of the magnificent views from the mountain we were climbing.
NEXT PART: I CAN SEE THE TOWERS!
The good thing about not having expectations is that you can be really impressed by something you didn't expect. This was what happened when I reached the peak. In the second part of this post, I will continue chronicling our journey towards that peak and some interesting discussions we've had along the way.
That's it for now! We will continue this climb in the next post. You can set your expectations that the views from the peak will be amazing. See you in the next one. Cheers!