Mount Talinis: The Major Climb

Mt.Talinis: Major climb 💪

Do you love mountaineering? If you enjoy solid hours of hiking and love being connected with the nature, hearing birds and crickets, breathing fresh air,seeing fireflies feeric or just simply love to get lost and explore wild nature then you wouldn’t want to miss this. Mount Talinis is one of Negros Oriental’s most visited places for avid mountain climbers. It is known for having the highest peak of the said province (Valencia, Negros Oriental).

Mt. Talinis Via Bediao

We started to hike around quarter to 7 in the morning. It was drizzling that morning so we decided to wait a little bit for it to stop.We are excited since most of us are first timer. We have tour guides who we entrusted our safety and porters who help us out with our laguage so we could travel light as possible.

We loved keeping documents. After an hour of hike, we knew we had just tasted a bit of the challenge. Tall trees natural cooling system plays a big role making it bearable for us to keep moving forward through this seemingly endless steep. We take breaks whenever some fellows slows down, keeping an eye on each other.

Some of the sight in reaching some peaks before Lake Yagumyum. Nature’s beauty.

After two hours of hike, Stunning Lake Yagumyum greeted us with a dramatic backdrop. The group are still in a strong fighting spirit, enjoying breakfast and taking selfies. We still have the child in us, it’s a good thing we all must have though. It was cold and foggy which actually worked perfectly for us, as we hiked uphill our body feels hot and sweating despite the cooling breeze.

What a relief when we made it through here though some came a little bit later because unexpectedly, the team was split in two. Trained and used to pushing ourselves to the limit when it comes to workout; Sheena, Daphne, and I were able to catch up the pace of our tour guides. Still in our best mode and energetic. Training and preparation for endurance for this climb is really necessary. We can’t wait to reach the camping ground so we proceeded as soon as we finished our breakfast. An hour passed, we can’t keep ourselves from asking our tour guides how long is the remaining hours for the trek for it seems like an endless ascend and we are already literally exhausted but we can’t give up now, we are in a no- turning- point. To his comforting reply he said, “we are almost there, just about 2 hours and a half and pretty much of descending and ascending and much of beautiful views to behold ahead”. He continued, ‘’Your pace is quite a record-breaking as a first-time climber actually.” That hits like an energy booster and comforting though but we cannot deny that our knees started shaking except his 😂. It was then we realized that we should have had never underestimated the mountain. That hours of uphill trail was a complete energy draining.

Exactly as what he told us. It was like endless ascending and descending. What really amazes me was that, trees roots are fully extended as if it knows they’re part of the plan as what it is at present. Gripping those roots as we descend is more fun!

One of the unforgettable moments😃

By the way, this trek also requires high and low jump, and one must a little bit of acrobatics. What I really mean is, just prepare for the worst. Everyone was sore and legs shaking and I thought to myself, “this would be my last climb, I don’t want this kind of exhaustion. I will have a year of rest after this”.😆 That was brutal; nevertheless, we still braved ourselves to conquer this extreme adventure.

Mountain creek

Notice what we are standing on. It’s like walking on a bouncy carpet root. This mean that we have to watch our steps because it’s hollow. I also noticed the roots were covered with green moss; what a beauty! We decided to rest for a short while, waiting for the rest to come. We felt the soothing cool breeze kisses our skin so relaxing it's what exactly what we need to power up.

We will survive!!!😃

Some of us were soaking wet and with all the unfavorable feelings but a good camaraderie, the jokes, the laughter, and the magical scene, the vibes- all this gives us strength and keep us smiling. We also learned that trekking poles is a big help when tackling tricky terrain and support for longer endurance and tend to hike faster.

We are getting closer to the camping ground Lake Yagumyum. It would take about less than an hour. Tour guides start telling us in “meters” few meters left just so we would keep moving, so we start counting in meters. In this point of time; we were desperate, destroyed, drained, tired and hungry. We just wanted to end this trail. Out of exhaustion,one of my friends says"This is a once in a life time experience, I am definitely not coming back" to which I agree. It feels like nothing left in us to fight if ever wild animals would come to attack. Oh my! Be it far from us. But who told us to do so? Well,we chose it so we've got to deal with it!😃

Behold!Lake Nailig😍

Absolutely stunning! That was a mixed of excitement and anxiety. immediately, we comforted ourselves.Some lay on the ground, some leaned against a tree, some on the rocks and there was a moment of stillness and quietness. After a while, when we were regaining strength then men started to put up all the tents and prepared the food and had our lunch. We arrived there around 12:00 noon. I love the presence of the bushes, the ferns that surround the lake.The crickets that sings in chorus, Fluorescent green moss on the barks of beautiful old and young trees just absolutey wild.

The “Summit” Of Mt. Talinis

It was almost sundown when we headed to the summit. Fogs were so thick upon reaching there, so we waited for the clearing and unfortunately the fogs wouldn’t ceased. It only clears off a couple of seconds that you wouldn’t even have time to capture a good shot. But hey! Look at those faces. Aren’t we supposed to be drained of energy? We’re overjoyed! Finally, we conquered Mt. Talinis! Well then, it’s not all about the clearing but it’s all about the experiences and the good memories we shared along the trails that count.

The brave dare to stand on one-wrong-move and you-are-finish cliff edge. I feel sick of starring at the bottom. I also found out that if you look away, far, and wide then you conceal the fear. Try this trick if you are fearful like me.

The “Summit” of Mt. Talinis

We all enjoyed the breathtaking sight of the lake from above. If it weren't of the fog, then we would be able to see the panoramic views of Negros Oriental’s natural forests; dubbed as the province “last frontier.”
Well, there was no glimpse of clearing;time to head back down the lake camp site before the night would overshadow.

The best chef in the world is in Lake Nailig👌 The best food ever!😋You know why? Because we're hungry. We just burnt all the calories.😃

Let me have a quick inspection of the goods. Are they really good?😁

Excited of starry night and fireflies sightseeing 😍

There was quite a few appearance of it,I love observing them so gently and peacefully drifting into the trees and bushes. Really special. Cameras are utterly useless for nothing will capture the real magic seeing trees lit up with fireflies. A mental image I will have forever; firelies in the trees and stars in the sky. In addition to that; crickets were singing in chorus. Beautiful and worth the effort, time, money.

Woke up like this😍😍

Cold,beautiful foggy morning! coffee time ☕️
The team were up early,making coffee and breakfast. Oh, how I hate the thought of leaving.This magical place definitely has a peice of my heart.

Standing Proud!💪 the team is ready to leave.

Again, the team were split in two.We thought going back would be more easier.Going downhill for more or less 4 hours was even worst.We hiked faster this time but Limbs were sore and shaking,muscles in the legs begin to feel the burning sensation imagine it holds the weight at all times.luckily,not one was injured, we all made it safe and sound.
I think we pushed ourselves to the limit. The next day,everyone in the group chat shared whatever discomfort they had,the pain,the sore,and how hard it is to walk the stairway😂.The first thing in their mind when they wake up was Mt. talinis experienced.It was really tiring hike but the happiness has nothing equal.I will definitely go back in this mountain and my friends were also saying the same thing. Now we are wanting for more extreme adventure. Our next climb 👉 Mt.Kanlaon.

Thanks for reading my blog, I hope it inspires you guys who are into same thing.

Here are more photos of Mt. Talinis climb,enjoy!