FIRST CLIMB OF THE YEAR
At the start of 2021, it seemed that the world had opened up. Local tourism was encouraged, and people were going on vacations after spending months at home or work. I was fortunate enough to be able to travel in the last months of 2020. You can check out my travel blogs about my Travels after the Lockdown.
In this post, I'll be sharing the time when I visited Mt. Manunggal in February 2021. It's one of the highest peaks in Cebu, with an elevation of 982 MASL, and it's popular among hikers and campers. I haven't been there, so this trip was the first time for me. I went with my girlfriend and a friend. The three of us wanted to do some physical activity and, at the same, enjoy nature. Mt. Manunggal is quite accessible, and if you choose to, you don't even have to trek very far.
We took a van to the drop-off point, and we could have easily hired a motorcycle to take us to the camp, but we wanted a real hike. We checked the map, and it told us the hike would take more than an hour, covering 4.2 km with an elevation of around 200 m. We arrived at 10:40 AM, and we started our trek through the paved road.
As we started our trek, we noticed signs of recent landslides. We saw slopes with the soil and rock exposed, indicating that a mass of land had slid off. It looked like some people had cleared off the road from the debris. And on the other side, we saw the extent of the landslide as trees were half-buried in the soil. A recent typhoon passed by the country, and that must have been the cause of the landslide. We were well above sea level already, and we could see the plains below and some thick clouds.
We continued our trek, and the road was getting steeper. This was what we wanted! We were starting to get worked up, and we took rests now and then. The weather that day was not very harsh. It was cloudy, and we saw higher up that the fog was getting thick. For someone who lives in a city far from the mountains, the fog is always a welcome sight to me. I feel like I'm in a completely different place, and I am so high up that I'm one with the clouds.
FOG EVERYWHERE, AND THEN THERE WERE NONE
And then we entered the fog! We could see it moving in front of us. The clouds were getting thicker, and we were worried it would rain. We were still a long way from our destination. It was almost noon, but the sky looked dim. The only indication of the time was my growing hunger. We initially planned on having our lunch at the camp, but it seemed we couldn't make it there before noon. We continued and looked for a place to have our lunch.
Just a few minutes after seeing fog everywhere, the weather took a turn, and suddenly the sun was out, and everything was bright and clear again. It was getting hot, and I was getting hungry. I distracted myself from my hunger by looking at the view and the plants laid out on the side of the road. I thought of buying plants for my mother. I took some pictures and sent them to her to know which ones she didn't have.
FULFILLED AND FAMISHED
We passed by some houses, and we saw that we were going to a residential area. At last! Somewhere we could have our lunch. We stopped for a while at a viewing point and marveled at the sight before us. The view of the mountains below was amazing. This is one of the things that make mountain trekking so fulfilling. You get to witness the beauty and the scale of nature. And you know you've worked hard to see it.
We saw some locals and asked them how far was Mt. Manunggal, and they said it was still quite far. We stopped at a store to have our hearty lunch since we were famished.
We brought food with us, and we had our lunch at a bench in front of a store. The store attendant was kind enough to let us eat our food there. We brought a lot, and I would have eaten so much of it, but we had to ration it for our dinner later. I also did not want to continue the trek with a full stomach. Still, I was so full, and we had to rest for a couple of minutes after eating before continuing our trek.
FEELING THE COLD
Energized and full, we continued our trek towards the peak. The fog had returned, and we saw that the road was getting steeper again. The weather was ever-changing, and we found out later that this was a normal occurrence. You'd think the day would be sunny and bright, but after a few minutes, the clouds would cover up the sky, and then you'd be sure it's going to rain.
Then, it started to drizzle. At first, we thought it would just stop, and we continued walking. But after a few minutes, the rain got stronger, and we ran towards the nearest house to take shelter. We stayed there for a few minutes and felt the cold through our wet clothes, both from the rain and our sweat.
Thankfully, the rain stopped, and we continued with our journey. Many cars and motorcycles passed us by, and we knew we were getting closer to our destination. We looked at the map, and indeed we were close! We still had to go through another set of steep roads before reaching an unpaved road. I was starting to get tired, and I just wanted to put down the things I was carrying.
And then we saw the sign! We were almost there. The fog was thicker, and it was starting to get colder. I was excited that we would finally arrive at our destination.
FINALLY ARRIVING AT THE CAMP
We've finally arrived! We entered our destination looking very tired and worked up. We saw the people there, looking very refreshed. They came by their cars and motorcycles. The people working at the place asked us if we had trekked all the way from the highway. Of course, we said yes. We asked where we could pitch our tents and what we could do around the place. We were told we could set up our tents near the entrance or the viewing deck. We wanted to be near the viewing deck for the view. The place was operated by a private business and had a store and a 'carenderia' that sold cooked food. It had restrooms and running water. Camping was made so much easier at Mt. Manunggal.
We made our way to the viewing deck, and we saw that the place was very well-tended. The grounds were teeming with plants and flowers. There were signs warning campers not to pick the flowers. It was enjoyable to watch so many colors while we climbed the stairs towards our resting place.
I was really satisfied with the first leg of our trekking. There were many things to do in Mt. Manunggal, and I was glad that I was able to go out of the house and trek towards the mountains. This was really a much-needed trek for me.
FOR PART TWO: THE VIEWING DECK
For part two of this travel blog, I'll share the breathtaking views from the top of the viewing deck. I'll be sharing more about the history of the place and why people come here not just to camp but to see an infamous crash site.
And that's it! Thanks for taking the time to read my blog and go through my pictures. I'm writing my visit to Mt. Manunggal in many parts because I took so many photos and there are many things I'd like to share about this trip. I haven't written a travel blog recently, but I have traveled quite a lot these past few months. I know I have so much to share here.
I think I'll be whipping up an Anniversary Post for my next blog since I've recently turned one year here in Hive. I can still remember the thrill of publishing my Introduction Post.
That's all for now. See you in the next post. Cheers!