Welcome to Part 3 of my Making the Most of Mt. Manunggal series. In this post, I will be sharing with you the 2nd day of our stay in Mt. Manunggal and our ordeals in climbing the Rock Formations peak. You can read Part 1 and Part 2 through the links below.
A VERY COLD MORNING
I remember waking up at dawn and complaining about the cold. I didn't bring the right camping gear and clothes. I only wore a pair of shorts and my jacket was not thick enough to fight the cold. I didn't have a pillow. My sleep was not very comfortable. The only consolation was that my girlfriend was beside me. The moment became comedic because my girlfriend found my reaction funny. Maybe our struggles become easier when we're with the right people.
Although I didn't get enough sleep, I was glad to wake up in the morning because it meant I didn't have to lie down on the hard and cold ground inside the tent. The fog greeted me when I went outside. The cold reminded me of Baguio City (a really cold place in the Philippines) and waking up early morning in the province.
We decided to climb the viewing deck and take in the cold morning fog. The stairs were wet and slippery but the slow climb slightly heated my body. The visibility was poor at the top and everything was just white. We stayed on the top deck to confirm our plans for the day and took our first photos of the day. We looked down on our camp and we could see our tents at the bottom. It's funny to imagine I was squirming inside that tent down there because of the cold.
We descended from the viewing deck and went to the main campsite of Mt. Manunggal. Other campers pitched their tent near their parked cars, the toilets, and the store. The place really looked like Baguio City with the pine trees and the fog. I mentioned in Part 2 that Mt. Mangunggal is dubbed as Baguio de (of) Cebu.
We went to the store and we were happy to see that there was breakfast food already served. I ordered two packs of instant coffee and poured the contents in a single mug to help me wake up and get ready for the trek. We found a guide that was willing to help us climb the Rock Formations so early in the day. We'd hope to be the first ones to arrive at the peak and have it all to ourselves.
A FOGGY TREK
And then we were off! We traversed the path we had already taken the day before when we visited the crash site monuments. It was still foggy but thankfully there was no rain. We went down on the familiar concrete footpaths and passed by trees brought down by the recent typhoon that hit Cebu.
The path was well established and although there was fog, we could still see our way. We arrived at the crash site monument and the guide explained more to us about what happened. He told us that when was a boy, he was able to see the actual plane that crashed on the mountain (the crash killed a Philippine president who was riding the plane). We didn't stay long at the monument because we'd already been there yesterday.
We moved on and I purposely went last in the group because I knew I'd be stopping a lot to take some pictures and to take in the surroundings. I took a few shots of the vegetation and flora that we passed by.
We reached the clearing where a lot of campers are known to pitch their tents. But when we passed through, there was only one tent that was pitched. We were told that the anniversary of the crash was coming up and that people would flock to the clearing to camp and to commemorate the event. Maybe people were putting up their schedules to visit Mt. Manunggal until the anniversary.
We were still walking through fog and in the clearing, we could see how thick the fog really was. But the sun was shining brightly, the path was easy to follow, and there was a guide to help us. The start of the trek was problem-free. All we needed to do was just walk. Further down the trail, the ground was wet and slippery but still manageable.
As always, I took a lot of pictures. I wanted to document our trek and capture the interesting things that I saw. I looked down and saw crawling creatures. I saw a millipede, a vibrant small plant, and a strange clumping of a twisted bean-looking fruit.
Finally, we reached the base of the Rock Formations peak and the guide told us to stop and listen to his instructions. I was a bit worried because he turned all serious. He told us to use our two hands and that meant tucking away our phones and our water bottles. He also told us to follow each step he took while climbing the rocky and steep trail.
We put our phones and our water bottles in our pockets and followed our guide. I expected the climb to be very difficult but it wasn't so bad. I just had to hold on to the rocks and steady my footing. It took a few minutes to climb to the top and reach the peak.
A SATISFYING CLIMB
There were rocks all over the peak. That's why it's called the Rock Formations peak. We were way high up. We could see plains and valleys and mountains below us. And there was nobody there but us! The fog was still thick but the guide told us it would eventually clear out. We just had to wait.
I looked down on one side of the peak and I could see this valley below us. I could make out houses clustered together. I was a bit nervous because I was standing on top of a cliff and I could see how far below I'd fall if I took the wrong step. But once took in the beauty of my surroundings, fear was replaced with awe.
We walked-climbed our way around the peak while waiting for the sky to clear up. I took pictures from the different sides of the peak. Here are some of my shots just as the sky was clearing up.
FOR PART 4: LAST MOMENTS AT THE PEAK
For Part 4, I will be showing more shots from the peak and our last moments in Mt. Manunggal. It will be the last part of this series. I'm also going to share some plant and insect photography that I took before we left.
And that's it! Thank you for taking the time in reading my post and going through my photos. I hope I was able to entertain you with this travel blog. I enjoyed reliving the moments of this travel from feeling the cold to the amazing views from the Rock Formations peak. I'm excited to write Part 4 and end this series so that I can showcase another travel destination.
I've recently launched my community, the Personal Development Community. Please do check it out as I am expecting authors to slowly share their journeys to achieving their full potential.
See you in the post. Cheers!
