Hello, Hive!
The thing about reminiscing is it has the tendency to warm you up from the inside. It reminds you of a fond moment, makes you see who you are before and how far you’ve gone now. It also slap you with your age — though, most often, in a good way.
That’s what happened to my friends and I.
Last weekend, one of our friends, An, passed the licensure examination for physical therapists. After all the challenges she went through — physical, mental, emotional — we all could say that she truly deserves it. So to celebrate this lifetime feat, her SMS fam traveled to her hometown in Toledo.
We were greeting by An when we arrived and led to the sala. There were few people that time, mostly Gen Zs who were watching pop music videos on TV. But when it was our time to take charge of the remote control, we did the unthinkable. We switched to 
Anyway, one of our fun recollections that day was about our camping trip in the mountains of Naga. I realized that I have not written anything about it yet. Hence, here’s a very late recount.
Hiking to Mt. Tuyan
The City of Naga is not only known for its instragram-worthy Baywalk and Boardwalk Complex. It is also famous for its picturesque peaks and rolling hills such as Mt. Naupa, Mt. Magdook and Mt. Kabuwan. But unknown to many, there is also another peak in town that will give you a perfect spot for watching the sunrise. And that is Mt. Tuyan.
We learned about this place when Jharm of Lakwatserong Engineer invited my friends and I on a camping trip one weekend. A local of Brgy. Tuyan, it was Jharm who guided us on a “chill” hike to the campsite.
But, let me tell you, it was not that chill of a hike.
There are two ways to get to the campsite. You can hike from the highway which usually takes around 30 minutes to 1 hour (depending on your pace); or you can chart a trike to take you to Royal Child Academy of Naga in Sambag where the jumpoff is. We chose to hike since it was still early and a little exercise wouldn’t hurt. HAHA!
Or so we thought.
The initial hike from the highway was an easy walk through the residential areas. After passing the school, we veered off the concrete path and into the unpaved road that led to the mountain. The trail slowly become steep and by the time we reached their manmade forest, we were gasping for air. We made several stops to catch our breath, including here which was a perfect place to hang those hammocks.
There was a wooden house on the hill that indicated that we were getting nearer. A few minutes later, we finally reached the campsite.
Camping fun and a scary night
Since Mt. Tuyan was not frequented by many, its trail was thick with wild grasses. The main campsite was located in an open are on top of the hill, but my friends and I decided to pitch our tents a few meters away from it where there were trees to act as shade. It also has limited space and can only accomodate four or five, depending on the size of your tents.
We arrived just in time for the sunset. After setting up our tents, CJ and Jharm flew their drones while the rest prepared our dinner for later.
Looking back, I think meal prep was one of the memorable parts of camping for me. Here, we talked and laughed about random things that come to mind. It was fun.
After dinner, we gathered around and played some games as a customary pastime. An unforgetable experience that night was when one of our group photos turned our laughter to fear. For some reason, the a bulb from our fairylight was reflected in the camera and created a white spot on the image which looked like an eye of a ghost. We even joked about it being Valak from the 2018 horror film The Nun. With that quick scare, we decided to call it a night and went into our tents.
Country vibes at Mt. Tuyan
We woke up to a beautiful morning in Mt. Tuyan. The sun’s rays turned the hills and trees to golden. The hammock we hung earlier was also a perfect spot to appreciate the overlooking view of the the city. The sunrise, coffee, and the view gave off that #countrylife vibe. It was mesmerizing.
Down the mountain, into the sea
After eating our breakfast and savoring the view, we took one last group picture before heading down the trail. We took a different route one the way down — one that, according to Jharm, is the easier path.
But we soon realized that Jharm may have had a different definition of “chill” or “easy” because the trail that we were hiking on was far from easy or chill. Since it has not been raining for days, the silty soil was very dry and slippery. Good thing our bags were lighter this time without water and food. We held onto trunks of small trees, hoping it could support our weight.
Finally, we reached the flat ground and headed back to the barangay proper. After leaving our things at Jharm's house, we decided to take a quick dip in the sea that was just across the highway. They do not have cleanest or whitest shoreline but we still headed to the water to refresh ourselves. It was an ideal way to end our Naga trip.
Thanks for reading! You can also check out videos of our adventure through the links below.
Maria is a hopeless romantic who travels in pages and places. She is an INFP who loves sunrises and moonlight nights and reading books in between. On weekdays, she works for a self-publishing company as a copywriter. On weekends, she lives for life as a poet or hiker. She hopes to share her love for words and the world with you here on HIVE.
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