We've been roaming around the Philippines in the last couple of weeks but I couldn't remember the last time I toured you around my hometown. Today's the day we're embarking on a journey up the mountains of Carcar City.
Jeffrey, who I fondly call B1, is an old friend from high school. We used to climb mountains and camp out on weekends together with other common friends but when life hit us, our paths rarely crossed again. When my spine broke, I decided to stop climbing. We might not be the closest of friends but we share ideals and dreams and support each other despite not seeing each other often. If I win in life, I know that Jeffrey's shouting his heart out in happiness at my achievement; that's the kind of friendship we have.
In the middle of the pandemic, Jeffrey and I reconnected. We hadn't seen each other in years so when the pandemic gave us so much time to spare for anything we could think of, we decided to climb a budding trekking destination in our hometown. It was initially just Jeffrey and me, but when I mentioned this climb to my boyfriend, he decided to join us.
I've lived in my hometown for half my life but I could say that I haven't truly explored every destination there is. The Saturday we'd been waiting for came and it was just Jeffrey, GB and I climbing a mountain in Brgy. Napo, one of the mountain barangays in Carcar City. I had no idea what I was getting myself into but I trust that we're in good hands since Jeffrey is a seasoned climber. We left navigation in his hands.
Just like any trekking, we started the journey up the mountains with a habal-habal ride. The road going to the jumpoff point was the worst part; it was steep and unpaved. There were even times when the motorcycle had to cross the river. The drivers were skilled but to ensure safety they allowed one passenger per ride only.
The ride might felt forever but at some point, we reached the jumpoff point. A small community on top of the mountains. Isn't it fascinating to discover residential areas in the middle of nowhere? This always blows my mind.
Locals asked us if we wanted to get a guide to which we kindly refused; Jeffrey was confident he could lead the way. We just have to take the right path right from the start and from there it would be a seamless trek; that's what I heard from Jeffrey.
The first few minutes were crucial as we needed to find the right path but when we couldn't find what the locals at the jumpoff point told us, we knew we took the wrong turn. In short, we were lost. I wasn't worried at all; the area isn't as forested as other mountains I've been to. It was a small mountain, sooner or later we'd find our way back on track. Luckily, we met a local farmer who guided us and when we found our way again, we were confident we would make it on top without any other bottlenecks.
Our trek was filled with conversations about the past; the treks we had and the crazy memories we made. I'd say the trek was relatively easy but of course, this was my first hike in years so my heart still had to adjust to the activity. We made countless stops along the way which we took as a chance to share major life updates.
In no time, we could see Carcar's breathtaking view from atop. We kept moving as we were excited with the view from the peak of this mountain.
"You know you're on the right track if you're walking towards the huge cellular towers!" I remember hearing this from one of the locals we met at the jumpoff point. The towers were erected at the top of the mountain we were climbing that day so when we finally saw them, a breath of relief came out.
It was my first time in this part of my hometown and I was utterly amazed that such a heavenly place existed. Once we reached the top, a 360-degree view of my hometown took all the frustrations from being lost earlier in the climb and, of course, the physical exhaustion from trekking this far.
"It's worth it!" I told myself.
On the other side facing the other mountain ranges, a small open hut was built but unfortunately, it was destroyed by changing and severe weather conditions or maybe it's just too old already. But at least it was able to shelter us from the raging heat of the sun. It's important to note that aside from this hut, there are no other structures or huge trees that could become temporary shelters for trekkers during sunny days. There are two options in this case, you can either bring an umbrella or other things that could protect you from the direct heat of the sun or you can climb and go down as fast as you could; don't overstay here without protection.
More photos at the top...
During our visit, we didn't feel too hot as the wind was blowing hard in fact too hard that we were more concerned about being thrown out of balance and rolling down the hills than getting sunburns. š But as they say when life gives you lemon, make lemonades. We enjoyed every blow of the wind even played with it.
More photos that proves how much we loved our trek that morning.
We climbed without any gears, and the only thing we brought with us was water. At some point, we felt we could no longer survive the scorching heat and before we'd pass out, we decided it was time to descend.
We headed back to OcaƱa proper and headed home with nothing but smiles of success and stories to tell my friends and family that a place like this exists in our hometown and it's about time they see it, too.
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