I Conquered Mt. Daguldul

I know it's not Mt. Everest but for a relatively obese-couch potato-doesn't exercise-first time mountain climber, this is already an amazing feat. Mt. Daguldul is one of the more climable mountains in the Batangas Area it has an elevation of 670 meters. Compared to mountains climbed by previous batches Mt. Daguldul offers a more challenging trail.

It was my very first time to take on an outdoor activity. The closest trekking that I ever went through was the outreach program in Pampanga. I was very excited and scared when I first learned that I would be joining the first batch in trekking Mt. Daguldul. Everybody was telling me that it would be a difficult climb and that the mountain was very steep. I started to eat less and I did a lot of walking in preparation for the climb.

I woke up early on April 26, the day of the climb. We rendezvous at MRT Buendia Station and we rode a van until San Juan Batangas going through Candelaria, Quezon where we got the chance to eat some tasty lomi and chami. The initial plan was to take a boat until the Jump Off Station but there were no boats available. Below the mountain was the beach so to get to the mountain we need to ride a bangka. Instead of doing that, we had to ride a jeepney. I was scared during the jeepney ride because the road was beside a ravine and it was a curvy road. Nonetheless we reached the jump off station, ate our lunch, did our stretching and warms ups and prayed. That was about 3:00 in the afternoon. We were actually way behind schedule. We were already hurrying up since it might get dark and we want to set up camp before darkness envelop us. I was optimistic at the start of the climb and then I started to breathe heavily, I can hear my heartbeat in my throat, it was thumping so loud. Everyone thought it was over for me that I would already give up. And then I started to walk slowly and paced myself, we're just 30 minutes into walking and I'm already giving up? NO! I started to make small goals, like I'd go for that big rock, then I'd motivate myself to get to that tree. And ever so slowly I achieved my little goals. Before I knew it I am already half way through the mountain. There were a lot of pit stops along the way. A lot of families have already populated the area. There were houses that sell halo halo and buko. There were even electric meters attached in the trees. So its relatively safe to trek to the mountains.



Just one of the scenes during the climb


More Scenes

Around 5:30 pm we reached the campsite. The summit was already within reach we had to postpone until morning since it was getting late. And this welcomed us. The sun about to set and fog already setting in. It was amazing. I can't even describe the feeling of seeing such a wonderful scene! It was glorious and magnificent, only God can make something as beautiful as this. It was also very cold at the top. Winds were very strong, it was so different from the climate here in Manila. It was so beautiful at the top.



On Top of Mt. Daguldul

God's handiwork

We cooked dinner using the provisions we prepared and had some activties before we went to sleep on our tents. It was my firs time to sleep on a tent. It was uncomfortable but since we were so tired it didn't matter. We slept like babies and it was so cold that's why it was so nice to sleep.

Day 2. To be continued..

Maria Francia Posted At 9:25:00 AM

| ________________________________