Read the Day 1 to know the basic details of this hike.
Mt. Kalatungan | 5th Highest Mountain in the Philippines (Day 1)
Woke up not by the alarm but by the snor of my co-hiker where his tent is right next to mine. It was 3:00am but I can't go back to sleep because of the coldness. I was already wearing 3 jackets but my problem is my feet. So I started to move around, fix my things and just making myself busy. Our call time is 4:00am to have the breakfast and was planning to start the trek at 5:00am.
"This day is the real assault". I took 2 vitamin C (not the alcoholic drink) but the real vitamins because I was expecting a very tiring hike.
Here is the map where we are going:
So from day 1, we already reached View Deck site. The trek is not easy, it is your knees' battle afterall. The humidity makes it easier because I prefer the rain than the heat of the sun.
The Trail Food
Unfortunately, I left my trail food at the van, luckily, Ed, the head organizer, brought some and we were just like kids getting some jelly ace, biscuits, chocolates. We need energy yo. Don't judge us. Lol. By the way, don't drink too much water, it will make you much heavier so just sip a bit.
The View of Muleta Falls
It took us an approximate of 3 hours to at least reach the "View of Muleta Falls" and we were lucky because there is a clearing. When we say clearing, it means that the view is visible and there are no clouds blocking it.
The Mossy Forest
The things you will see along the way is just fascinating, the mini mossy forest makes it more worthy. I never really thought I can be lost in this place, disconnecting 3 days of my life to see these things.
Struggles
I thought I can reach the peak without having any injury but before we reached the Junction Sanggaya Camp, my right leg suddenly gave up and I can't move. Just after a minute, my left leg was starting to feel pain as well so I decided to take a rest for a moment and wear my knee cap. The rain is starting to fall, very perfect timing. The assault of the trail is getting harder. Someone gave me a therapy oil that may help to ease the pain. Ed decided to get my 15kls bag and let me proceed without anything to carry. I was a bit worried because they already have heavy bags and carrying my bag will make it harder for them. But they are more concerned with my situation. I took some medicine as well. By the way, bringing medicines are as well essential for the entire experience.
Here is the thing I realized, what if I was just there waiting for my legs to heal? What if they don't care about my situation, what if it wasn't them. Struggles like this is inevitable and I am just thankful that my team are always there to help.
So they carried my bag until we reached the Junction Area. We had our Lunch, it was still raining. Some of the group already reach the peak so they are already going down to Bamboo Camping site where we spent the rest of our day.
Reaching the peak
After having lunch, we ascend again to reach the highest peak. We don't care if it's raining, reaching the peak is all that matters.
The girl with the pink coat, Mia, and her boyfriend, Bill, were also had the struggle of muscle strain in their legs. Since I was already okay, I gave the knee cap to Mia who is already crying because of the pain.
The Mud
We started to descend and we proceeded to Bamboo Camp or the Sanggaya Camp. The trail is much more adventurous than I thought. Muds were our enemy in that phase. Slippery, sticky and disgusting. Well, it was part of the adventure after all.
Bamboo Camp
Our tents were already set up in the camp, thanks to our beloved organizer, Ed.
Finally, coffeeeeeee. We had some time to rest and clean ourselves. We had our dinner and we actually settled in the camp earlier that we expected.
The cold here is much stronger than Day 1 so find someone to hug the entire night.
Fortunately, I have a hammock that warms me because I'm alone in my tent. I can hug myself though.
Gallery (Day 2)