The first
time i set foot on this mountain less than a year ago, I got a taste of all the
elements the nature has to offer. In the
first few kilometers of our trek we were under the intense heat of the
SUN. When we're about to resume our
journey after we had our lunch, it RAINED and it continued raining from that
point on wards until our descent the next day.
During the night, the AIR was freezing cold. I also experienced my first limatik
bite. Along the trail I had my ups and
downs literally, giving me minor cuts and bruises. The rain had the 15 km rocky trail wet and
slippery poising added challenge to us. we trekked for almost 12 hrs for our
ascent and less than 8 hrs for our descent.
It was not easy. Our endurance
was put into test. Days after our climb
I was still feeling muscle pain. Even
though the weather had not been cooperative, it was still a successful
climb. The mountain was still beautiful
with all those pine trees and wild orchids in bloom. Fog covered the surroundings all throughout
failing us from seeing the rest of Tapulao's wilderness. Same scene greeted us the next day when we
had our summit assault.
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| Pine Forest |
Though i was not planning to climb Tapulao anytime soon, at least I still got reasons to go back. Months after, February 2013 to be specific. I found myself going back. This time with a good weather just exactly what i was hoping and praying for. This time we were devoid no more with beautiful sceneries. Tapulao has showed us it's charm and beauty. How it looked like during good weather. The trail has not shortened nor became free from being rocky but this time it's not slippery. Definitely trekking a dry trail is a lot easier. Considering my first experience, this time i came more prepared. we completed the Tapulao challenge this time the hardcore way. Yes it was still tiring, but we're all in agreement that all the sweat and effort were more than worth it.
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| Falling asleep along the trail. |
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| At the campsite |
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| at the summit |
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| at the world tree at the summit |
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| at the campsite after break camp |
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| the sea of clouds |
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| Pine Tress |
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| Sunset |
