Mountain Trek – The Hidden Panorama

Precious Moment In The Mountain : Mount Kinabalu

Precious Moment In The Mountain (Post#20): Mount Kinabalu

My first formal climb happened in Mount Kinabalu which became my way to be a member of mountaineering group in my country through my colleague at work. This mountain is the highest mountain that I ever climbed even though I haven’t reach the summit and only reached the hotel (Laban Rata – 3200+masl). Cannot forget my first climb experience and had been an eye opener that even I had difficulty on this climb I really love mountains. Photo captured last September 2008.

Precious Moment In The Mountain : Mount Marami

Precious Moment In The Mountain (Post#18) : Mount Marami

I remember the climb we had on this mountain, it was the hottest climb experienced I had because we set the trek during summer season in my country. All of us emptied our bottle and we were struggling as all of us felt hydrated. It was good thing that it happened when we were on our way to descend the mountain. We saw a water source under a tree along the way and using water filter from one of our group we survived until we reached the jumped-off point again. The scenery is above is what they called Silyang Bato (Rock Chair) of Mount Marami and captured last April 2011.

Precious Moment In The Mountain : Mount Maculot

Precious Moment In The Mountain (Post#13) : Mount Maculot

It was first freedom climb in my country and my mountaineering group has been assigned to Mount Maculot. Mount Maculot has rockies part where its overlooking are Taal Lake and Taal Vocano. During the climb, I discovered a panoramic view along the way and for me it is a breath-taking scenery. Photo captured last June 2009.

Precious Moment In The Mountain : Mount Anawangin

Precious Moment In The Mountain (Post#3) : Mount Anawangin

This is one of the magnificent view that I had while at the top of Mount Anawangin. I captured this photo from Mount Anawangin when we had the climb last March 2009. The scenery is looking towards the Anawangin Cove where we enjoyed our time after the trek. It is one of the great holiday I had back home. This mountain is beside Mount Pundaquit which located at San Antonio in Zambales Province of Philippines.

This post has been updated to add the link of and to participate in the following:

Blue Monday – Sep 5, 2016
Through My Lens – Sep 5, 2016
Our World Tuesday – Sep 6, 2016
Travel Tuesday – Sep 6, 2016
Outdoor Wednesday – Sep 7, 2016
Wednesday Around The World – Sep 7, 2016
Skywatch Friday – Sep 9, 2016
Scenic Weekends – Sep 10, 2016
In Heaven – Sep 10, 2016

Remembering Gulugod-Baboy Mountain – My First Fun Climb

This story was written to remember my first fun climb since I joined the mountaineering group. Like what I said from previous blog a year ago, after my first and major climb, the next thing is fun climb…(well most of you will think, that is weird, you climb the major climb first then fun climb next?). Well, I am just telling the truth and nothing but the truth.

My first fun climb held in Mabini, Batangas last Oct 25 to 26 2008. And the lucky mountain we climbed was Gulugod-Baboy Mountain. As far as I remembered, the group met at 7/11 in Pasay,Rotonda where the bus to Batangas is stationed. We traveled by bus from Pasay, Rotonda until we reached Batangas City, then we rode jeep until we reached the jump-off area in Mabini, Batangas near Anilao.

The great thing about the jump-off area are the wonderful view that it offers. I saw some beach from the ground and the beautiful sea that seems no end.

Here are some seaside snapshots I had while staying at jump-off area.

While waiting for other member in the group that will join the fun climb, we took our lunch near the jump-off area. While having lunch, rain fell. And since rain fell, this means, the trail will be muddy or slippery. But rain will not be the reason to stop mountaineers to go for the climb.

For this climb I met other members of the group and honestly to tell you, I have so much fun meeting them and it’s really great to know them.

As much as I remember, on this first fun climb, I experienced new things about climbing. Comparing my first and major climb to this climb, I realized that it’s not good to compare it, because each mountain have their own uniqueness, have their own features and challenges. My experiences when I climbed Mount Kinabalu were far way different when I climb Gulugod-Baboy Mountain.

For the photo above, I capture some part of the area where the rain already falling…

See the heavy clouds?

Here are the views that can be found while climbing Gulugod-Baboy Mountain.

These are also the photos that the sky seems to be unfriendly for the mountaineers

because it means one thing…its going to rain (we are lucky, the rain is in far from us)

Gulugod Baboy Mountain is just small mountain (has 500+ masl altitude) compared to Mount Kinabalu (with more than 4000+ masl). I cannot forget my experience while trekking this mountain. First we took the semi-steep small road which partially cemented that time, then we rested few minutes before taking the rough trail. For this climb, I will remember when the only thing I can hold on to were just grass leaves that I don’t know if these leaves can handle my weight. There were many times that I slipped away because the track were muddy. It’s just a good thing that my trekking pole was there to helped me. We passed grasses even taller than me.

When I reached the top, the feelings were wonderful and the amazing view from top was worth to see after such exhausted climb in few hours.

Here are the afternoon before sunset views I caught after reaching the camp

near the summit of the mountain

After reaching the top of the mountain near the summit, we also had a chance to witness the sunset view. With this kind of seeing sun is slowly hiding itself to people, the feeling so ecstatic. Sometimes you will think, how world is so fascinating with just having that moment.

Sunset Views

This first fun climb was also the first night having a great time with the group. I got a chance to get to know them for real. The group called it “Socials” where some secrets revealed, some information gave away either by just telling it through jokes or even in a serious way. There were lots of fun and laughter that made me feel that night will not be over. In that social activities with the group, I also had a chance to introduce myself to the group and my reasons why I like to climb.

This is the famous lonely tree branch – a significant mark used as a proof commonly

by mountaineers as evidence that they reached Gulugod-Baboy Mountain.

Here is the summit of the mountain – where my group made their important jump shots

Its getting dark ..

Even the group had so much fun over the night for social activities, everyone still able to wake up to witness the sunrise from the summit. And I am one of them who trek the trail to summit immediately to glimpse the sunrise for a moment.

The moment – Sunrise

After enjoying the rising sun from the summit,

here are the photos around the Gulgod-Baboy Mountain Summit

I truly treasure my experience in this climb, as second mountain to climb I knew for myself, that I still have lots to learn in mountaineering.

Amazing Anawangin

Trekking Mount Anawangin (a.k.a. Mount Pundaquit)

March 27, Friday night at 11:00 pm, the mountaineering group (SMB – Samahan ng Mountaineering Barkadas or Society of Mountaineering Berks) where I belong gathered at Monumento, Caloocan bus station. From here we took a bus and left the station past 12 am. Travel time is more than three (3) hours. We arrived at the front of San Antonio municipality building. Next, we waited half hour for our next ride, a three-wheeled vehicle named as “tricycle”. Then, we traveled again for few minutes until we reached the jump-off area at around 4:30 am. Before we start our trek, we rested for another few minutes. Almost 5:00 a.m., we setup our head lamp, pulled out our trekking pole and started to walk on the trail to Mount Anawangin.

First part of the trail is sandy because the jump-off area or the base of Mount Anawangin is not far from beaches. Then, we passed the rocky and dried river. We are lucky because the season we visited the place was summer – the best season to climb the mountain and enjoy beautiful white sand beaches. It’s still dark when we passed the dried river and we considered it already as a challenge. Just making a note that during rainy season the river we crossed used to have a fast flowing current and it is dangerous to cross the river. It is not advisable to pass this trail during rainy season.

This was the first time I trekked a mountain at an early hour of the morning but darkness did not stop me to push myself to an exciting and challenging trip to the mountain. While following the track of our journey, I was excited because, aside from the footsteps that I heard during the trek, I also heard the sounds of the cricket crackling from the grass that we passed by. Half hour went by and we still have a smooth climb. After 5:30 a.m., the sun starts to rise and gives light to the place where we are. The paths we are following become visible to us. From time to time we pause for few minutes to take rest. During this time, I took opportunities to capture photos of the surrounding of the place. The beauty of Mount Anawangin becomes evident to my eyes.

Pictures I captured while trekking Mount Anawangin

While climbing the mountain, I can see a similar panorama – a mountain ranges look like view but it’s actually part of Mount Anawangin itself. This mountain is not the same as other mountains being covered by lots of trees; it is surfaced with mostly by grass. During the time we trekked the mountain, some part of it just underwent from recent fires which normally happens in mountains to recycle the nutrients it has.

Photos above are scenery in the middle of the mountain before descending

We continue to ascend Mount Anawangin. The mountain has almost 500 masl (meter above sea level) altitude. The group did not tried to go to its peak or summit except for two senior and most experienced members. The rest of the group decided to descend the mountain after taking a short break. While resting near the summit of the mountain, I grab all my chance to take pictures of the place. I was stunned by the beauty of the nature I saw at the top of the mountain. We saw Anawangin beach resort from a far, a small pyramid hill and the gulf like end part of Anawangin coast. The blue skies that surround the beautiful nature made the view even perfect. The exhaustion that we experienced during the climb seems to immediately wipe out because of the fascinating view we discovered. All of us who brought camera took our own pictures and to be honest, I got a lot of shots of amazing view of Anawangin from the top of mountain.

Panoramic views near the summit of Mount Anawangin

Reaching the Wonderful Place

After we saw the attraction of Anawangin beach from a far, all of us in the group were excited to reach the coast. After resting of more than half hour near the summit, the group started to descend the mountain. Our journey while on our way to the coast become easier, maybe because of the excitement we felt. When we reached the ground, we crossed another sandy trail, dried river, a pond and a forest just to reach Anawangin coast.

Descending the mountain has same effect on me similar to ascending it. I experience the mountain itself. And this kind of moment, I appreciate the beauty of the mountain and it cannot be compared by just looking the mountain from far location. I did not take much pictures because my point and shoot digital camera was not with me. One of my co-mountaineers offered me to bring my stuff and my camera was on it. After few hours of descending the mountain, we rested beside the pyramid hill we saw while we are at the top of Mount Anawangin.

I just wanted to share the experience we had when we are passing the dried river. Since the group was quite big, we reached Anawangin beach by batch. I was accompanied by other three female co-mountaineers and there was a time that we thought we were at lost because the leading batch in front of us was gone, because of that we had to adventure the track on our own, which was not really a problem, it was just confusing. The principles of signs help us to get back on the right trail. The first batch arrived at the coast left signs near the trail by using two stones. But I knew it’s not the perfect sign or symbol but it indeed helped us to get our way to the beach.

After dried river, we passed forest and pond. The color of the water in the pond is brown that makes the scenery different but it is nice to look at. We continue the walk until we saw the beach.

Enjoy the Beauty of Anawangin

At last we reached the beautiful and serene coast. The seawater I saw was very calm and I cannot stop myself to appreciate the beauty of nature in front of me. The different degree of color blue from the sea-side and beyond made the beach view amazing. The sea water scenery made Anawangin beach so lovely.

Beautiful Anawangin Coast

Since the group were all tired, we immediately put down our backpacks our tables, then the group in-charged for lunch started their assigned tasks, fortunately I was part of that group. I do not have to tell the details about preparing our lunch stuff but one thing I can say, all of us were happy and had a wonderful time doing our chores because we were aware that we were at one of the best place to unwind and at the same time enjoy the nature.

After lunch, I rested and fall asleep for more than an hour. When I woke up, I decided to walk for while by myself at the beach to explore the place. By the way, all pictures that I got from the beach were captured during this time. I enjoyed the water at the seaside and it is very clear because I was able to see the sands underneath. Because I overwhelmed on its luminosity, I even walked with my barefoot at the sand of the coast and I let the water get into my feet. I enjoyed taking pictures while walking at the side of the beach.

More of Anawangin Beach

Next thing that I did was I went to the rocky part of the beach which located at the left part of the coast facing the sea. From this place I was able to sneak some shots with different angles of the coast including the mountain that we had climbed.

Fantastic sceneries while walking at the side of the beach

After spending some time from rocky part, I stopped at the side of the pond where the water-color is brown. For me the pond views are still perfect for me. Looking beyond the other end of the pond looks like it is a river. The other side of the pond also shows forest like scenery because of trees that surrounds the area.

Some photographic scenery at the side of the pond in Anawangin near the beach

I went back to the camp where my group is staying. After few hours passed again, the group went to the side of the beach by playing the sand, swimming, snorkeling and or just take pictures of the group. Before we ended the day, we watched the sunset while at the side of the beach, we enjoyed the silhouette that my group crafted. And the last but not the least, we enjoyed posing to every corner of the beach and along with the pond.

Amazing Sunset – Perfect for lovers ..c”,)

During the night the next thing happened; we had our dinner and social activities in the evening as part of our recreational activities while at Anawangin.

Island Hopping

Next day was Sunday, we had our breakfast and we packed our backpacks for the next adventure. The group wore life jacket as our protection if something happened to us in the middle of the sea. Then, we hit the sea water to visit some islands near Anawangin. We started to travel with our rides called as “Bangka” (a small motor boat) at around 10:00 a.m… While seafaring and doing island sightseeing we experienced the heat of the sun, but we ignored it because we were more excited to the experience we were having at the time.

While on the sea, even I know that I should keep my camera inside my backpack, I could not help myself but to take it out and take pictures while on our way to the first island we are going to visit. I took pictures while leaving Anawangin coast. I took some pictures of unfamiliar islands and the sea itself.

Some photos when leaving Anawangin for ssland hopping

We first stopped at Kamara Island. This is the island where the old lighthouse can be found. After traveling for one hour we reached the island and we took time to enjoy the view from this place. We saw Anawangin in different viewpoint and the nearby views from the location of the old lighthouse. I really like the panoramic views that I witnessed from this place. We spent one hour of rest in the lighthouse.

Some of the captured photos while traveling in the middle of the sea with our ride called “Bangka”

The lighthouse still serves its purpose, but it is very old. The building structure is not in good shape anymore, its roof is totally ruined. The walls unpainted and it looks like no one is maintaining the building anymore. In short no one is using the building itself except the tower part where the lights located.

Inside and Outside of Kamara Island

After Kamara Island, we went to Capones Island for half hour. To our surprise, Capones Island offers a great beach. The sands are white and the place is just beautiful. And because of that, the group decided to spend another 30 minutes to just enjoy the little island. I did snorkeling for a short period of time and I love what I found under the sea, coral reefs with colourful tiny fishes.

Short trip at Capones – great for swimming and snorkeling

I have to admit, after few minutes in Capones Island, the end of our summer adventure ended but we treasured all the memories of the places and the experiences we had if not forever but for a very long time.

Some photos while on our way back to Anawangin at the other side of it. Best place to view Anawangin mountain.