Barefoot Mt. Maculot pioneer batch (c) Ms. My

In an earlier post, I've made it clear that I'm not a mountain-climbing type of person. Last January, however, I decided to give it another try. What changed you ask? Well,  Mt. Maculot happened, that's why. As simple as that. 

I fell in love as soon as I saw a photo of Mt. Maculot on the internet. It's nothing like I've seen before, really. Located at Cuenca, Batangas, it is one of the few mountains in the Philippines overlooking a lake, or water for that matter. 

With months of inactivity, an all-ascend trail (well, most if not all) is certainly not the first thing you'd like to try, which otherwise happened to me. Bummer. So to divert my attention from  the challenging trail and the pain that's starting to linger in my thighs,  I let my mind wander from time to time. Thus, I give you eight of my realizations (which are applicable both in real life and in this climb)  in Mt. Maculot. For the record, I was supposed to give you guys ten, believe me, I tried to make it ten but I guess eight's all I got. Ha-ha!

En route to the Rockies.

Anywho, let's begin with the obvious. (1) There's no glamorous path to success. Figuratively and literally. There's are no easy paths and shortcuts to anything. One has to work hard, in one way or another. The same applies for this climb.

(2) Strangers are not the strangest people you'll meet on earth. Another thing that I noticed from this experience was that whenever hikers come across each other on the trail, they greet each other regardless if whether or not they're from the same group. I don't know if its customary or those people are just courteous.

(3) No matter how prepared you think you are, life always has its way to surprise you. Physically, mentally, and emotionally. For this climb, I wasn't physically prepared, as I have mentioned earlier, but some of us were. To my surprise though, they too found the trail challenging. 

The next one hit me as soon as we reached the so-called 711 in Maculot. (4) Sometimes the best things in life are the simplest. Don't believe me? Try having pancit canton (instant noodles), halo-halo (shaved ice with milk, fruits and sweet beans), or even a humble buko (coconut) juice after a tiring hike. Trust me, you'll get a taste of heaven. 

(5) Learn when to hold on and when to let go. I'd like to take this opportunity to apologize to dozens of tall grasses and yards of vines that I pulled just to keep myself from rolling downhill. Haha. 

Earth, Air and Water

(6) Keep your gaze forward and never look back. Things are behind us for a reason. Focus on what's ahead and not what's behind you. Remember this whenever the past hunts you or when you take your final ascend to the Rockies.  :)

(7) When you're one with nature you'll never be truly alone. Of course, I'm not really alone during the hike but you get the gist. 

Ms. My of Barefoot Travels doing her headstand. 

(8) The hardest paths are the most rewarding. Inhale. Exhale. They are not exaggerating. The view is truly breathtaking! All those ascends are totally worth it. 

We survived the rockies! Well done! (c) Patty Platon

Note:

For this climb my cousins and I joined  Barefoot Travels day hike to Maculot. This, I must say, is the best public group tour I've ever joined. They truly deliver a hassle free trip and their coordinators were sooo accommodating and fun to be with. Are their group tours solo friendly? Yes, actually we had three solo travelers in the group. Would I join their group tours again? Definitely! For more details and destinations, please visit their page.  xxx