The last time I went to Pico De Loro in Ternate, Cavite was when we had an initiation climb for the newbies in my former mountaineering club in college. That’s about 10 years ago. We had a night trek, I think that was my first night trek as well and everyone was excited. The newbies even bought a replica of the mask they used in the movie, “Scream” and a gadget that alters your voice to scare the other girls.
They were a bit noisy for a while but they eventually piped down because we were trained to be disciplined and responsible mountaineers – responsible and respectful to ourselves, the people around us and of course to the nature we love. So yeah, we had fun, but we try not to be disruptive. (Thank you sir Corro for the invaluable lessons!).
This particular climbing trip brought a lot of memories and though I’ve seen Pico several times, after 10 years, there were a lot of nice changes in the mountain where we used to train like more trail signs and different jump-offs. The summit, by the way, is still amazing and offers a 360-degree view of the world below it.
Highlights of this Trip :
- Aling Fely of the DENR gave us directions to where the newer, less-grueling jump-off trail was. The old one was steeper and makes you pant after 5 minutes of walking on it while the new trail is easier especially for those who do not have a lot of exercise
- I am starting to get over my acrophobia. I just realized it when we went to one of the summits of Pico this morning. Anything above 10 feet, I usually feel cold all-over but for this particular instance, I felt nothing at all. Mind you, we were about 600 meters above sea level. I suddenly realized that things are much more thrilling if there’s an element of fear in it. I was like a little girl this morning asking for my acrophobia back. I just stood near the edge of the cliff and felt nothing! Agh! I enjoyed it more when I was feeling so scared. Haha, but it's still a blessing!
- When Jules insisted that Tristan eat the remaining food from our lunch, he retorted, “Walang masarap sa taong busog.”
- Though there were only three of us on this trip (our original trio was supposed to be a bigger group – there should have been at least 7 of us on this trip), we enjoyed each other’s company and learned more about each other at a deeper level. The best thing of all was that we acknowledged each other’s goodness despite the horrific flaws in each one of us.
How to Get Here:
http://www.pinoymountaineer.com/2007/08/mt-palay-palaypico-de-loro-664_9808.html