Makiling Rainforest Park

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We're On Top of The World Now, Darling
Los Baños, Laguna
CALABARZON
18 May 2014
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The last hike I did was waaay back February 2012, at Mt. Batulao, so I expected my body to complain a LOT during and even more, post-activity.

I was bloody right. -_-

This is an obligatory, long-overdue post, so I'm going to make this quick. I just realized, I haven't gone out in a while due to work-related issues. *sighs*

almost at the top. -_- I remember using a colorful string of curses because
our pacer kept on saying, "we're near! We're almost there!" only to find out that we
had to hike for two hours more. -___-

I wasn't a stranger in Maria's playground. As a matter of fact, I already went there as a high school student, but I never really went up the peak of Mt. Makiling for safety reasons, obviously. It was a batch field trip, and we all knew not everyone was fit enough to get their hands dirty; especially, since it was a bit rainy when we did.

This time around though, Mt. Makiling bid us welcome in her cradle and we managed to reach the top unscathed...

Well. Almost.

the loooong bus ride because of traffic. :(

It was a quiet bus ride from Pasay, through the traffic streets of the Metro, bound for Los Baños. After reaching our destination, we took a Jeep that would take us all the way to UP-LB, and the long hike began there.

And because I wasn't as fit as before, we had to take a couple of stops to catch our breaths-- well, I needed to catch my breath most of the time. Hahaha. So sorry to my two able-bodied companions. I was sweating like hell-- a feat that never bothered me so much from before, but apparently, age and a lack of exercise had taken its toll on me so... yeah. Happy that my sweat glands were working in its full glory. A piece of advice for new hikers: bring lots and LOTS of water when you go on a hiking trip, and keep your load to a minimum, especially if it's just a day trip. :)

taking a breather...

yup, you guessed it. we had to go all Spidey to reach
the spot on which I had stood.

Lunch time. Chill, before the last hurrah!

We started walking/climbing uphill at around 0900H; managed to reach the top at around 1500H and... voila!

The Lone Fire Tree:
It could be Maria, or it could be her crown. :)

The marker of Makiling's peak is actually that lone fire tree up there. The branches were slim and slender, but strong enough to support a full-grown person if ever said person wished to do so to take a peek over its surrounding areas. I didn't dare go up just yet when we managed to reach the playground. I rested my feet first because I was already injured from the long and very rough path from which we came through.

chiiiiiiill... :)

see? it managed to bear my weight (and someone who was heavier than I,
just a few minutes prior to that). XD

We descended after an hour or so.

Now, if the hike up the mountain took us around 6 hours, guess how we fared downwards.

Yup. Just short of an hour and half, perhaps. XD We needed to hurry because our pacer needed to report to work at around 10pm that day so even though my feet killed me and my body was entirely screaming for mercy, I did what I had to do.

The only stop we did for our descent was done at the place where we had lunch, and that was only for a brief 3-5 minutes max. Then onwards we go, and managed to reach the base camp before the sun sank.

Bus ride back to Alabang-- alone! Because my two companions were bound for Makati. I didn't really feel the need to go that far since Alabang was nearer. I managed to limp my way back to the dorm and rest my aching and wounded sole. 

But the day had been good to me, so cheers to that.

regardless, of course, of the extent of my injuries... :))

Til my next trip. ;)