An exhilarating day everyone!
One of the unfathomable experiences that we had together with hike friends was climbing the fifth tallest mountain of Cebu Province, the MT. KAPAYAS. It is my first ever official climb of the mountain! How can I say that it's official? Well, before Saturday came, we planned to climb this certain mountain since it is popular on social media and the hearts of hikers came alive. Mam Smile chatted the page for the processes. We have to pay fees for municipality permits, tour guides, and motorcycles going to the drop-off area. We sent our payment through Gcash and Viola! The page sent us the itinerary.
Moreover, it's near to our hometown so, it's easy and accessible for us to be there on time.
So today, allow me to share my exhausted yet fulfilling journey as a hiker, and together let's discover CATMON AT ITS FINEST.
Our call time was 6:00 to 7 in the morning in the Municipality of Catmon. So I embarked as early as 5:40 to catch a bus to go there. However, Mam Marfe gets dizzy when riding a bus so her husband took us there together with Mam Smile. I think it took 30 minutes to get there since we arrived at 6:49 a.m. As soon as we arrived, the personnel saw us already and called us immediately. We filled out a form of waiver with the contract number of our husbands.
We feel delighted as we saw the different spots of Catmon and so we're planning to come back again soon.
After filling out, we proceeded to the area where orientation happened. It is advised to have an orientation before climbing in order for us to be aware and knowledgeable enough as a hiker. The tourism representative talked about the history of Mt. Kapayas which is a protective area of locals so whenever we see locals there, we have to greet them wholeheartedly because it's a big thing for them to greet somebody new to them.
It was called Mt. Kapayas during those times since many kapayas or papaya were planted on the foot of the mountain. A long time ago, it was called the second tallest mountain in Cebu and the first is Mt. Manunggal. It was then assessed by the PMS or Philippine Mountaineering Society how tall was Mt. Kapayas and so it dropped to the fifth tallest mountain and Mt. Manunggal placed fourth, according to the personnel.
I thought we were stuck in this area since they scrape the soil and make it flat so the residents can pass by but with the help of our drivers/tour guides, they let us pass in the corner and make a way for us.
This is 101% slippery and thank God we managed to pass even though it's murky here.
After the orientation, we left the municipal hall and rode a motorcycle. It's gonna be a long ride since it's 21 kilometers away from the drop-off area. There are part of the road which is cemented but mostly are slippery and some areas are swamped with water. Their soil is different from the soil we have known. It is reddish black with a soft texture which I can tell is prone to landslides but with the help of nature's plants, it can hold them and prevent calamities.
Let the HIKE begin....!
Our tour guides parked the motorbike in the drop-off area and showed us the way to Mt. Kapayas. Approximately 45 minutes to one hour of hiking there depending on how fast you walk. Since it was slippery, we slowed our walk and were vigilant to prevent ourselves from muddy creeks and everything on our way.
We enjoyed following the tour guide however I started to feel aches in my legs. It is previously in pain when I was riding the motorcycle of the tour guide since his passenger seat accessory had been worn out and so every time we bumped into anything on the road, I was pushed onto him then I moved back or else a sloped area where I have to pull myself and hold on tight so that I will not be pushed towards him. I'm not tired of the hike, I'm tired of riding the motorcycle😅.
Anyway, we have passed bushes of plants and an arch of bamboo plants. Enjoying the fruit of guava since sir Mark Kim saw ripe and joyously ate them together.
We have passed natural cold water from the mountain. It is good to see natural water flowing freely. It can be drunk directly without sterilizing them or if you have stomach issues better not to try. Furthermore, the locals used this daily as I saw two tubes of hose that supplied the needs of the residents under the mountain.
Our trek has gone tougher and slippier due to it's moisture coming from the land. I have slipped multiple times, bumped my head twice, and bumped my knees on rocks once but still, I keep going on so that I can tell that it's all worth it. This time, we were almost at our destination.
This part right here is kiss the wall in which this is the last part before the peak of the mountain and everyone should conquer this to see the finest view from the top
When we're almost to the peak, the obstacle seems tougher and it challenges us to keep going. The trail goes tinnier and closer where our chin and knees try to reach each other. The grandiose trek will be paid off as we're almost to it's summit.
Whoa! Look at this! This view surprised me during my climb.
We immediately explore the summit and are amazed by the gracious scene. Our tour guide is active in taking pictures so I made a pose. Hehe.
I can't imagine the feeling of excitement and I can't explain how wonderful we have experienced.
Reconnecting to nature has been our weekend dose. Even don't have an adventure for a weekend, we easily miss the trekking. It's different happiness of indulging ourselves in nature.
Mountaineering will not be complete if we do not eat our lunch at the peak. We had an early lunch so we could go down as early as possible.
After an hour or more, something is coming...
Oh, it's raining in other parts of Catmon. So we descended immediately since it was already dark and gloomy.
We have met the rain when we were transversing on a lowland already. We dried our wet shirts after a long walk.
Thank God we were safe and well! As we came back to the municipal hall, we were given a souvenir sticker of conquering Mt. Kapayas.
That's all for today's blog Hivers! See you on the next blog about discovering Catmon.
~I joBEElieve I can, so you can😉