My brother and I started our walk at around 3 am from our house to Aguinaldo Hi-way and eventually wait for the organizer and other hikers at McDo Palapala at 4 am for our hike at Mt. Marami in Maragondon.
Marami is the the tagalog word for many or plenty. For me, Mt. Marami stands for maraming lakad, maraming hingal, and maraning cramps, yes... Cramps! It was the first time that my both legs got cramps during a hike and that made our hike extra long, one of our tour guide even carried me (thanks kuya Vin).
We started our trek at around 8:30am and instead of the usually wide, open trail used by hikers, we took the old trail. The old trail is more shaded according to our guide but the amount of time to trek to the summit is just the same as the open trail.
At first, I can't comprehend how come that the trail we're taking is shaded... Just look at the photos above, there are trees but it doesn't give shade or something... haha! We walked like that for about an hour and a half before reaching the first resting area.
After 15-20 minutes, we started trekking again until we reached the Nuestra Señora de la Paz.
We also passed through some rivers... Kayrayag River and Bangkaan River.
There are also many rest areas along the trail. The residents are very welcoming, they are already used to a lot of hikers.
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| Lunch time! |
After having our lunch and resting, we continue our way to the summit. And slowly, the trail gets narrower, shadier, and steeper but it is still easy yet... my legs betrayed me.
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There's a baging where you
can sit and relax along the trail |
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| The evidence of the betrayal of my legs |
The assault before the summit is covered with bamboo and after passing the bamboo area, be prepared for some rock climbing.
When at the summit, you can't just help it but feel relieved and happy that you survived the trail and that you had the chance to see a great view.
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| Panorama at the summit |
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| With the whole group at the summit |
After taking so many photos at the summit, we headed down took a different trail: the open and wide trail. While walking through that trail, I understood why was the trail going up is more shaded... haha! But the open trail has less steep trails and you can bring your car in certain part of the trail, making your trek time shorter.
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Rock formations at the summit.
View from the open trail |
Since my legs betrayed, I can't afford walking for so long, moreover walking in an inclined area. So, when we reached the area where cars can park, we ask a local to call a tricycle (100 pesos/person) to fetch us and bring us to the jump-off. Nine of us waited for the tricycle while the rest of the group walked their way to the jump-off.
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From here, it will take about 2 hours
to reach the jump-off according to our guide |
There's a scarcity of tricycle that day, that is why it took us until the moon says hello before we finally reached the jump-off.
Thank you to Kuya who sells buko (I didn't get kuya's name... my bad) and his family for welcoming me and my brother into their home. Since it's already night, the wind is chilly, and the tricycle took longer fetching us, my brother and I kept warm in their home.
There are many interesting creatures that we saw while hiking Mt. Marami.
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| Wild berry!!! |
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| You'll see a few horses and cows along the trail |
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| Baboy Ramo... my brother's destiny. Haha! |
Another mountain conquered, another experience to share, and a lot of memories to keep. I'm thankful for my co-hikers, especially our to our organizer, Ate Nory of Hitch-A-Climb Memory Makers. And I'm also sorry because we were not able to go to Pantihan at Malibiklibik Falls.
Note: Some photos credit to Mavic, Ian, and Ms. Nory (organizer)
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