Mt. Manabu

This is part of our "Mt. Malipunyo Traverse to Mt. Manabu - Day Hike"

 Mt. Manabu was my second mountain, after Mt. Pundaquit, and it was a night trek as part of our FreedomClimb 2012. At first, I was really amazed by the weather and ambiance of this mountain. The surroundings are covered with views from afar. Everything was really great!

This is our PART 2 of our traverse. We left the summit of Mt. Malipunyo at around 1:30PM. We took the same trail led by our guide, Tatay Muring. Unfortunately,  during my fifth step from the summit, I got the same issue with my knee. I felt the pain every time I bend it. Tinatamad kasi akong magpacheck up eh. For me, it's more challenging the descending part than ascending. The soil was dry and the dust made the trail slippery. Since I was wearing my slippers and I was comfortable using it, everything was smoothly done. We passed by the fork going to Peak 2, but we proceeded to Peak 1 instead. 1:55pm, we were at the Peak 1 and took a rest. And we then talked about the Balete in the area, and I don't know why.

After few minutes, we started descending and the group was still led by our guide. There was a fork trail where we took the other side, the other one is the back track trail. We crossed two streams that contain little and dirty water but Tatay Muring didn’t mind that. He drank the water coming from that water source. This part, the trail was covered with trees, but still the sun shine was really striking, I felt it.

We reached the famous “Tree House” at around 2:30PM (photo above) with Mt. Susong Dalaga on the background. Clean and potable water source is available here. The area is wide and open, so we were at the back of the house the whole time. We took sometimes chatting with Nanay, the owner. She mentioned that she really wants to offer “coffee” but she doesn’t have sugar. Sayang, mamahalin pa naman kape nila. Pampatulog ko kasi ang kape eh. The residents were hospitable to the hikers who visit their place.

Fifty meters from the tree house, we also passed by the rest house of our guide, it was a cute and nice hut. He visited and checked his veggies, like squash and my favourite banana. He also offered his ripe banana to me, so I was really happy – with his ripe banana. Eto nanaman yung bibig ko, hindi ko nanaman mapigilan, medyo may pagka-bastos talaga to minsan eh.

Photo Above: that’s Tatay Muring, our guide, who was pulling his improvised backpack and trekking pole, taken at Biak na Bundok at around 3:21PM. According to him, hectares of grasslands and newly planted trees were burnt because of the wild fire. I asked him if who planted the seedlings and he added that they were students of UP who exerted effort and provided the budget. Since the area was open, the sun shine was extreme; plus there were two hills on both sides, which block the cold wind.

Photo Above: Don and Te Bing with Mt. Susong Dalaga on the background. As what you can see, the area was brown instead of green. Good thing that grasses started blooming and it somehow gives a refreshing ambiance in the eyes.

Can you see how wide the affected area of the wild fire was? In this part, we met 3 hikers who were trying to do a back track because according to them they were lost because of the fork trails. They also came from the Malipunyo. So, we encouraged them to be with us instead, going Manabu’s summit. At first, they were hesitant because they almost out of water. So Janneth offered her bottled water to them, bait no?? So from 5 + 3 = we were 8 ascending to Manabu.

After the burnt area was a trail with grasses, vines and trees on the both sides. In short, medyo masukal na yung part na to. Then, there were uphill and downhill as well. Another epic moment happened when we were on a downhill part. Eh dey si Tatay Muring, Don, Janneth, Ako, Te Bing and the 3 new found friends. Pag-hakbang ko ng right foot, dumulas sa buhangin yung tsinelas ko, then out of balance na. Eh dey bumagsak yung right side ng katawan ko sa ground. Dahil pababa nga yung trail, gumulong katawan ko ng tatlong beses tapos hahampas pa sana katawan ko sa kahoy na nakabara pero hindi nangyari yun, kasi agad akong bumangon at tumayo bigla, while still holding my camera with my right hand. Tapos tahimik bigla ang group, tapos ako unang tumawa, saka naman sila tumawa, epic diba? Nawala bigla sakit ng tuhod ko sa nangyari pero lumipat ata sa likod ko. Hahaha. Napahiya ako sa tatlong bisita namin.

We were almost at the camp site of Manabu at around 4:30PM. We took a rest and interviewed those 3 guys. Shared foods and everything. The wind was cold and the skies started changing its colour to orange. After 20 minutes, we ascended to the summit. Photo above: my TravellingCup with the Malipunyo ranges. Can you see that highest peak? We came from there, then passed by the “burnt” area.

We left the summit at around 5:10PM. We hurriedly descended the summit, because we need to make sure that there’s still the sun light who’ll guiding us. Tamad kumuha ng head lamps eh. There were hikers who were ascending that time. We just said: Hi, Hello and take care to them then proceeded. The trail was guided by the ropes in most parts up to the house of Tatay Pirying.

At last we were able to reach the house of Tatay Pirying at around 5:30PM. Tatay Pirying wasn’t there, so Tatay Muring was the one who served the sumptuous coffee to us (photo above.) We even got water from the jug at the kitchen. Again, if you can see the photo above, it’s BEFORE and AFTER.

We left Tatay Piying’s house at around 6PM. The skies were really orangey and the trail was dark but we can still see it. We proceeded, we stopped talking for few minutes, karir kung karir habang naglalakad, but after that, ayun bunganga ulit gumagana. We crossed dry streams, passed by some residents houses. Said Hi and Hello to some locals. Then proceeded! We arrived at the jump off of Brgy. Sulok at around 6:39PM. Then the store owner greeted us. Ordered refreshments and took a rest. Tidy up! Met the other hikers who did night trek. Chartered a tricycle going to SM Grand terminal for 40 pesos per head. Dinner then took a bus bound for Manila. Nakanga-nga habang tulong buong byahe. Tapos itong si Kuya na hindi ko kilala na katabi ko sa upuan, nakahilig sa shoulder ko tapos ang ulo ko naman nakahilig sa ulo nya. Ang sweet namin diba?? Hindi naman kami magka-anu-ano.

This is my very first day hike with few summits involve. It was a challenging one because of my knee injury; but in total, it was a great experience. It was full of happiness and stories, pati sakit ng katawan, meron din. You can also check the PART 1 of this traverse. Click Here: Mt. Malipunyo