I climbed mountains when I was still single. I was introduced to this hobby when I was still working in the bank. I had been to several mountains in Luzon, like Mt. Romelo, Mt. Batulao, Mt. Pinatubo, Mt. Maculot, Mt. Natib, Mt. Pulag, to name a few. I wasn't able to climb a lot of mountains compared with my friends because I also have lots of activities during weekends too. The last time that I climbed mountains was in 2004.
Now that I'm having my milestone in few months' time, I have written mountain climbing as one of the things in my bucket list as one of the things that I wanted to do before I turn 40 (see blog here). I really wanted to go back to mountain climbing on the premise that I can already bring along my son with me.
Kib is already 10 years old, and I guess that this is the right time for me to introduce him to the mountains. We did a lot of travels in the past, engaged in different kinds of adventure during our travels (ATV ride in Boracay, island hopping in El Nido, zipline in Tagaytay, several animal encounters, sandboarding in Paoay, waterfalls trekking in Pagudpud). I wanted my son to try different activities especially those activities that involve the environment so that he will have more appreciation and concern about the environment.
Last March 2017, my mountaineering friends organized an anniversary climb. We went to Mt. Maculot in Cuenca, Batangas. I also packed Kib's backpack so that he will have an authentic mountain climbing experience.
My friends and I met at Petron SLEX. I brought my car with me and fetched a friend in Bicutan. From Petron SLEX, my friend drove my car. So happy that I didn't drive all the way to Batangas, weee! We had a short stopover at Jollibee in Lipa exit to buy our packed lunch.
At the jump-off, we registered and organized our stuff before starting our hike. We also did some stretching exercises and prayed for a safe hike. Kib was so excited at first but when we already started with our ascent, he already start complaining. My friends teased him so he challenged himself to hike until the campsite. We had a stopover lunch at the middle of the trail. It was a slow hike for me because it has been years since I climbed mountains and I wasn't able to do some exercise in the past days. Anyway, we tagged this as a 'senior executive climb' because all of my friends are already in their 40s (and one just celebrated her 50th birthday), haha.
When we reached the campsite, we started pitching our tents. We just rested for an hour before going to the Rockies. It was my first time to go to the Rockies because I have fear of heights (ironic isn't it?!). I conquered my fear of heights by getting to this part of Mt. Maculot and my friends encouraged me to have photos taken near the edge of the mountain. I need to take some deep breaths before releasing my hands from the rocks and have my photos taken.
At night, we shared dinner and had some fun conversation while drinking liquor. It is somehow necessary to drink liquor because it is too windy at the campsite. It'll help you warm your body and get a good sleep.
It was still windy when we woke up the following day. We just had breakfast and after that we already packed our things for our descent. We were able to go back to the jump-off by 11a.m. We had a stop at SLEX to eat lunch before heading home.
Kib and I really enjoyed our first mountain climbing together. I've asked my friends when is our next mountain climbing activity. I already bought new shoes because the shoes that I wore got broken. I am already excited to use my hiking shoes on our next adventure.
And before I forget, there's telco signal at Mt. Maculot! I was able to post pictures on Facebook and Instagram real-time and was able to even do a Facebook Live to update our friends who weren't able to join our climb!
What about you, what activities do you do together with your kids?
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