Soul Orphaned: April 2012

It was October 2010 when I first visited Mt. Palay-Palay & Pico De Loro (I used to call it PDL). We traversed the mountain and descended our way to Nasugbu, Batangas. When I saw the parrot's beak that time, I know at first glance I will not make it so I just patiently wait for the boys and our new found hiking friends from PNU. I acted as photographer, baggage counter and stage friend...hehe, just want to ensure that I capture their moments ^^

going to the rock tower

Ambin and Buying

with girls of PNU-MC

Those guys at the right tried their convincing power over me but acrophobia attack is stronger than this two men HAHA!! nice try but the answer is NO or rather I CAN'T :D

After 1 year, 5 months and 3 weeks.......

Last week (Apr 21), I finally got the chance to visit the place again. I got to invite some of my office friends to join us. I was a bit worried as the first plan was a traverse day hike, but before the date Marvin said it will no longer be and will just try to do a side trip in Marine base camp (hopefully swimming na ito!). The thing is, I never thought that joiners will outnumber the members of Juxta.. hahaha.. very happy indeed! Just to give you an idea, we're sixteen! crazy sixteen!!

We set our call time at 4am in Baclaran but we left the place at 5AM. From Baclaran we took Ternate bound bus. We met up Bhie and Joel at the bus terminal (konti nlang bayan na ng Ternate), they arranged a jeepney to take us to DENR. Environmental fee is Php 20.00.

@ bus terminal
picture-picture muna while waiting for Bhie and Joel
moi, Ann, Karen, Jhen, Bonna, Jess
Photo courtesy of Gladys

boys namern!
Chiz, Ron, Dyok, Jigen, Marvin, Ryan, Felix
Photo courtesy of Gladys

DENR
Photo courtesy of Gladys

The jump off is less than 10 minutes walk from DENR site. We took our souvenir photos and prayed before we start our trek. I didn't bring camera as two of my blogger friends /office barkadas are with me.. hahaha.. good job Jess and Gladys!

Chiz (Gladys' bf) took this pic.. Thanks Chiz!

empre indi ako papayag na walang jump off picture c Chiz
I took this shot..
nagsisimula na ang daldalan..

We started our trek at easy pace with high spirits and lots of laughs. Jhen do the talking most of the time. I can't even remember those jokes that we had while on trek (wala pa kami sa camp 1 niyan ah!) haha.. We took several photos while on our way to camp 1.

team chillax.. hehe..
visit Gladys @ www.untiedescape.blogspot.com

with Gladys

uber thanks Chiz!

girl power!

Dyok and Buying sa background

from FB:

Dyok: nice hehehe! and cute ng nasa likod ohh!

Jigen: oo nga parang nasa bohol lang cla

* laftrip lang eh

** Photo courtesy of Jess

We rested for 30 minutes at Base Camp 1. Heat was really a big factor in this trek though most of the time we walk in a shaded trail, you can feel the sun kissed. We need to replenish every now and then. 1.5 liters of water is not enough, you probably need 3 liters for the whole tour.

Welcome!
We had to register for another Php 20.00.

with Jhen and Bonna
Gladys took this shot

with Juxtapeeps
moi, Marvin, Jigen, Ron, Felix and Bhie
*Joel took this shot from Bhie's camera
**Tostillas from Jhen

After the registration, we decided to continue our trek to camp 2. We passed by Alibangbang park (approximately 30 minutes continuous walk from camp 1), we rested for a while to replenish and then started our joke/trek to camp 2. As we nearing to camp 2, the trail was getting a lot steeper. I was a bit exhausted but I know I can still manage. I asked Bonna to exchange our bags so she can continue. Marvin offered his help, so I asked him to carry Jhen and Bonna's bag. Jigen took one of the bags. Despite of hardship as we continue our assault to reach the camp 2, we still able to do crazy antics during the trek (untog moments, dulas dulasan, pick up lines, joke time, malayo pa ba?). Indeed, Hiking More Fun in the Philippines!

sitsiritsit
*Photo courtesy of Jess

sniper @ Alibangbang Park.. hehehe
*Photo courtesy of Bhie

Team chillax and unli take 5.. hehehe..
*Photo courtesy of Gladys

Team competitive (as per Jhen).. ang bibilis nila eh.. hehehe
*Photo courtesy of Gladys

Jessie enjoying much the trail! you go girl!
*Photo courtesy of Gladys

Buying and Joel.. team leaders ng competitive group ^^
*Photo courtesy of Gladys

ugatpak!
*Photo courtesy of Gladys

When I saw very steep ascent, I know that we're just few meters away from camp 2. Then at the last stretch of the trail we finally saw the bamboos, it give us relief after seeing the campers nearby. Some took photos of the camp. After few minutes of eyeing the scenery, we decided to have our lunch. I know everyone was already starving that time.

Camp 2

ang asong pinagpala sa lahat.. ang tumira ng aming mga tirang pagkain.. ang laging busog at tulog..
*Photo courtesy of Gladys

*Photo courtesy of Bhie

Juxtapeeps with Joel and Felix!
*Photo courtesy of Bhie

nag pa deliver kami ng Jobee!
*Photo courtesy of Bhie

After our tasteful lunch, we rested for a while. Some took their souvenir photos, some are doing chit-chats (isa ako dun!), yosi, exploring the campsite etc. After all these activities, we finally headed our way to the summit (approprimaxtely 30 minutes assault from camp 2). The way to the summit was never easy as you need to literally crawl going up. What mother earth can offer is just a grass to hold on.. hahaha.. If you're a girl you need to double your effort. But of course, our boys are always there to help us and carry our load. In the end we're just so happy seeing the parrot's beak and 360 degrees view from the summit. Jigen was naming some islands/mountains but I wasn't able to take note (sayang!). So? picture picture ulit!

Parrot's beak
*Photo courtesy of Gladys

summit group pic
*Homer (climber) took this shot

ang girls talaga kelangan may group pic
*Photo courtesy of Gladys
**Chiz took this shot

fave ko to Gladys! kenkoy mode lang hahaha..

Bhie and I decided to join the boys in going to parrot's beak (Eto na wala na talagang bawian, tsaka ito naman yung goal ko this time eh!). I was actually confident that time and I don't know why, maybe because I've been to the place or maybe I'm braver this time hahahaha.. I really don't know!! I just told Bhie that we can stay at the foot of the rock tower and wait for the boys if we feel that we cannot make it (char-char lang!) hehehe. So, we started our trek going to parrot's beak, it was a steep descent from the summit (FYI: dito ako malula-lula nung ng traverse kami before kasabay ng malakas na hangin muntik na akong di makababa.. hahaha..). This time, no wind factor to consider so I just need to concentrate and take my time...hehehe.. Joel and Jigen assisted us going down the summit. Felix was the sweeper.

the braver me! lol!
*excited talaga lagi tong c Buying nangunguna lagi hehe..
*Photo courtesy of Gladys

going down
*eto na talaga wala ng baywian! hehe
**Photo courtesy of Gladys

Felix, Bhie, Jigen and moi
*konti nalang nasa foot na kami ng rock tower
**Photo courtesy of Ron

Gladys took this beautiful shot from the summit
*finally arrived at the foot of the rock tower

The technical part of this adventure is concurring the parrot's beak. Aside from rope, expertise and lots of diskarte are the keys in making it possible to go up. Jigen was prudent enough to hook the rope on us (Bhie and I) so we will not be overwhelm with the heights as we passed by the tilt rock.

Bhie trying to overcome the tilt rock.

I remembered Marvin telling me "Bheng nanginginig ka" hahaha pero bakit di ko naramdaman lol!
di ko tuloy alam kung joke na naman yun.. haha

with other climber who joined us going to the rock tower
*Photo courtesy of Ron

Buying managed to go up without a need of rope. He tied the other end of the rope and was instructed by Jigen to put some stress on it so climber can easily go up on the wall. I can say that this is the hardest part. The wall is a narrow way going up and the thought of having a cliff at the right side of the rock is actually a factor (acrophobia attack!). But as soon as you finish climbing the wall you just need to compose yourself again and climb all the way to the steep cliff hanging rock tower!

Felix going up and Buying on the top

team parrot's beak

may entrance pala ako hahaha..
*Photo courtesy of Gladys

voltes five!
*Photo courtesy of Gladys

si Jigen at Ron nalang ata ang kulang
*Photo courtesy of Gladys

disappointed with vandalism
how ironic you say.. leave nothing but footprints :(
*Photo courtesy of Gladys

Planking More Fun in the Philippines!
*Photo courtesy of Gladys

group shot with Homer (guy on the upper left)

going down the parrot's beak
shot from Ron

Though we don't have enough time to visit the Marine base camp, it is still fun filled climb experience. I know everyone enjoyed this hike (kita naman sa mga mata db?) and all the joiners are willing to do it next time. But for me, I've seen much of PDL and will definitely remember it as a challenging mountain despite of it's low elevation (664 MASL). Today, PDL is one of favorable day hike destinations in Manila. It has friendliest trail (walang ligaw moment) and breath taking view at the top. Highly recommended for all climbers!

Others:
1. We don't have itinerary for this day hike.
2. Budget is around Php 600 + contingency (it's cheaper for us coz we're sixteen!)
3. You need to arrange transportation jeep/tricycle for day hike since PDL is not normally accessible by public transportation.

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I got to post my PDL cover before with my favorite verse from bible.

Until my next post! ciao! :)

grabbed from pinoyfitness.com

This is the fourth edition of Earth run and this is the 3rd time that i joined this event. The first edition was held May 2009 with three categories 3k,5k,16k (10 mile). I ran my first mileage (3k) in this event and I never thought that this running craze of mine will start on that day hahaha. Anyways, what I'd like to highlight is how the organizer manage to maintain a reasonable registration fee for the past four years. This is probably one of the cheapest running events in the country. When the organizer announced that they will add the half marathon distance by year 2010, I was actually thinking of how they can pull off a good race with 350 registration fee for 21k. Though during that time I was not yet into long distance running, my question is how far a 350 pesos go for a half marathon distance, will there be a lack of hydration, marshals? Is the race route safe enough for runners? will there be accurate distance and results?

Well, I was able to answer these questions today after finishing my fifth half marathon race in this year's Earth Run.

1. Will there be a lack of hydration, marshals?

There were actually sufficient hydration stations throughout the course (I think every 2km or 2.5km). No sports drink cited in this event (maybe no sponsor?). But hey, bananas are present and I was lucky to have one :) When it comes to marshals, I believe they have enough people to handle the crowd. The marshals are dispersed properly especially on critical areas like stop lights. I also noticed that there are marshals near the timing bar (splits records). They actually have pen and papers as if they are trying to record the race bib number of each runners who passed by on that particular splits. Direction markers are present but distance markers, none. When I claim my bag, the attendant even congratulate me for finishing the race. I smile and say thank you. It's actually a relief when someone you don't know recognized your effort :)

2. Is the race route safe enough for runners?

It's safe because I wasn't able to run beside any vehicles.. hihi and since it's Sunday there are only few vehicles in BGC and Makati. But you know what, I am really not a fan of Kalayaan Flyover! hahaha!

3. Will there be accurate distance and results?

My Garmin recorded 21.37 kilometers in this race (di bale ng sobra wag lang kulang ^^). With regard to results, my chip time is 2:33:07 pretty close to my Garmin time 02:33:09 therefore, distance and timing are definitely accurate.

745

9731

ROSE ANN JAMANDRON

02:33:42

02:33:07

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It just proves that we can actually put up a good race at reasonable price. A runner doesn't need to pay thousand of pesos to come up with quality event. Runner should be more practical and wise in choosing their races. On top of all, make sure it's for A CAUSE. Way to go Adevents Manila! :)

Earth Run Registration Fees:

2009

Registration Fee: Php 200 (all categories 3k, 5k, 16k)

2010

3k & 5K - Php 250.00

16k &

21k

– Php 350.00

2011

3k / 5k / 10k = Php 600

21k = Php 650

Race Kit includes the following: Dri Fit Shirt, Race Bib & Belt & RFID tag.