Litrato. kwento. Pakakaibigan.
"a self impose hardship, climbing is a humbling experience that something, hopefully by the end of the day makes me a better person
we are not teacher out there,we are not eng'rs,we are not a lawyers we are all climbers"
Tinagong Dagat, Lambunao
PHILIPPINES | Wednesday, 31 August 2011 | Views [6749]
This a Story of Renel Sarmiento CLIMB OF THE YEAR>> climber choice.
the 'Christmas Escapade' that twisted our expectations and held our minds wandering in disappointment.
this was the 'climb of the year for 2009' for me - 2 dead people, a sophisticated guide that have never been to our destination that resulted our deep disappointments and itineraries that was never followed due to some unexpected cicumstances (thanks to a killer that was reported to have 'choped-choped' and killed someone in a barangay before going to our destination that the local Kagawad told us to discourage us to pursue the climb). on our first night we stayed on the hometel facility of West Visayas State University Lambunao campus to prepare ourselves for the climb. unconciously the 'care taker' of the hometel killed someone during our stay and we heard gunshots to prove it. he came back with mud all over his feet that some of my friends saw that night. we were shocked to have heard these because we have mingled and laughed with this 'care taker' and also some of us shared rum with him. but anyhow the climb did proceed and unluckly we ended up to a 'Tinagong Dagat' half-destroyed that Typhoon Frank (2008) made and a farm build on it's facade that made it more bitter to appreciate. Disappointing, Mind-blasting and Energy-draining - we had a 2009 climb-ender that will make our tastebuds remember everytime we sit down to eat cream-based spaghetti (cream milk with spaghetti sauce).
with the hardcore climbers from different faces of life - Amy, Hajji, Lynel, Virgel, Chad, Kuya Neil, Ate Edz and the three teakwondo enthusiasts that I fail to recall the names (sorry, I have to ask my co-mountaineers again about them).
December 17-20, 2009. hard but glorious.
'enchanting' Tinagong Dagat that was half destroyed by Typhoon Frank due to landslides. upon arriving we have felt deep disappointment - after long hours of trekking we have finally seen a sceanrio that will blew our excitments out.
Lynel
so we went walking... look at those backpacks - they are all foods
Lynel's bestest, scariest and deepest secrets. hahahaha.
a local that warned and discouraged us to proceed because there was a 'mentally-illed' killer on the loose on the mountain and she said that 'the killer might have the tendency to kill anyone'. creepy but we never encountered and met the killer.
Day 2 lunch chow time stop over before proceeding to Tinagong Dagat
rest mode after a long trek
the mud... the wet feeling and the pain equals =happy!
Amy says hi...
drop-dead after the long, muddy and stressful trek.
Edz smiles...
we had our campsite near the house of our 'guides'. long exposure with Edz and Neil's tent.
night bonding with the wide-gray sky
morning cooking before going to Tinagong Dagat
Day 3 morning chow with the gang
on the way to our 'sophisticated' destination that lead us to decide not to bring our things because our 'guide' insisted that it's near and we could make it back by nightfall
the feet can tell how hard the trail was...
the 'hardcore', 'sophisticated' and 'hard-to-comprehend' 'guide' ever.
smoking by the cliff... (I was told once that mountaineers should care for the environment). hahahahaha. peace Lynel!
Nong Lynel and Ate Edz near a cliff beside a 'mountainous' store before setting on the barangay that was said to be the place of the murderer
P.E. pre-school teacher
hardcore local mountain cookset 
the view... the view!
yes! we have successfully passed the 'murderer's' area - safely
walking... without our backpacks - not enough food to satisfy our needs
exhausted Hajji
Brotherly Love!
top... top... and still far to our destination
Oh! the view again!
pictorials with Edz 
Aaaaah! the view again! again... and again!
Virgel and our guide assisting Chad
Amy and Lynel
The view again! ang rice terraces
Chad relaxing on a river with a sandwich on her mouth
almost there...
the smiles that tells that 'we are tired, in need of food - we are disappointed and in need of going back to have a relaxing rest'
group picture before trekking back to where we've been
Climb of the Year for the year 2009 - the best collaboration of mountainous experience with a twist of stress, retardation and laughter. December 17-20, 2009, Lambunao Iloilo City of Love.
Tags: tinagong dagat lambunao
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