e started our assault around 4:20pm. The trail was already familiar to me but I'm seeing the view for the first time. Without the mist, and with the warm long shadows of the afternoon sun, and the cool wind embracing us, I was really enjoying the spectacular drama of the landscape and the shadows at late noon. Drew and I reached the peak in about 35minutes, without our packs of course coupled with some photo ops along the way. I was really glad that we were blessed with good weather because the view from the peak finally revealed itself to me and it was wonderful. From the peak is a 360 degrees view of surrounding mountain ranges (like Talamitan, Taal, Maculot, Pico de loro.), lakes and sea. Drew described the place as a Mini Cordilleras of Benguet. He was actually surprised that not much land was inhabited yet that made the scene more appealing.
Late Afternoon View
Knowing Drew for sometime, he's the person I know who likes to take a moment of solitude and just experience the place he is currently in. And with that we were in agreement to stay longer at the peak until the sun sets. I was truly enjoying the view; maybe I'm just a sucker for fading gradients of landscapes along the horizon, reminiscent of those Japanese paintings and the landscapes of china. This was also coupled with the changing colors of the sky until the sun sets. Good thing the peak wasn't that crowded. There were a couple of groups we had a chat with like, Binhi and PUP mountaineers. Everyone was enjoying the sunset, but as soon as the cold wind was getting stronger the other groups went down already. Drew and I were the last to come down since we were prepared even if darkness catches us on the trail back to camp.
As expected it was already dark on our way down. I was extra careful at this time as my sight wasn't that strong with my nearly dimmed head lamp (forgot to put in a brand new set of batteries). But with a careful navigation and steps we reached our camp in time for dinner by 6:30pm.
