fter that brief rest, we started out ascent. We left our bags hidden among the vegetation and took only our water, some snacks and cameras with us. The trail was so damn steep, I was already panting halfway. I could feel the ache on my legs on every stride and every step. Then, holding on to some bamboo wasn't comfort either as it has small thorns that would painfully cover your palms.Ouch!! And worst you have to remove them one by one. As I grasp for air I look up to see that three of our companions were no longer in sight but Noel was still far behind me. Still I went on and sooner arrived at a small resting stop among a roof of bent bamboo trees. I was catching my breath and soon realized that I was in steam, like a Jacuzzi and my eyeglasses were in constant blur. It was a few more minutes at the top as we could hear laughter and voices. We continued on after devouring some of our trail snacks.
The hardest trail obstacle was before us, what Gary called the "Hillary Step". It was a large group of rock elevations that you have to climb up. What was hard was this big round rock with only a tree on top of it to hold on. Quite dangerous but we managed to get through.
It was about an hour when we finally reached the peak. It was quite misty but the sight of the sky was quite breath taking and the feeling of being finally on top was a relief. We saw that the other peak was crowded by those La Sallites, so we climbed on the other side of the peak and rested among the rocks. It was cold and windy and relaxing at the same time. The mists were starting to clear and slowly you could see the landscapes around you. The surrounding islands, mountains, landscape and sea around Batangas and Cavite were grand and rewarding. It was a short moment of bliss, as all those hardship and obstacles of the trail simply faded.
As soon as the La Sallites left the other peak, we climbed on and saw more views and took our mandatory pictures to show that "We Were Here!".
An hour later, we started our descent as we didn't want the darkness to catch us on the trail on our way back. Going down was a lot harder as the momentum of gravity and the slippery trail, as well as the fear of a wrong step or slide could prove fatal. I stumbled a few on the way down, which left a few bruises on my right arm.
It was almost dark when I reached the peak-foot hill. The others were already cooking rice. We had our dinner with viands like "Bicol Express", sardines, and some left over Maling from Lunch. Noel was complaining to others of not having enough food to bring. Our water source had already depleted and we need to go back to the clearing to camp as the foothill was already crowded.
