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| The foreboding cloud-capped summit of Mt-Baloy-Daku (Baloy-Bahul) as seen from Baloy-gamay during my second attempt in 2010 |
Like I said in my earlier post, for a very long time, I
really thought that everything I did in the past was mountaineering, as long as
there was ‘Mt’ or ‘Mountain’ in the name of the destination. This month I have finally
come to terms with the fact that mountaineering doesn't seem that appealing to
me anymore as it used to. Or maybe, I am no longer fit to be a mountaineer.
Y'see about three months ago, I had booked my round trip
plane ticket to Panay Island. I was set to climb Mt Baloy-daku in Valderrama,
Antique from Sept 14 to Sept 18. All the logistics had been set and my guide
was all prepared. But at the last minute I called it off. Mt Baloy has been my
long-time mountaineering nemesis. I had failed in my first three attempts to get to its
summit. This time, I failed to even get to the jump-off point. Two days before
my flight to Boracay, I resolved to just relax at the beach and not proceed
to Antique.
The thought of the ordeals that I have to go through in Mt
Baloy was enough to deter me. I could no longer see the point in negotiating
the mighty Dalanas River countless times; or bear the heat of the sun while
being flagellated by the blades of cogon and the spikes of rattan; and taking
chances with the snakes, the vertiginous cliffs, the sudden hostile weather
condition, and depletion of water--all for the single mission to get to the
summit. And I realized this is probably the meaning of mountaineering. You
STRUGGLE just to get to the SUMMIT. This time, I said NO to the summit and yes
to the beach. But in the end, I didn’t go to the beach either. I decided to
stick to my weight-loss training regimen for my upcoming trail race. I chose rock
climbing instead. And boy did I sweat hard!
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| the limestone walls of Cantabaco in Cebu |
Perhaps I’ve been pampered by the scenic trails of Benguet.
They require endurance and strength but unlike mountaineering, they won’t
subject you to a lot of physical and psychological torture. Instead, they provide
tantalizing vistas for your eyes to feast on. The difference between trekking
and mountaineering has become clearer to me.
But why have I been putting a lot of placemarks on the
uncharted regions of Kalinga on my Google Earth lately?!
" I had failed in my first three attempts to get to its summit. This time, I failed to even get to the jump-off point." LOL! :D
ReplyDeleteBut I think there are times when you become passionate on other things and leave an old passion behind. That is quite normal. No need to fret about it. :)