Hello everyone!!! Took me sometime to update the website. Been busy with work and stuff :) Here's an update of what is goin' with the group.

2009 was a very fruitful year for climbing. SMB was able to climb many of the major mountains in Luzon and we were very glad that we had the chance to experience such adventures. The early part of 2010 was culminated by our Napulauan Climb and the highlight was our Summer Outing in Nagsasa Cove. The older SMB members also had the chance to visit Aurora province where we held our 2010 Planning Meeting!!!

These past months we still continued to climb................

Last January and February in between our Napulauan and Nagsasa Treks, we climbed Batulao (only a few of us) and last March we visited Mount Malarayat (Manabu). It was nice to see Manabu again. The weather was still cool at night despite the summer heat during the day. I was sad to see the state of the trail. It has gone from bad to worse. Soil erosion is evident and nearby grasslands were burned due to Kaingin. Still our time there was worth it. I wish we could do something about the trail. I guess the traditional trail will be one of those trails that will be closed in the future because of its sad state.

Pebs, Toto, Carlo and Zhoi in Mount Batulao. More pics HERE

The sun waking us up in Manabu. More pics HERE

Last May 22-23, 2010, we climbed Daguldul. Climbing the said mountain brings back memories. Not so much changed except that there are more houses and the trails are now steeper and it still has that infamous hot open trail. In all the times I climbed Daguldul, one or two friends would experience heat stroke. No one, even the locals there had thought of planting trees to shade the trails and to protect them from eroding. Instead "Kaingin" is still evident and it's a sad scene once you look at the after effects.

We were glad to have rented a jeep that brought us up to the jump-off point (thanks Miss Dorothy!!!). We saved ourselves from the scorching beach trek on the first day. The jeep had a hard time bringing us to the jump-off as the road was rough, steep and rolling. We decided that on the next day we will do the beach trek leaving our backpacks in the jeep.

The climb itself proved to be dehydrating as the scorching heat was at its peak around 2PM in the afternoon. Lucky for us that the water sources are still present along the trail and the Halo-halo experience was very refreshing and satisfying. Still we did not loose time trekking, although in a slow to normal pace, we did our best to make it before nightfall. Around 6PM we reached the pasture grounds.

It was pretty exciting to see the campsites again and my favorite is the Anahawan campsite. We were not alone in Anahawan. There was a group of people there, mostly girls who were doing rituals (turned-out that they are Mang Lizardo's group called the Holy Trinity) and were wearing white attires. We were very careful not to dusturb them. Mountaineers should respect their camp neighbors and minimizing noise is one good indication of respecting our mountain camp friends. Although during dinner and socials we had our :LOL: times but we kept everything in control specially when some of them members were already tipsy :) The night was fine, not too cold, not warm, just right and it was a very pleasant evening where everyone enjoyed sharing their thoughts and ideas to one another.

Fun in Daguldul. More pics HERE

Last June 5-6, some members climbed Pico de Loro. The weather was the opposite of our Daguldul climb. It was raining and the trail was slippery muddy. Personally I preferred that kind of weather since several parts of the trail were open and boy it would have been very hot if the sun showed its brutal strength. At the peak it was an exhilirating experience. The 70 degree trail going to the peak was covered with thick fog. When we reached the top, the clouds as if teasing us, would fade for a short time, giving us some time to take pictures of the torre and Balayan Bay until it would build up again. The rain fell after we climb down the peak and breaking camp was wet wet wet, but for those who experienced past climbs where we had to survive strong rains, merely smiled as if they were enjoying the rain. Well yeah I was enjoying the rain in Pico de Loro!!! I can't deny it since I do miss some of the extreme adventures we had in the past.

Enjoying the foggy peak in Pico de Loro. More pics HERE

We still have a lot of plans for 2010. We are expecting 2 SMILES, 2 Major Climbs, our BMC, BRC and several minor climbs. God permits we will be seeing more of the mountains and places in the Philippines may it be a major one or not, maybe near or far. One thing is for sure, we will enjoy our time together and we will be having a blast doing what we can to help our fellowmen in whichever way we can.

So for the past months we were taking it easy in preparation for bigger things to come. All I can say is "IT WAS BACK TO THE MINORS!!!" See you in the mountains!!! God bless!