The Climb part 3

The rendezvous was at our old office in Pasong Tamo.

We were supposed to conquer Makiling, but somehow we ended up with Sembrano, a minor mountain in the town of Pililia, Rizal.

James invited two non-officemates to join the climb: Jhoc and Win.

Jhoc had been James’ buddy in previous climbs. The first time I met Jhoc I knew he was a true blue mountaineer. There was something in the way he tied his shoelaces or the way he rolled the flysheet that exuded deft, discipline and bravado. He’s the kind of guy you don’t want to end up in a brawl but would be happy to have in your team.

Win, Jhoc’s cousin, by contrast was at the far end of the spectrum. I knew from the moment he boarded the taxi when we picked him up at the MRT that he was a neophyte. He wore a pair of slippers and lugged a highschool backpack, he might have thought we were in for an afternoon stroll. He bore an uncanny resemblance to a stalker I had in Mindanao so unconsciously I was a bit aloof to him.

In all honesty, I was a bit relieved to have Win with us. There was something intimidating about the way James and Jhoc held their mountain bags. They somehow exuded an air of seriousness about their craft, and I only tagging along for a taste of the mountain was obviously the weakest link.

Having Win with us gave me company in the amateur division, so to speak

We took a taxi to Edsa Central where we boarded on a cramped FX van to Tanay. We bought some stuff first in the market- rice, onion, cooking oil, Generoso brandy - before taking a jeepney to the jump off site.

We registered first at the town hall (which by the way is good practice, so they would have your contact numbers in the event of an emergency).

The trail started off on a slightly inclined road and we began the climb right about noon time. The midday heat was searing but the trees along the road, mostly mangoes, provided good shade.

I was a bit surprised on the level of energy I had that day. It was probably because there was still this remnant anger (for my other officemates abandoning me).

I was channeling it to the heavy and determined strides I made.

Every time we stopped to have a photo op, I made it a point to have my hatred documented. Discreetly, of course.

I would raise my hand then curl my middle finger inward. Fill in the blanks was the caption in my mind. ( It was my subtle way of saying f**k you to my office buddies, haha)

It was my first climb with a group ( I climbed my first mountain- Mt. Matutum, alone) and having folks to chat with somehow made the climb easy. (It was on this climb that I learned the nicknames Empoy and Longgoy)

As I predicted Jhoc was leading the pack. He was skipping from rock to rock like a creature in its own habitat, gung-ho and throwing caution to the wind; his nimbleness, jaw-dropping, his sense of balance, impeccable.

James was also a force to reckon with. He might be timid in the office, but out there in the fields, he strode commanding and formidable. He was by far carrying the heaviest load in the group, yet he barely sweated out, like he’s an endorser of Axe antiperspirant or something.

Win as I predicted was a mess. He was sweating profusely and his white shirt-oops wrong choice there- has turned into a rag of sweat, grime, and dirt. He looked worse than that guy in the Tide commercial dragged across the mud.

The ascent was rather easy and before we knew it we hit the base camp. Freshly picked coconuts at 10 PhP a pop were a welcome sight. I guzzled 2 nuts worth of juice in less than a minute. I was rather disappointed that the climb had been easy…

Little did I know we were only half way through and that the harder part of the trail was still up ahead.