Mt. BABAG
This was my 3rd day trek in Babag and the 2nd trek with a purpose. The first was an outreach climb in December 2014 where we made at least a hundred kids happy. The 2nd was a Sunday trek as a pre-climb for a major trek in Alto Peak.
I heard a lot of hearsay about Babag’s difficulty. It was one of the few mountains in Cebu with a lot of continuous and steep ascents making it very ideal for preparing a major climb. Since all my treks have been day treks, I wouldn’t know for sure just how difficult Babag could be with my usual pack. It has been OK for now. Tired but bearable.
We were supposed to join as a club to a local Cebu mountaineering group in cleaning up Mt. Kan-irag. But as we were checking the list, there were at least 2 other groups who’d do the same. Because of our number, we decided to change our destination and enlist.
There were 3 mountain nominees and Mt. Babag won. It was very ideal since no other groups were listed. A week before the climb, some members expressed fear when the story about the cobras that escaped in Cebu Zoo resurfaced (searched for news article but I couldn’t find one). Even with our assurance that it’s generally safe and no cobra incidents were reported, the news continued.
At our pre-climb, we announced to everyone about the “cobra news” and opened an option to those who were afraid. It was too late to change the mountain already.
Surprisingly, majority of the registrants opt to join Mt. Babag still. Only 11 who had prior schedule in the morning joined the new group that would go to Chalet Hills directly. The Babag group started in the morning while the Chalet group started in mid-afternoon.
Because it was a cleanup activity, a give back to the community and not just for fun, NCR Cebu provided food for the participants. Php 5600 were given. Babag group was provided a 1-pc chicken from Jollibee while Chalet group had Red Ribbon Mamon and Zest-o juice.
Babag group was a big group of 54. To manage the group well and to cater to those who are late, it was divided into 3 groups. Each group was scheduled to leave at 15 minutes interval. Head group was led by Tats, mid-group was led by AJ and the tail-group was led by me. We were the last group to leave the church at 9:30 AM.
At 10 AM, we started the cleanup and was at Manuel’s Manggahan at 12PM. After an hour the trek resumed. We were at RCPI towers after an hour and a half of walking.
We had a long stop at the road to the towers. After we had our rest, we went to the towers, had our group picture and proceeded to Chalet Hills.
CHALET HILLS
We arrived earlier than expected. As planned, we waited for the Chalet group. They arrived after 30 minutes of our rest time.
While we were waiting, some wanted to play but to my dismay, it took a lot of my convincing powers. And personally, I don’t want to play as well so I leave it as is. Haha! I am actually not missing much since I can always play on our overnight treks.
I was exhausted but restless. When the Chalet group started cleaning, I joined them. I needed pictures for documentation as well. It was a chance to explore the hills too.
We cleaned the vicinity of the big camp and the small camp above it. To be honest, I never expected Chalet Hills to be that beautiful. Because it was just a hill and is very accessible, I didn’t have the desire then. It all changes when I realized I could bring my un-trekking friends camping in there. I should do it soon. 🙂
BABAG MEETS CHALET GROUP
After Chalet group was done cleaning, I pushed for the group picture since I noticed the Babag group’s bored face. To my (2nd) dismay, nobody wanted to move again. Phew! A test of patience indeed. I actually thought of just letting go of the big group picture. But of course I had to. I sensed some annoyance but I hope they would understand the value of documentation since it was after all a company-sponsored activity. We were not there simply to enjoy but to fulfill a responsibility. I need the pictures as proof. And is there a better way to show that it was a successful event than by pictures?
I may had some slight annoyance but overall, it was another kick-ass event. Thankful to God that despite the dangers of cobra and this, we were all safe. We were able to carry out our regular mission to spread the awareness of LNT by posting signs on the 2 camps of Chalet Hills. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to find an appropriate place to post our sign in Babag so we put everything in Chalet Hills. This was our 3rd sign since our first sign posted in Mago Peak.
But of course, I am especially proud because the husband was one of the champion. He was quite handsome with the cleanup shirt as well. ❤ Thanks to Maria. It was supposed to be mine but Migo said it was too big for me. Just so happy he wore it. Liz was not able to join the cleanup 'cause she went with Maria to clean Kandungaw.
After the final announcements, most left. Regular trekkers stayed until 6 PM enjoying the sunset. Finally had our chance to cam-whore too. Thanks to Wandering Soul Scamper for the lovely photos.
The WANDER (FULL) LIFE 