July 2012, Me and my friends decided to join a group of mountain climbers on a twin- day hike in Mt Manalmon and Mt Gola, and a spelunking adventure in Bayukbok cave Located in San Miguel, Bulacan.
We
left Manila at around 6 in the morning and reached Sitio Madlum, the jump-off
point by 8am. We have to cross the other side of the river by a bamboo raft.
Some opted to cross the river through a monkey bridge. Before going on to the
main course, we took a little rest, enjoyed the view, and took some pictures
while our organizer settled our fees in the registration area.
Mt.
Gola is considered an easy climb by experienced mountaineers. The trail started
with an uphill trek that leads us to Madlum cave. After the cave, we crossed
the Madlum River and again started to trek an uphill trail that becomes steeper
as we approach the summit.
It
took us almost two hours to reach the summit and we were greeted by the
fascinating verdant views from the top. We had our lunch, enjoyed the view,
took more pictures and some rest and decided to hike Mt. Manalmon.
We
started our descend from Mt. Manalmon at around 2PM and reached the river after
45 minutes. We took some rest along the riverbank and enjoyed the relaxing view
around us.
Spelunking
adventure:
We
started the Bayukbok cave tour at 4:00PM. Bayukbok cave is part of the Biak na Bato
National Park. According to our guide, this is the hiding spot of the
Katipuneros during the revolutionary period.
After
our Manalmon climb, we crossed the river and started an uphill trek to the
entrance of the cave. The entry point is
a narrow passage where we have to go down through a rope. (Buti na lang my rapelling experience ako!!) Incredible rock formations greeted us. The
trail is muddy, rocks are quite sharp, and there are a lot of challenging
passages. It was dark inside so we have to put our head lamps on (andami kong‘untog’ moments dun ha..).
We also had to climb a swinging ladder made
of rope and bamboo placed in one of the rock walls.
There
are also parts of the cave where we have to cling tightly on the rocks and hold
on for our dear life. We had to climb an open rocky cliff with no harness or
any safety gears at all. One wrong move, then whooooossshh!!! you’ll crash down
onto those sharp rocks! Whew! My very first “buwis-buhay” adventure!
Oops..
did I scare you? Well, don’t worry; the guides will assist you all the way! Kodus
to our guides who transformed themselves into human ladder just to help us
through!
Truly, An experience of a lifetime you shouldn’t miss!
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