‘Sea of clouds’ in Tanay

I decided to spend the surprise EDSA holiday long weekend quietly in the comfort of home. Though I was in the mood to stay in and watch movies on Netflix, my children had other plans. My 17-year-old son, Paolo, spent his Friday night out with high school friends and came home at 1:30 in the morning. My 21-year-old daughter, Gabbie, on the other hand, ended up leaving the house at the exact same time that her little brother came home, all set to go on her very first hike!

Gabbie is currently a graduating student at UP Diliman, majoring in BS Economics. With only 12 units left in her last semester of college, she has lots of free time and has been ticking things off her bucket list. For months now, Gabbie has been itching to go hiking. She isn’t the most athletic nor is she the sportiest girl out there, but she does appreciate nature and loves a good sunrise.

Those were two reasons right there to convince her to go on a mountain hike. Luckily, some of her friends share the same mindset. They were all adamant to hike in February, when their academic load was still light and the mornings were still cool and chilly. It’s a good thing that one of Gabbie’s closest friends is no stranger to adventure and hikes. He knew exactly where to take the group, what to bring, and who to contact for the trip. And so, despite it being a spontaneous decision only finalized a day before, Gabbie and nine of her friends were all set to hike. Because they did not want to go too far from Metro Manila, they decided to hike in Tanay, Rizal. Given that many of them were beginners, they chose Mt. Mapalad, which has a hiking difficulty level rating of three out of nine.

Because they all wanted to catch the sunrise at the peak and look down on “a sea of clouds” from the summit, they made an effort to start as early as possible. Their cars took them to Tanay, where they met up around 2 a.m. at their meet-up place along Marcos Highway. From there, it was about an hour’s drive to the jump-off point. Since they were a large group, they decided to hire two guides. After being briefed at around 3:45 a.m., they officially started the hike at 4 a.m.

Because the sun had not risen when they started, Gabbie described how challenging it was to hike up with no lights except for the lights from their phones. She mentioned how they had to rely on one another to make the climb, treading carefully so as to not lose balance and fall. Her strategy was to follow the footsteps of the person in front of her, and every time the group faced a challenging obstacle, those ahead would warn those behind them. And every now and then, they would look up to behold a sky full of twinkling stars, a rare sight indeed for city dwellers like them.

They faced slippery rocks, clung onto makeshift bamboo poles for balance, and walked up incredibly steep steps. Gabbie says she definitely had to pause and catch her breath more than a few times!

This columnist’s daughter Gabbie at the peak of Mt. Mapalad in Tanay, Rizal.

There are three rest stations located along Mt. Mapalad. And though Gabbie and her friends were tempted to just stay at each station due to exhaustion, they were more eager to reach the top. So instead, they only rested for a few minutes to hydrate. By 6 a.m., Gabbie and her friends could see the sun’s rays beginning to light up the morning sky, pushing them to keep going despite their discomfort.

And at 6:15 a.m., they finally made it to the peak.

Gabbie went on and on about how beautiful the view was, and how lucky she and her friends were to behold it. The second they reached the summit; the sun rose and was accompanied by a gorgeous sea of clouds. Gabbie was still speechless when she showed me her photos and videos, and even I was at a loss for words. I could not imagine what they had to go through to get to that point, but Gabbie said the pain and exhaustion was worth it. She and her friends felt nothing but bliss during that moment, and gratitude for the opportunity to have created so many wonderful memories. They were also lucky enough to be the only ones at the peak at the time, and so they decided to stay for two more hours. Gabbie said they just took in the incredible view and treasured the “here and now” while it lasted.

At around 8 a.m., it was time to go even though no one wanted to leave. They agreed that it was best to make their descent since they did not want to feel the heat of the sun during the hike down.

It took less than two hours for them to make it down, and Gabbie said it would have taken less time if they weren’t so tired from the hike up. During the descent, they could feel their legs start to shake from the fatigue, so they had to be extra careful not to slip and fall.

When she got home, I asked Gabbie what her favorite thing about the hike was, and she replied that it was when she was looking at the horizon from the peak. She said the vista reminded her of just how “large and beautiful” life really is. I guess her high from the hike is not going away anytime soon, as she and her friends are already planning their next adventure to create even more precious core memories.