Lessons From Mount Arayat

Each mountain has its own beauty and its own unique peculiarities. The group's latest conquest was Mount Arayat (Pampanga), towering more or less at 1032 meters above sea level. We did the hike on June 27 2009 and stayed there overnight. There were three other hikers with us from a different group. Generally, it was a difficult climb. A climb I will not repeat.


A lot of things can be said about this particular climb. Although Mt. Arayat is considered a minor climb, it was already tantamount to a MAJOR climb to our context - we being in our mid 30s. We really encountered a lot of difficulties conquering the infamous mountain. It was loaded with obstacle courses. It was all uphill!


More importantly, there's a lot of lessons that can be gleaned from this recent hike. Such as:

1. Bring only the essentials. Let's do away with plastic cutleries, plastic cups and paper plates as these are considered garbage by other climbers. let's have our own mess kits next time. How about not bringing wet wipes? Is that a good idea?

2. Bring lots of water. We ran out of water halfway down the trail and that was critical (if not dangerous) because there were children with us in the group. Of course this would depend on which mountain to hike next time, since there are mountains with water sources along the trail. Mt. Arayat doesn't have any at all. Surprisingly, the swimming pools in Arayat National Park at the foot of the mountain get its water from the mountain itself.

3. We all have our own fetishes. We can't blame other mountaineers if they don't want to bring extra clothes and smell bad after a day's hike to give way to other essential items in their backpacks. Getting the "high" after reaching the summit is one thing, but to sacrifice hygiene just to get that high is a different matter.

4. It helps a great deal if you do research before every climb. Tips and comments from other mountaineers who have been there will surely lead to an enjoyable, safe, and comfortable hike. In our case, it was good that we learned early that giant mosquitoes are ubiquitous in the mountain that's why we brought plenty of repellant with us. We also realized how cold it was in the summit especially in the wee hours of the morning.

5. Regarding the camera, I'm still mulling over the idea of leaving my sony SLR behind the next time. Sigh..it takes the best pics for me, but it's really just so heavy and adds burden to my aging back. In Mt. Arayat, I was sort of blaming myself for bringing it since it was becoming a burden while  I was crawling under the thick branches of trees.

Whatever nuances you may have with the way you pack up your climbing essentials, I don't think I can hike without my sunblock foundation. Nor without my umbrella...We may have had our glitches in the past climbs, BUT we learn from our mistakes right? So Until next post, about the next mountain, after we have experienced our next adventure. ANYWHERE BUT MT. ARAYAT. (By: Lucilyn Saylon)

Mt.arayat Endurance Test

Mt.Arayat ,Pampanga via brgy Bano
Happy face after all ng hirap at pagod

Picture taking Mt. Arayat peak

KAYA PA mountaineers with Richard(yellow shirt) toby(beside richard) and Angel (yellow shirt standing)

Manny Paquiao and Ricky Hatton este Boyet and Franz (Father and Son)

100 steps going to Mt.Arayat (kapoy) umpisa pa lang napalaban na kami,but still . thats why we are the KAYA PA mountaineering club,think positive,wag kang aayaw.

Mt. Balagbag Challenge

To all KAYA PA Mountaineers here a challenge for us guys,Mt.Balagbag it's time to show your Gut's


I think kaya ng mga Kikay's beauties yan .

Look at that mountaineer lady,papatalo ba ang sun block beauties ng KAYA PA mountaineers


kung kaya ng ibang Mountaineers KAYA din ng KAYA PA mountaineers


So what are we waiting for lets scale Mt.balagbag ,its a challenge to us


So Schedule na agad yan can't wait to climb Mt.Balagbag,KAYA PA Mountaineers GO GO GO,Boyet(kpmc)

Pre-climb Physical Activity at La Mesa Dam Ecopark

In anticipation of a much higher MASL in the coming weeks, Kaya Pa Mountaineers spent a day at the Ecopark (La mesa Dam) last June 20, 2009 to have a physical fitness assessment by doing wall-climbing and zipline. Apart from that, it was also a bonding day for all the fathers as we celebrated in advance their day, 'father's Day." Each family brought food to share on the table, and everyone had a great lunch. Kuya Louie grilled the most delicious 'liempo" ever, coupled with Boyet's delectable "sawsawan".


As usual, we the kikays of Kaya Pa! Mountaineering Club (we are also known as the sunblock beauties LOL) looked after the kids WHILE busying ourselves with souvenir shots. so here's one: from left to right is Manet, Lucilyn, Joi, Janet and Maribel.

None of us girls dared to do the wall-climb. The father and son tandem of Dennis and David gave it a try and successfully hurdled it. The wall climbing costs P50 pesos per head while the zipline costs a hundred.

On the other hand, a pretty young lass, Natassia Kim (daughter of Boyet and Maribel) had the guts to do the zipline.



It was a great day for Kaya Pa Mountaineers. Now we look forward to another hike as soon as the sky clears up. Rain, rain go away.... (by: Lucilyn B. Saylon)

kikay's of kayapamountaineer

a friend told me.. sabi nya, "diba pag mountaineer daw eh dirty looks, may tatoo o kaya maraming burloloy sa katawan..saka mga bagets pa!" sabi ko, "oy, hinde ah!"

(check> KAYA PA ladies ".) the sunblock beauties..hehe!













& the cool hunks (ngek'.) cook hunks pala!















mountaineers by heart are all adventurer & nature lover. Willing to explore and share the beauty of nature..


























actually, di ko nga na-imagine mag climb or magtrek man lang.. sobrang init kaya! nakakapangit ata yun hah..

until, na-realized ko nalang! ito pala ang SUMMIT..Mt. maculot, Mt. Maguldol, Mt. Pundaquit..
I LOVE IT!


































ngayun laging, (what'z next?) pinag-uusapan kahit during badminton games..san kapa!
















..siguro nga bago pa kami sa bundok!. pero sa dami ng pawis na tumagaktak samin,

sa bawat steps na hinakbang namin at bigat ng mga backpacks na dala namin.,














.certified.. laging KAYANG-KAYA PA namin!














sabi nga ni janred, go KPM go.. yahoo '',)

Mt.Pundaquit, anawangin cove,Trekking adv.

Hi guy's ,fresh from Mt.pundaquit,Brgy Pundaquit ,San Antonio, Zambales. its wow experience ang trekking namin sa Mt.Pundaquit or Mt.anawangin ,sabi kasi ng aming guide na si Ed ang Mt.Pundaquit ay yung kabilang bundok na wala pang mountaineers na umakyat ,pero may trail na daw kaya lang 1/4 lang ang trail so hindi tapos,anyway ang mahalaga naakyat namin ang isa sa kanila going to anawangin cove.at take note ang ganda ng trail kumpleto ilang ilog ang tinawid namin ,hindi sya maputik dahil rocky ang mountain,at nakisama din ang panahon sa amin hindi maiinit ang akyat namin although medyo mabagal ang trekking namin dahil syempre ,picture dito ,picture doon,ang ganda naman kasi ng view parang hindi pilipinas.at mabait din yung guide namin na si ed ,talagang inasikaso nya kami hangang pauwi na kami sulit ang bayad namin sa guide namin.marami din syang kwento tungkol sa bundok ,yung three ninja kids namin matatag ,sabi nga ng mga nakakasalubobg namin na nangangahoy baka hindi daw kayanin ng mga bata,sabi ko naman train to ignore pain in all weather condition ang three ninja kids namin,kaya walang magiging problema, pangatlong bundok na namin ,nangangati na nga ang paa ko ulit can't wait sa next climb namin,ganon daw talaga yun hindi mo na mahintay yung susunod,kung pwede nga every week,kaya lang syempre kailangan ng budget,medyo magastos din he he he.sa anawangin cove naman doon kami nag campsite ,(ligaya ba ang hanap mo) si aling ligaya ang care taker ng beach site na tinuluyan namin,mabait din si aling ligaya,kung ano ang kailangan mo just tell her. ang mabigat na yung pauwi na kami ,meron kasi kaming kasama na mga dating serena yung aking first lady at si janet,mga dating serena kasi sila mga itinakwil sa kaharian ng serena
so kailangan naming mag bangka pabalik sa brgy.pundaquit kung mag trekking kasi uli kami medyo mahirap pero KAYA PA, syempre pagod na din,yung dalawang serena na kasama namin ayaw sumakay sa bangka ,baka mahuli daw sila ng mga kasamahan nilang syokoy,kaya lang no choice sila so kahit na ayaw nila mag boating ,join pa din sila,eto na yung dagat galit na galit parang gustong itaob yung mga boat namin,tili dito hiyaw doon,dasal dito,yung dalawang serena namin,eh dahil malakas kami kay BRO nakarating kami ng payapa sa aming destinasyon,kaya ang susunod namin aakyatin ay ang.........Mt.Arayat.

All members are welcome to post in this blog

Hello everyone, please feel free to post your thoughts here, stories, pics, whatever. just text me for the the username and password. you are also welcome to leave comments to other members' posts as long as we strictly follow journalism ethics. I just changed the comments settings so anybody could easily leave a comment. Let's make this blog a diary of sorts. -Lucilyn

KAYA PA Mountaineering Club ,T- Shirt

KAYA PA Mountaineers Check this out! our T- Shirt ,kung ok sa inyo try natin pa print para may sample tayo, Boyet

Spectacular Mount Pundaquit with Anawangin Traverse

Exactly two weeks after the last climb in Mt. Daguldul, Kaya Pa Mountaineers packed up their bags once again on June 12, 2009, and headed to San Antonio Zambales to scale Mt. Pundaquit then traverse to the becoming-popular Anawangin cove. The intermittent rains days before the trip did not stop the team members to proceed and explore this spectacular mountain which turned out to be one heck of an adventure.



The team left Manila at around 4am proceeding to NLEX and SCTEX. After a very filling breakfast along the way, prepared by spouses Boyet and Maribel, the team drove right away to San Antonio, Zambales to register at the local police station there, following protocols. A few meters away was the Barangay Hall of Pundaquit, where the team leaders paid courtesy to the Barangay Captain who was more than kind enough to refer the team to the most suitable guide.

At exactly 8:40 AM, the team composed of twelve members, headed to the foot of the mountain.
A few steps after, we were already overwhelmed by this breathtaking sight:



The minor bloopers in our previous clilmbs taught us to be more disciplined in this one. Thus, we agreed to trek in a single file and to look out for the ones behind or to the ones ahead. Our sweeper for this climb was Boyet Nueve, who really took his assignment by heart. On the other hand, Kuya Louie placed himself behind the guide, immediately followed by the kids. The ladies were designated to stay in the middle. We brought a lot of water with us because as gathered from our research in other blogs, this climb really requires lots of water from the mountaineers.

This next photo below shows our sweeper Boyet with Judith Labrador, acting it out in the middle of the boulders as the "oblation". He had so much fun doing it.


The group faced different kinds of ordeals this time, for there were streams both wide and narrow that we had to cross. One of which claimed the lives of four mountaineers in 2008, at the height of typhoon frank. They were swept away by a strong current when they tried to cross this stream:


Our hearts were really pounding when we crossed this body of water. It has huge and sharp-edged boulders. There was a strong current indeed, even with the waters only at knee level. I remember the fellow mountaineers who lost their lives here, and I felt sad. Their tragic death sent goose bumps on me. It was good that we hired a very experienced guide, Ed, who was a Boy scout and brought with him ropes in case of a very strong current. Little did we know, that this river crossing was only the tip of the iceberg, for there were more thrills waiting for us far ahead!

The mountain is considered a level 2 climb in terms of difficulty. Measured at around 460+/- meters above sea level (MASL), it was actually steep with very few trees scattered in between with which to shelter from the sun. Team members had to put on their gloves to avoid cuts from the sharp edges of cogon grass.



We reached the summit by 11:30 AM. Team members quickly unpacked the lunch and devoured them effortlessly. As usual, the group posed at the summit this time with our own streamer and printed shirts. The views in front of us and behind us were so spendid. God is so marvelous indeed for His beautiful creations. Because we were on top already, our goal was to go down and reach campsite, which is Anawangin cove before sunset. So the group didn't waste any more time and started the descent after lunch. So excited to see Anawangin cove finally.



It took us three hours to descend. Along the way, the trail was full of boulders and rocks and was a little bit slippery because of the rains. It seemed to us, though, that the streams were never ending. One after the other, we crossed them all. There was one that caught our attention and just really made our jaws drop. At the back of our minds, we couldn't come to terms if what we were seeing was for real?


When the group was nearing the campsite, our guide ED thought of gathering logs and dried twigs to light our bonfire. The guys in the team were kind enough to carry some. Eric happily agreed to carry a bigger one. Boyet was on the other end. Thanks guys!




Sure enough, the logs and dried woods kept us all warm as we were about to call it a night. The bonfire thrilled as to no end....then it was time to hit the tent and sleep.


After an energizing sleep (although some members lost a good one), the dawn greeted us so warmly. As usual, the guys prepared breakfast while the ladies enjoyed the scenery.

Can you actually believe we'd be able to do rock climbing as well? Above photo shows Janet, Judith, Maribel, Lucilyn and Joy having the time of their life with a rock formation at the far end of anawangin cove.


Of course, my husband Dennis and I had to pose as well. Geez, we left the kids at the campsite!


There are two ways to reach the anawangin cove. One is to trek Mt pundaquit for four hours, and the other is to take a banca. Going back to Barangay Pundaquit where we left our vehicles, the group decided to have the 30-minute banca ride instead. One final group shot before leaving the spectacular anawangin cove:



Another mountain crossed out in our list. Where to next? Congratulations members of KAYA PA!
By: Lucilyn Banac-Saylon

hey.... its my turn... sabi ng dalawa kong anak.. papa bakit tayo aakyat ng bundok, ano ba meron dun??? mag swimming nalang tayo! sabi nila.. oo nga naman bkit ka pa mag hihirap umakyat ng bundok kung wala naman dagat dun sa tuktok!!! sbi ko lang basta sumama kayo dahil pag dating sa summit merong kayong PREMYO!!, mas maganda pa sa beach, SABI KO! so sama sila nung nag climb kmi sa mt. daguldul sa san juan batangas. first climb ng mga kids kaya nag aalala ako ksi bka di nila kayanin ang pagod. si david ksi is 13 yrs. old and diego is 11 yrs.old, so kumuha kami ng porter, thanks GOD meron hayyy. ang bait talaga NYA! ksi pati kabayo meron. hehehe. malaking bawas sa bigat sa likod ko. yung sarili ko ksi talaga inaalala ko bka di ko kayanin nakakahiya..... huhhhh jump off na!! hayyy parang gusto ko ng maiwan... eh yung mga anak ko pati misis ko kya. KAYAPA? tanong ko? oo daw sagot nila. tsk tsk tsk. wala na talagang urungan. so PRAY na lahat with pastor louie .hehehe syempre PRAY TAYO para sa sarili... AKYAT na! syempre una kabayo... di ko akalain na kaya palang sabayan ng mga bata yung hayop na yun!!! samantalang kami, lalo nako hingal kabayo na!!! nakakahiya pag sumigaw yung mga kids., si franz gwaping na anak ni pareng boyet at abeng, david at diego ng alak pa! KAYAPA! may isang kids pa pala si jericho. buti nalang kasama si jericho may dahilan para mag pahinga ko. 9 yrs old sya so madaling napapagod. spoiled ksi sa daddy eric at momi joy. hehehe.. anyway nakarating naman sa peak. actually nauna mga kids makarating sa peak so diko nakita reaction nila sa nakita nilang view. diko alam kung nakuha nila yung premyo na sinasabi ko. basta maganda daw. ang sarap ng bonding sa pamilya at kaibigan sa hirap at ginhawa. palibhasa first time, hindi prepare, so pati sa pag tulog, ang hirap! ksi inulan pati sa loob ng tent umuulan..... bukang liwayway! yun na! kahit puyat! kahit pagod! masasabi mo talaga na GOD IS SO WONDERFUL! napaka ganda ng view. bed of clouds, mataas kapa sa ulap.. basta napaka ganda... alam na ng mga anak ko kung ano naging premyo nila... kahit diko na ipaliwanag sana pagdating ng araw mai apply nila sa buhay nila yun.. yung hirap at ganda ng buhay.. thanks. dennis.

MT.MACULOT ADVENTURE

Mt Maculot as seen from Cuenca


Before Mt. Daguldol, My very first Mountain Adventure is Mt.Maculot ,i was very excited during that time ,I dont care kahit gaano pa sya kataas or gaano kahirap akyatin ang mahalaga maakyat ko sya ,they said its only a level 1 for the Mountaineers,ganon pala ang feeling parang hinihintay mo na marating ang summit,nakakapagod na masarap ang pakiramdam ,sabi nga nila ano ba ang premyo mo sa pag akyat sa bundok,sa totoo lang wala pagod lang, but if you are nature lover ,malaking bagay ang marating mo ang pinaka Peak ng Mountain,magandang View,very relaxing ,wow tangal lahat ng pagod mo feeling mo malayo ka sa lahat ng problema ,it was really an achievement for me,beacause eversince isa na sa dream ko na maging Mountaineer matagal ko ng gustong gawin ang pag akayat sa mountain,kaya ng magkachance ako hindi na ko nagdalawang isip.sabi ko nga rain or shine go ako ,we plan to climb first to Mt.Pulag but there is thyphoon during that time so na postpone,i feel sad kasi can you imagine first time ako na aakyat ng bundok Mt.Pulag agad kaya lang di nakisama ang panahon ,that's why sa Mt.maculot kami natuloy with my wife ,my 12 years old son and our friends which is now a member of KAYA PA MOUNTAINEERING CLUB,Headed by Kuya Louei sya ang nag sked.kung saan ang next climb namin,sya kasi pinakamatanda sa amin (joke) he he he ,and this coming Friday were going to conquer Mt.pundaquit in San Antonio,Zambales.this is my third trekking adventure,at marami pang nakapila,this year for sure Mt.Pulag kasama na sa list namin,at least twice a month makapag Trekking kami we dont know yet what's next after Mt.Pundaquit so wait lang muna tayo mga ka kosa, sabi nga ni FPJ, ISA ISA LANG......