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)