Good Friday Hike

"Will pick you up at the corner road going to the villa." A text message from my buddy was sent at around 3:45am. I replied it was fine by me and will be there. It's been Holy Week here in the Philippines, and since it was Good Friday, customarily Christians devote their time to prayer and penance. As a Holy Week activity, me and my friends decided to do another hike up the mountain nearby while praying Stations of the Cross. We did it last year, and a quarter up the mountain I was gassed. I really wasn't in shape and didn't expect that it would be that hard (i lost a boot sole while going down, too), considering that mountaineers consider Mt. Maculot a walk in the park.

This year, I made sure it would be different. Well, considering we ACTUALLY prayed this time, there was a lot of time to rest in between stations so I guess that if we climbed non-stop I would gas up again. And last year I brought four bottles of Gatorade and two bottles of drinking water plus an extra shirt and a camera. This year, I cut down the Gatorade and settled for facetowels. Although I brought a jacket because we started early this time. 4am sounded reasonable. Will be there around 4:30-5:00am so it can be a bit chilly despite the summer, I said to myself.

Our hike was planned for 4:00am we
ended up climbing Maculot around
5:00am.

Mt. Maculot is just less than an hour's drive from my town. It's a favorite place for would-be-pilgrims looking for a good place to make sacrifices and offer prayers (I didn't notice a lot of people praying, though, and most of the other folks are family trippers and teenagers looking for a good time and an excuse to just hang out). I lost track of time when we started climbing, but it was still dark when we did do so.

I brought the candles

After parking our friend's truck (yeah, he drove us in a big-ass truck used for hauling softdrinks), where we rode at the back where the wind whipped my usually curly hair straight, we went on our way.The trek up wasn't really that bad, except for loose soil that make you slip sometimes and loose rocks tumbling down from the top made by someone losing a foothold. Good thing I wore rugged rubber shoes with lots of grip left in the soles. Boots with really good ridges is ideal for such a climb, especially for us casual hikers. But like I said earlier, I lost a sole going down from last year's hike.

Just a few meters up the hill going into
the woods and you're already tired?

Yes, we DID pray along the Stations of
The Cross this time.

A bit of the way there are stone and concrete steps leading the trail through each station, but that doesn't mean the walk would be easy. The way up is still steep, and people tend to crowd in the steps. So, being the adventurous and over-confident type, we tried cutting our own trail by the sides, clawing on dirt and grabbing protruding vegetation. By that time, the sky is already brightening up as the sun is slowly rising. And, yeah, the stone steps suddenly disappear for a good portion of the trail. More dirt and rock action... and a bit of plantlife. Sacrifice... Sacrifice... "uy, five pesos." (takes a knee and picks up the coin)

Small altars depict scenes from
the Passion of Jesus Christ mark each
station. Surprisingly, we only encountered
three groups praying at each - including ours.
The sun is not too hot during the mornings
here, and some parts have dense vegetation.
There is a part where steps leading from one
part of the climb just disappeared. 

After a few more stations, prayers, slipping and occasional cussing, one can notice how far it there is still to go to get to the "Cross" near the summit. Some people refer this to the top of Mt. Maculot, but it is just a small area of relatively level ground with a great view of the surrounding countryside ("Dude, I can see my house from here"). Nothing beats away the sore legs than this. I couldn't get a shot at the Grotto beside the cross, but a long line forms up to it, where candles are being offered instead of lighting them. A kitten took refuge at the foot of the statue of the Virgin Mary there, as to how it got there, I'd like to think it just crawled up there and decided it a good place to take a nap (the thought of somebody putting the kitten there as "alay" disturbed me somehow. And I'm known to be used to such disturbing things.)

This area just below the "Cross". Littered with small shops
where one can  buy coffee, noodles, and other items.
Nearby is the path leading to a campsite for those who pitched
up tents for the night.

  Now comes the tricky part. Getting down. Down your Gatorade, boys. You'll need it. Trust me.

It wouldn't be so difficult if it weren't for a ton of people around. Going up would be a breeze compared to the way down because it is so rocky. But the up side of it all is that they provide good footholds and things to cling on as climbers make their way down to town. Oh, yeah. They make a pretty sight if some loose ones come tumbling down in a small  avalanches(safe but hurts the shins and feet, larger ones are known to knock people out if they happen to hit them on the head). Things like that cause injuries familiar to Mt. Maculot on Good Friday. So far, this year the only casualty we saw was one having too little oxygen as opposed to last year's fall (presumably a drunk climber or one who got hit on the head by one of those falling rocks). It's a good thing none of those boulder-types get dislodged (think Indiana Jones).

 It was a good day to climb a mountain and a great way to start the highlights of Holy Week. As far as I remember, mixing prayer and penance with a little bit of fun as long as they are meaningful was really a part of the whole thing for my family and friends. And it doesn't hurt anybody in the process. Just don't decide on dislodging those rocks. And please avoid wearing setp-ins, ladies. That was my primary pet peeve last year and this one's hike. You're going up a mountain, not pic-nicking in some stroll in the plains. You're in for a world of hurt withuot the proper gear and attire.

The rope helps. But not so much.

For some reason, one Taho vendor got our attention by walking straight up the steep trail carrying the two aluminum drums full of the sweet, nutricious, all-time favorite soy-based snack. And he did that without a lot of difficulty. "Ayun, daig pa kayo ng magtataho." Anyway, he'll have no problem coming down since those cans will be empty way before lunchtime.

The writer. Gawking.

There is actually another path down. We didn't take the route since we are unfumiliar with it, but I heard it passes by some sort of body of water - a pond, small waterfall, or stream - we didn't know. Maybe next year we'll get to use that one. Or maybe we'll hike up another mountain, who knows?

Oooh... Banahaw sounds promising.