I have lost count of the number of times I rejected my friends (one of them is Jan of pathfinderph) invitation for a hike because I am not physically prepared. I don't have daily exercise. I despise jogging and going to the gym. But I really cannot deny that I miss hiking. So a night before the hike I prepared my things. I did not set an alarm and if I will wake up at 5:30 AM, I will join the hike.
The next day at 6:00 AM, I was awakened by a phone call from my friend. So I guess I would really join the hike.
We started our hike at 8:00 AM. When we had our first ascent, I already told my friends that I would just go back to the jump-off. My heartbeat was so fast and I was already tired. But they kept on encouraging me that I really could make it to the peak. My mind was on an endless debate about giving up or pushing forward. We went at a slow pace and countless stopovers.
After an hour of trekking, we arrived at a sari-sari store and rested a bit. We had ice candy, water, and some trail foods. Good thing, my body has recovered. We continued the hike and had another stop at Pagimpinon Peak. We ate our lunch there since Kalbasaan Peak does not have a shade to shelter us from the scorching heat.
It was past 12 noon when we arrived at Kalbasaan Peak. It was so hot but I let it slipped because of the beautiful panoramic view of Cebu. We decided to stay there for just 30 minutes. But a few minutes our estimated time to descent, the sun hid the clouds and gave us a cool temperature that we decided to extend another 30 minutes. We got to see the beauty of both sides of Cebu. The Toledo City on the west, and the Minglanilla and Talisay City on the east.
River trekking
I did not know that river trekking was included in our itinerary. I thought that only my body was not equipped for this hike, but I did not expect that my footwear was not ready too. We descended for almost an hour before we started the river trekking. I tried my best not to soak my feet in the water but to no avail, there are some areas that you really have to step into the river. The river's current was not strong and it was also a shallow one. You just have to be extra careful in stepping into the rocks since others are mossy and slippery.
Itinerary
6:30 AM - 7:00 AM | Assembly at Jollibee USC Main |
7:00 AM - 7:30 AM | Travel to Eskina Tubod, Minglanilla |
7:30 AM - 7:45 AM | Habal-habal ride to Brgy. Manduang |
7:45 AM - 8:00 AM | Prepare for the trek |
8:00 AM - 10:45 AM | Hike to Pagimpinon Peak |
10:45 AM - 11:45 AM | Lunch |
11:45 AM - 12:30 PM | Continue trek to Kalbasaan Peak |
12:30 PM - 1:30 PM | Kalbasaan Peak |
1:30 PM - 5:00 PM | Descend/River trek to Crasher Site |
5:00 PM - 5:20 PM | Habal-habal ride to Eskina Tungkop |
5:20 PM - 6:00 PM | Travel to Cebu City |
Fare expenses
7 | Jeep from USC Main to Basak |
10 | Jeep from Basak to Eskina Tubod, Minglanilla |
25 | Habal-habal ride to Brgy. Manduang |
30 | Habal-habal ride to Eskina Tungkop |
13 | Jeep from Tungkop to Emall |