Category: 
May 16, 2007
At 10 am we were ready to leave the Grotto. Rodel assured us that “it’s all downhill” from this point on. Now this phrase can be interpreted both on a positive note and a not so positive one: downhill, as in, there is no need to pedal since gravity will be the motive force to get us to the foot of the mountain, and this is good; and downhill as in getting from bad to worse.
As we left the Grotto, I uttered a silent prayer for Our Lady to protect us on this downhill ride. It turned out that we still had to pedal uphill for about half a kilometer before getting to the real downhill part. After about 15 minutes of more uphill climb we came to an unoccupied hut, which Rodel described as the usual rest stop on this trail.
One thing I am really hesitant to relate at this point is that at a distance, before arriving at this hut, we saw armed men. I couldn’t identify what type of guns those men had, but they were long and seemed heavy. I didn’t believe though that we were in harm’s way and we proceeded to approach the hut. As we did, some of those men left and those who remained for a moment weren’t armed at all and they explained that they were hunting wild boars (baboy damo). They also had several leashed dogs with them.
We remained at the hut for about 15 minutes. More uphill climb followed for about half a kilometer and then we came upon another hut where a woman was waiting for her daughter to come from the nearby hut they were occupying. She had several mangoes which she offered to us. She mentioned again the phrase “all downhill from here” and I thought, well, yes, I will believe it when I see it. Indeed, it was about 300 meters more to where the real downhill part started.
We finally reached the actual summit of the mountain, though I am not aware of the actual elevation. I could only describe what I see, as Rodel himself said, as “God’s country!”, what with the awesome scene that was there for all of us to see.
And then the real downhill part came upon us. More stories and pictures to follow.
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makes my feet itch, so i know what you have written is good.
A great adventure you’ve got there kabayan, keep going…
Dyordz, thanks for the compliment.
Doy, we have more great adventures to come.
I hope both of you could join us in our rides. If you want more information about our rides, click on the Pinoy Mountain Bikers link in my Blogroll.
[...] 18th, 2007 by pixelus Recalling the previous post, we were in “God’s country“. The view from the top is always better, and this one is no exception. It was green [...]
[...] I’ve seen some pictures from this ride and the views were breathtaking, and borrowing from my other posts describing the scenery, it sure is God’s country. [...]
[...] the previous post, we were in “God’s country“. The view from the top is always better, and this one is no exception. It was green [...]