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Published: March 22nd 2011
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fungi along the forest trail
...made me crave for mushroom burgers in Tagaytay If jumping off the edge is your answer, you're wrong.
Big time. Answer? Being sweaty on a treeless mountain summit (and using a mobile phone) in the middle of a brewing rain and peppered with lightning and thunder.
We were on the summit of Mt. Pico de Loro waiting for the rest of our climb mates to get back from scaling the rocky, vertical mountain's "beak". There was not much to see and do as thick fog and grey clouds hid almost everything. Yla was ruminating by herself. My cousin Hazel and I were taking pictures at a lower area. And Estela was speaking with someone on her mobile phone. On top of the mountain. Really.
"What was that?!" shrieked Estela. Estela and Yla all suddenly freaked out. Static electricity jolted them.
Thunder filled the air. Rain was already threatening. Since there was no tree on the summit and we were dripping with sweat, we immediately decided to lay still on the ground lest we get roasted by lightning. There was visible swirling of molecules in the air. I initially thought I was hallucinating from fear. Although the available pieces of evidence on whether mobile phone can
potential roasts
Laying still to avoid getting struck by lightning on top of the mountain attract lightning are contradictory and insufficient, I don't want to become one of the proofs that it does attract it.
Toasted novice mountaineers found. Not a glamorous way to leave the Earth. I pushed aside morbid thoughts of the next day's headlines and concentrated instead on calling back our companions.
"Come back now!" "Be safe!" we all shouted. The fog was very thick, which would make their descent from the "beak" dangerous. One wrong step and they would plummet to their death. After several minutes, they finally reached us.
We immediately descended to avoid the lightnings. Soon, it rained hard, which made the descent back to Camp 2 hard because the steeply sloping rocks were very slippery. Little did I know that it foreshadowed what we would experience at Mt. Apo. The rain eventually stopped as we reached the foot of the mountain. The yellow butterflies that had welcomed us that morning once again graced the trail as we exited this small but beautiful mountain and finished our training climb.
Mountaineer Notes:
• Mt. Pico de Loro, also known as Mt. Palay-palay, rises 1,350 meters above sea level. The rocky part beyond the summit
parrot's beak
From afar, this looks like the lower part of a parrot's beak, with the summit as the upper part. That top part of this huge rock can be reached by climbing down the summit, then climbing its face like a spider, and then rappelling down. resembles a parrot's beak, thus the name Pico de Loro. The summit of the "beak" can be reached by climbing down the other side of the mountain, scaling its rocky face, then rappelling down. Bringing ropes (the existing one is already short and flimsy) will make the climb more safe. On a clear day, it provides a spectacular view of the nearby areas.
• The trail is mostly that of a muddy, slippery mossy forest. Camp 2 is like a bamboo forest. Moderately difficult assault starts from Camp 2 on the way to the summit, mostly involving climbs up the steeply sloping rocks.
• Jump-off point is at DENR station within the "magnetic" hill.
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Kuya John
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Very nice shots....specially the fungi photos.... I salute you and your friends uli for having lots of guts and determination !! More Power :)