My muscles were aching all over, sweating profusely, bearing a very heavy load, and near exhaustion. It is these times when you ask your self why do I climb these darn mountains. Our destination was the Tarak Ridge on Mt. Mariveles, in Bataan. We spent the most part of our day on a long arduous trek through winding trails going up and down under the forest canopy. We took a much-needed one-hour lunch break near the Papaya river and then proceeded to the second part of our trek up the ridge. We were now on a near vertical climb on a very steep trail heading up. We had to rest every few minutes because of the trail’s difficulty. Our guide had long since left us on our own saying that it would be easy finding the campsite and Vince was insisting that we only rest for three minutes for every ten minutes we spend walking or should I say climbing. Tarak wasn’t easy at all…
We had arrived in the town of Balangga, in the provice of Bataan by bus in two batches the night before and we spent the night in Gino’s house. The plan was to arrive in Bataan on the evening of December 3, 2005 so that we could get some rest before we tackle the challenge ahead, which was Tarak. Tarak is the name of a ridge on Mt. Mariveles in Bataan and it is a considered a level 2 climb. It normally takes 7 to 8 hours of difficult trekking in order to reach the ridge. The ridge it self was open and exposed to strong winds and it is barely large enough to be a campsite. As if the climb it self wasn’t difficult enough, we have been warned by a friend of mine named Conch that he got Typhoid and Dengue after climbing Tarak.
The team out to conquer Tarak was composed of Yano, Vince, Park, JC, Jeff, Lester, Noah, Gino, and my self. This motley crew of would be mountaineers was out to tackle a challenge, which we may not be that prepared for. But we were already in Bataan and we were determined to climb Tarak.
After an early breakfast we headed toward our jump off point, which was the Barangay of Alasanin or Alas-asin in the town of Mariveles. There we registered at the Barangay Hall and found ourselves a guide. We started our trek with the sun already high in the horizon. I was still clinging to the hope that maybe it wouldn’t really take seven to eight hours to climb this mountain.
Clutching on every tree trunk, vine, rock, and any other handhold I could get my hands on, I kept putting one foot in front of the other and try to keep moving up. I knew that we were in essence committed to this climb and there was no turning back. Relief would only come once we reach the summit. After hours of hard climbing we finally broke through the tree line and found a clearing big enough to be a campsite. We were at the ridge. Our intended campsite was a little further up but we knew then that we made it. We had a very good view of the whole island of Corregidor, Manila bay, and the town of Mariveles. The strong winds brought soothing relief to our tired and hot bodies. But it signaled what we were to face that evening.
The campsite was small and rocky so much so that it was almost impossible to drive pegs into the ground, I had to settle for tying my guy lines on to big rocks. When evening descended the winds picked up and a thick mist covered the ridge since clouds shrouded the summit. After dinner and a couple rounds of drinks we retired into our tents to get some rest. The tent was battered the whole night by very strong winds which made it harder to sleep, but since we were all exhausted from all the climbing we did manage to get some sleep.
I woke up in the middle of the night with the call of nature. I didn’t much fancy the idea of stepping out into that cold night with the howling winds but I had to relieve my bladder. When I stepped out of my tent I paused. The sky had cleared and I could clearly see nearby lights from the town or Mariveles, the distant lights from Manila across the bay, and what seemed like an infinite number of stars. The thought crossed my mind; “was I still on Tarak?” I could only describe it as magical. I was in awe and I could then tell my self, this is the reason why I climb up mountains.
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We had arrived in the town of Balangga, in the provice of Bataan by bus in two batches the night before and we spent the night in Gino’s house. The plan was to arrive in Bataan on the evening of December 3, 2005 so that we could get some rest before we tackle the challenge ahead, which was Tarak. Tarak is the name of a ridge on Mt. Mariveles in Bataan and it is a considered a level 2 climb. It normally takes 7 to 8 hours of difficult trekking in order to reach the ridge. The ridge it self was open and exposed to strong winds and it is barely large enough to be a campsite. As if the climb it self wasn’t difficult enough, we have been warned by a friend of mine named Conch that he got Typhoid and Dengue after climbing Tarak.
The team out to conquer Tarak was composed of Yano, Vince, Park, JC, Jeff, Lester, Noah, Gino, and my self. This motley crew of would be mountaineers was out to tackle a challenge, which we may not be that prepared for. But we were already in Bataan and we were determined to climb Tarak.
After an early breakfast we headed toward our jump off point, which was the Barangay of Alasanin or Alas-asin in the town of Mariveles. There we registered at the Barangay Hall and found ourselves a guide. We started our trek with the sun already high in the horizon. I was still clinging to the hope that maybe it wouldn’t really take seven to eight hours to climb this mountain.
Clutching on every tree trunk, vine, rock, and any other handhold I could get my hands on, I kept putting one foot in front of the other and try to keep moving up. I knew that we were in essence committed to this climb and there was no turning back. Relief would only come once we reach the summit. After hours of hard climbing we finally broke through the tree line and found a clearing big enough to be a campsite. We were at the ridge. Our intended campsite was a little further up but we knew then that we made it. We had a very good view of the whole island of Corregidor, Manila bay, and the town of Mariveles. The strong winds brought soothing relief to our tired and hot bodies. But it signaled what we were to face that evening.
The campsite was small and rocky so much so that it was almost impossible to drive pegs into the ground, I had to settle for tying my guy lines on to big rocks. When evening descended the winds picked up and a thick mist covered the ridge since clouds shrouded the summit. After dinner and a couple rounds of drinks we retired into our tents to get some rest. The tent was battered the whole night by very strong winds which made it harder to sleep, but since we were all exhausted from all the climbing we did manage to get some sleep.
I woke up in the middle of the night with the call of nature. I didn’t much fancy the idea of stepping out into that cold night with the howling winds but I had to relieve my bladder. When I stepped out of my tent I paused. The sky had cleared and I could clearly see nearby lights from the town or Mariveles, the distant lights from Manila across the bay, and what seemed like an infinite number of stars. The thought crossed my mind; “was I still on Tarak?” I could only describe it as magical. I was in awe and I could then tell my self, this is the reason why I climb up mountains.
Click on the picture to view a bigger image..
More Pics
hi....i just remember when we also climb mt. tarak i thougth i cant make it to the summit but we made it but actually we stay at the water source area,we cant climb the summit bcoz the clouds is so thick they say that its hard ti climb there...but the next time we go there we will sure that we will climb the summit!!!!heheheqxewbl
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