Mountain Climbing: Discovering Life's Trial and Error

The hype—
meters above sea level...

Mt. Ulap (1846 masl)
Itogon, Benguet

     People nowadays, especially, us—millenial—have this extraordinary hype in mountain climbing or also known as “hiking”. Most of us consider it as a new-found hobby-to-go on weekends and even on holidays. While some people view it now as a “sport activity” (e.g. trail run) in which they test their endurance level; and some just want to experience adventure; or to have social media travel goals. But more than all these physical and social satisfaction—our inner self—loves to hike—to have a place to breathe, loosen up, and live life surrounded by nature. To breathe—because situations are just—besh nakaka-suffocate na. To loosen up—because things are getting stressful more than what we can bear. To live life—because sometimes we feel like every day we are just waking up to live for the day, get tired, sleep and then wake up again—repeat. That’s it. That’s how we define our every day life that we always want to escape the reality of it.

     Yung iba naman satin, ayun, considers mountain climbing as one of the resort to forget, forgive, move on; a place where we can release all the burdens, weariness and loneliness of our wasak na puso. Kung saan maisisigaw mo yung, “Woooh! Magiging okay ako! Kaya ko ‘to!” na walang makikialam sayo. Pero besh mare-realize mo hindi mo naman talaga magagawa yun. Sa mga palabas lang nangyayari yung ganern! (based on my own experiences). So ayun na nga, we let ourselves get tired physically. And yet after the climb, after all the #TitiganSaUlap believing that every heart aches you have—were already thrown in the air, in the end you’re still going to ask yourself, “Okay ka na ba self?” Maybe yes, maybe no, and maybe, there might be something you have been missing all along. That more than the healing that we desire, maybe there's more to learn in life besh; and maybe there's more to discover while we hike. Kaya tara, allow me to share with you my discovery channel. 😊 Magpulot tayo ng life-lessons besh!

Mt. Ulap (1846 masl)

Itogon, Benguet

The Fruit of—
"Tara Hike Tayo! Pwede ka ba?"

     So, I started my first mountain climbing with my churchmates, Faye, Eden and Ate Edelyn, last June 12, 2015 (see, it’s a holiday!), wherein a random #TaraHikeTayo turned into reality and brought us to our mother mountain—Mt. Pico De Loro—the beginners' fave mountain. At first, hiking was just a hobby for us—for me. It’s something that I always wanted to do because it’s one of my life #Bucketlist. But after conquering few more mountains, hiking for me is not just a hobby-to-go anymore. It is now a way that makes me feel nearer to God; teaches me life lessons which are applicable to my everyday life. I know you will too, if you would just allow yourself to discover life in the mountain just as how I discovered mine. 😎

Mt. Pico De Loro (664 masl)
Ternate, Cavite

Start Right—
have at least 5 sit-ups while eating 😁

     This is to remind us all that hiking is one strenuous activity. We need to have the right preparation for it. Among others, we need to be physically fit. Pakibitbit din ng determinasyon mo besh. Take note: Some mountains, even before reaching its foot, we will be encountering roads which are already assault in nature. Just like in life, sometimes the “stepping-stone” makes us want to give up already even before making it to level one. #LifeLesson101: If hiking is encouraging us not to give up, how much more our God who is telling us to "be strong and courageous" (Joshua 1:9)? So besh, "Start strong and finish stronger." ©

Mt. Binacayan (424 masl)
Rodriguez, Rizal

Mt. Daraitan (739 masl)
Tanay, Rizal

The Stop-Overs—
a chance to drink half of your water-filled tumbler

     Stop-overs (or most of the time it is called "station") provide spaces to rest, drink, and enjoy the moment to share your jelly ace and boiled eggs with friends (the never-miss-to-bring-these-two food). Some hikers say that when you rest longer, you tend to feel more tired, the excitement dies—and I couldn’t agree more to that besh. Totoo! The longer we rest, the harder it is for us to be motivated again to move forward. Life’s like that. When we are stagnant for a long time to the things that we do, we get stuck, we easily get grumpy, tapos mapapatanong nalang tayo ng "pwede bang hanggang dito na lang?". We may find it hard to start all over again, but still—go and do not allow regrets to haunt you down. #LifeLesson102 For God has said in His words, He has plans to make you prosper, give you hope, and a future (Jeremiah 29:11). He has a lot to offer. You, we—just have to move. Just as how we obey our tour guide, that’s how much more we have to obey the words of God. "Paano kung hindi na kaya?" Besh, nagawa mo na. Subukan mo ulit. 😉

Mt. Ulap (1846 masl)
Itogon, Benguet

Mt. Maculot (930 masl)
Cuenca, Batangas

The Mountain Trails—
kapag sinabing bawal, bawal. Period.

     Mountain has many trails. There are marked trail, rough or rocky trail, and easy trail. Marked trails are those trails which are often used in catering the hikers. Rough or rocky trails are those exist on rocky mountains (remind yourself to always wear thick hiking pant/shorts or else *insert cracking sound*). Easy trails may be a shortcut in reaching the summit, hence, most of the time it is not safe. Wag magmadali besh, hindi tatakbo ang Summit. It’s a danger to take risks on trails that are not meant to be crossed from the very start. Ah-huh. The more that we are eager to make shortcuts, the higher the possibility that we'll miss the Instagram worthy or picturesque spot. Surely, we don’t want that. That is why we have a Tour Guide leading us to the right trail and helping us to capture the perfect angle of the scenery. Dito besh tayo ang bida. (*be camera ready*).

      #LifeLesson103 In life, taking easy turns and routes to success might lead us to miss the better life God has prepared for us. Because the more that we want to get ahead of others and choose not to wait, the higher the possibility that we might make wrong decisions. However, if we are following the right direction—in Him, we can cross any trail of life without any hesitations. That even if we have stopped in the middle, giving up will never be an option. Even if there were people who got ahead of us, we will never feel being left behind. He has our back and there are people who are willing to help us in every way. Whenever there’s an easy trail, seek first our Tour Guide—the God’s guidance. For it doesn’t matter how soon we have reached the top. But on how we have dealt with the struggles to go up. Alright! 👌

Mt. Maculot (930 masl)
Cuenca, Batangas

Mt. Hapunang Banoi (517 masl)
Rodriguez, Rizal

Mt. Ulap (1846 masl)
Itogon, Benguet

The Traverse or Back Trail—
now's the time to think what are you having for lunch. Bibilis kang bumaba. Promise.

     Even at the beginning, we are to make a choice on how we would want to go back. In traverse, we will be able to experience a different trail. A trail that we have not crossed from the start. While in back trail, from the word per se, we will just go back from where we have started. ♫ babalikang muliiii ♫ #LifeLesson104 Traverse or back trail, it reminds us that no matter how high, how far, or how fast we have gone to the top, we are all to go down and humble ourselves before others and before God. 😄

Mt. Hapunang Banoi (517 masl)
Rodriguez, Rizal
Traverse trail

Tinipak River (Traverse trail)
Mt. Daraitan (739 masl)
Tanay, Rizal

The #iConqueredTheSummit—
where every pagod is now sulit!

     We have conquered the summit. We have come a long way. We have seen the worth of struggle. We have felt the comfort of every after pain. We've met new people and learned from them. We have discovered what’s waiting for us in the summit. Besh, that is grace that we have to be thankful for. An unmerited favor for us to see what He has in store for. 😊

Mt. Masungki (660 masl)
Tanay, Rizal

  We've made it! So let me share with you my #MajorLifeLesson, my #iConqueredTheSummit, my #iSawTheGrace. Hiking (in its deeper contemplation) teaches us to live life according to what God’s instructions are. Let Him lead the way. Know when to wander. And as we continue our love in hiking, let us encourage ourselves to meditate and learn something from it. Let's not just climb to escape reality and brokenness. Instead, let's see to it that we have discovered things on how to face reality and move forward with a renewed heart.

Leave no trace and enjoy God's grace. 😇

Nagpatong Rock (Mt. Masungki)
Tanay, Rizal

Mt. Ulap (1846 masl)
Itogon, Benguet

     For the hikers like me, professionals or beginners, I am rejoicing with you! Let us discover more.  #AkyatPaMore 😃 For those who have yet to hike, whatever your reasons may be, I pray that you may find the joy of hiking and discover more of yourself. Cheering with you! 😊 For those who don’t have any plans yet read all the way here, I admire you too. Because I believe that life has a mountain of trial and error; and I commend you for choosing not to give up and pressing toward the goal (Philippians 3:14). 😉

"No matter how hard and awful the trial and error of life is, God can make everything worthy and beautiful, if we decide to make an effort to see its beauty." 😇 

~esmee~

Mt. Ulap (1846 masl)

Itogon, Benguet

Besh, enjoy the rest of the trail! 💋