BEYOND
After breathing lots of fresh air at the top, enjoying the view and having lots of ‘selfies‘ with a very nice (buwis-buhay) jump shot, its time to experience what is beyond this mountain. We headed straight to the river, where we planned to have our lunch and off course experience some nature dipping.
We had chorizo, salted egg, tomato, and spam for lunch plus a pack of chicharon for mirienda, I was so full and enjoyed our simple picnic beside the river.
According to Mang Dong (the guide) the river in our location had a deepest point of around 21 feet, thou there are some shallow areas as well. Good thing there is an available ‘salbabida’ for use too.
The water was cold and the current was slow too making it easy for us to cross the whole stretch of it. There are some portions that are a bit rocky but most are slippery because of the think moss situated at the ground. I was thinking of doing a clift diving like others did, but when I reach the top of the cliff, the height give me goose bumps that I decided to go down and just swim around and enjoy the river instead. #fail
UNDER
After more than 2-hour river dipping, We headed back to the base, rest for a while then proceeded to experience Spelunking or also known as Caving. Headlights or flashlights are needed in this journey, caves could be a bit slippery sometimes so always wear a proper attire when doing it. We headed to Bayukbuk Cave located under Mt. Manalmon.
The entrance of the cave is already an awesome view on sight, and as I say under, to get into the starting point of the cave, one would need to do a short rappelling to be underground.
Our journey under was a combination of sliding, ducking, climbing with a combination of balance and precision (always be careful).
One of the most exciting part inside the cave was what the locals called “The Spiral” its located at the endmost part of the cave where you’ll find a series of holes going up, it’s a bit challenging passing this one. It was a fun and exciting caving experience but a bit hard I could say especially for first timers.
Before ending up the journey, I didn’t let the day pass without trying the so-called Monkey bridge. It’s a 2 cord wiring attached at both ends of the river where one should need to balance himself to cross it. It looks a bit easy as how the locals does it, but damn hard when your already in it. The cord line becomes a bit shaky as you reach the middle and my arms and muscles are becoming weak as I go along. I was just thinking “to please do not fall …” and I felt like letting it go. Ha! Ha! It’s a combination of balance, focus and strength as well. Well, I’m glad I succeeded without getting wet!
It was a great experience being above, beyond and under in just one location. I spent a little less than Php 600 because the group shared the payment for the guide; I still have an extra money to buy some Halo-Halo in the area. And also if you needed to use the bathroom, there are available toilets in the place. Just prepare Php 5 for peeing and another Php10 if you wanted to take a bath before leaving the place, or maybe do the peeing while you take a bath, that would save an extra 5!
Here are some notes to consider if you plan to visit Mt. Manalmon in the future.
- Guides in Mt. Manalmon are required, so don’t be an asshole to brag around that you can do it alone.
- Crossing Madlum river via the monkey bridge is both fun and stressing (tension) but it is highly recommended. Cross it well and I’ll give you a hi-five!
- The trail is fairly easy, highly recommended for beginners but don’t forget to bring some water, the heat is a bit draining.
- Bring headlamps if you planning to do spelunking in Bayukbuk cave
- There are campsites before the summit, overnight camping is possible if your planning to do so.
- You can also choose to hike up Mt. Gola if you have plenty of time too!
- Always remember do not litter!
Lastly enjoy every moment of it and appreciate God’s lovely creation!
Check out whats Above Mt. Manalmon – – – > read it here
Until our next trip in the City!
またね Mata ne!
