Daraitan - My First Taste of Adventure

‘The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams.’

Sometimes things happen because they are meant to happen. Climbing mountains is something I didn’t envision myself doing. Ever. See, I’m a homebody. I’m generally very happy in the comfort of my own home; reading books, watching movies, surfing the internet, painting, cooking and baking.

I’m helpless in the face of the great outdoors, as you can see. This, however, didn’t stop the sharp turn of events as they unfolded. The stress from my daytime job reconnected me to an old acquaintance, who is a long time mountaineer. He became instrumental in my discovery of love for nature, and this ultimately paved the way for my passion in hiking.

My first climb is in Mount Daraitan which is located in Tanay in the province of Rizal. My long time friend, Alvin, invited me to join his group in a dayhike. I accepted the invitation with the reason that I really need to go somewhere to take a breather from my job. I was told it’s an easy climb suitable for beginners like me. I thought this was doable, and so, like most beginners, I embarked to acquire the appropriate hiking gear. This consisted of things very cool, very daunting things like a daypack, trekking shoes, and trekking attire. I also did some research about the mountain of Daraitan and about Tinipak River, which will serve as a sidetrip to this dayhike.

Come the big day, our meeting place is at Jollibee Farmers Market in Cubao. This branch of Jollibee, I realized, was a hiker’s hub. Most hikers commune here before their scheduled hike. Aside from our group in the Cubao area, there’s another group convening in the Pasay area. Upon the arrival of the Pasay group, and when finally all the hikers are complete, we departed to Rizal.

It was drizzling when we arrived at barangay Daraitan. Our van unloaded us at the banks of Daraitan River. We had to cross the river by raft and then ride a tricycle to reach the barangay hall. Upon arrival at the barangay hall, we registered and secured our guides.

The rain subsided just in time when we started our trek. The trail was wet and slippery with many sharp edges of rocks scattered and protruding from the floor. We encountered fellow hikers along the trail, with some also on their way to the summit, while others are already on their way back to the baranggay hall. It was steep on the way to the summit making our ascent sluggish, as we’re extra cautious in our every step. We made constant stopovers to rest and re-hydrate. It’s a good thing there are areas along the trail where bamboo benches are situated. You can take a sit and rest there. It was almost noon when we managed to take our lunch in an area just near the summit.

It took us almost four hours before reaching the most sought after summit of Daraitan. The view from the top is truly magnificent. Since it was a first for me, the feeling of standing on the summit of a mountain is fulfilling and memorable. It gave me a sense of accomplishment and pride. I was in awe as I was wondering at the scenery around me—seeing the mountain ranges around and looking down at the greenery and rivers below.

It seems that I’m on top of the world. No wonder it took us almost three hours in the summit clamoring and even falling in line to have our picture taken. The constant drizzle didn’t hinder us from posing and getting that perfect shot.

After everyone was done and satisfied with the photo shoot, we made our trek to Tinipak River. We were the last of the group to leave the summit. The descent was harder compared to the ascent, with the trail being muddy and slippery due to rain.

I slipped about three times, falling on my back every time. It was embarrassing but then I didn’t care. At that moment I am fully struggling and exhausted to think of anything else. Besides, we’re all having a hard time going down so it didn’t leave any room for self-deprecation. It was so hard, it was almost funny.

There were a lot of instances where we had to crawl down enormous boulders. It was getting dark and it still seemed to be a long trek ahead of us to Tinipak River. The rest of the group are already there having fun in the river. I was grateful upon seeing them, and I was ecstatic that we’re finally getting the rest we so desperately needed. While having my rest, I grabbed the opportunity to wash my trekking shoes which is covered thick with mud. We’re all dead tired so nothing notable happened during our short stay at Tinipak River.

After all the participants are settled and ready, we trekked back to the end of the river where tricycles are waiting. We rode the tricycle which brought us to back to the barangay hall. It is there where we bathed and dressed up before making our way back to Cubao.

Climbing Daraitan was not an easy feat, but the experience taught me a lot, especially about the basics of mountaineering. This climb gave me many firsts. For one, it made me experience pain like I’d never experienced before. My whole body was in pain the day after the hike. I can’t move and hardly walk and I still have to go to work that day. I never expected hiking to be so physical demanding. It was really an overwhelming experience.

After three days, the pain was gone, but not my determination to conquer another mountain. Yes, the pain I had to endure was not enough reason to stop me in pursuing my new found hobby. Moreover, it also paved the way to another habit of mine. For I later realized that I need to prepare myself physically before a climb, thus it started my routine of running every morning as a sort of exercise.

My unexpected journey to the mountain of Tanay brought me to the realization that life is an adventure, and that we must not be afraid to take risks. Despite the many unpleasant things that occurred during my first hike, it did not falter my spirit and self-confidence. It instilled in me the lesson to be strong and soldier on against any adversity... To always believe in myself and enjoy life no matter what. Some people go through their lives searching but never finding the purpose of their existence. I was no exception. Once, my life went in circles and I lost my way. But now, I have a clear sense of purpose: to do what I love most, and that is to go on adventures and see the world.