WRONG TURNS

"It's always going to be hotter than you predicted, always going to be colder than you expected. The trail will always be longer and the summit will always be farther." - Where To Next

Second time hiking and it was another misadventure.

Inspired by Where To Next's #collageartventures

Here's my obligatory /kunwari may lovelife/ summit photo!

After reaching the summit, our gang wanted to swim, so Kuya Leon, our hike guide, suggested Managat Falls. He said it was only a 2-hour trek (wrong) and easier than the Mount Balagbag trail (wrong). We were very wrong.

Everything was all fun until some 'DENR' 'officials' restricted us to go into the usual trail towards the falls and instead, rerouted us to this sketchy path that will lead to "a better view".

Upon n hours of trekking and climbing and crawling through the sketchy trail, we saw no sign of any falls. :(

With our remaining strength, we decided to go further until Kuya Leon said that it was a dead end and we have to go back and walk to the starting point and sneak to the original hike trail which took twice the energy and time.

We actually got lost at one point but thanks to our boy and girl scout trainings, we eventually found the /right/ path back to the main trail.

The sun sunk fast and every minute the skies grew darker. We found ourselves stuck in the middle of mountains. The trail seemed endless; our breaths got heavier and our legs grew weaker. We were out of water and food and we're solely running on faith and reason.

Then it was pitch black and cold. We had lost our phone batteries and our flashlights dimmed every hour.

We took the time to trek back home as the path was too risky. But at each stop we made, we made sure to look around and enjoy the remaining hours of hour adventure where all we could see are the constellations of fireflies and billions of stars and then  we realized how the whole trip wasn't so bad. Oh, the silver linings the world can offer.

Now here's another favorite from Where To Next,

"Adventure requires making room for small, unexpected sufferings.

You learn so little in comfort.

And sometimes it's worth it to see yourself grow."

If we survived this mountain, so can you.

Update: I can't walk/climb stairs properly lol and I had to call absent for my Scuba Diving class today. Still calling it worth it.

PS. I should be doing my thesis..