Sunday last weekend, on the second day of my weekend site hunting, after a tiring walkathon a day before, I and Gaye attempted to conquer Mt. Arayat. It’s still because of my thesis that we went there, as I needed to find out other activities and amenities that the site can offer. My brother was with us but I didn’t let him continue with the hike because of his asthma. We took the Magalang trail, as it was said to be easier to follow and tackle.
I will admit that we didn’t reach the North Peak of Mt. Arayat, which was our goal that day. The steep slope, combined with a muddy trail and poor endurance (on our part) prompted us to abandon our goal and to target White Rock or Puting Bato as the locals call it. We reached our new destination after almost 2 grueling hours of hiking.
Well, Puting Bato didn’t disappoint us. It was also like being at the peak, except that we don’t know how it feels like being on the peak of Mt. Arayat. Puting Bato is composed of huge boulders jutting out of Mt. Arayat’s side, and we could see the peak at the right side, 2 more hours away from where we were.
Mist started to cloud our view of the plains a few moments after we reached Puting Bato. The cool breeze was refreshing and it was amusing to see the mist swirl around us.
^The North Peak’s on that side of the mountain. Mt. Arayat has twin peaks and both are reachable. North Peak is the summit.
I asked God for blue skies, and He had granted Gaye her wish of an embracing mist so I was droning on and on about my blue skies. An egg sandwich and lots of selcas and silent moments have passed and still I wasn’t getting my blue skies, I was ready to put up a white flag dedicated to God.
When we were ready to leave, the mist started clearing and I was delighted to find a clear view of the plains below with an approaching sea of white clouds. These pictures cannot sufficiently express the beauty of that moment, which I specifically asked God for. I can see the top of the clouds from where I was standing, I got so excited that I temporarily forgot my fear of heights.
^On our way to the tindahan where I told my younger brother to wait. The descent from Puting Bato took us about an hour.
The last two panoramas were of a grazing field that we passed by on our way to the entrada where we rode a tricycle that would bring us to the jeepney terminal en route to Angeles.
I was still not brave enough to stand on the rock where Gaye and I were sitting on to capture a panorama of the fields below, but I was greatly satisfied with my experience on Puting Bato. Yet again, God romanced me on that jutting batch of boulders with a present that was more than what I was asking for.
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thanks for including my blog post in your related articles
seems like you had a great time at Mt. Arayat and awesome panoramas too!
Posted by orchid | 08/02/2012, 22:47aching muscles aside, I really had a great time there, though reaching the summit would have been better. =) the view was priceless even at Puting Bato.
Posted by klacenklai | 08/03/2012, 10:49