Mt Talamitam, Revisited

The summer heat is on! Luckily, D and I managed to squeeze in a climb of Mt Talamitam in Nasugbu, Batangas, a couple of weeks ago. It was my second time to hike this mountain, and it’s been seven years since the first time. I can’t believe I haven’t had a proper climb since 2015. Suffice to say I was a bit reluctant to climb this year, having had no practice for quite some time. At first I just offered my support to D when he and his friends locked in the date for their climb, and I happily booked him a room in Tagaytay. I planned on just tagging along and sleep in, but decided at the last minute to join in on the fun after I found the trekking poles that my friend gave me from our trip to the Turkey Run State Park in 2018.

Mt Talamitam is considered as a beginner’s climb, with an elevation of 630 meters above sea level and an estimate walk time of 2 hours to get to the summit. It’s grassy but there are a handful of trees on its slope, so we had to be at the jump-off before sunrise otherwise the climb would be a challenge if the sun is already up. So at 5 o’clock in the morning we were already off – and since it was still dark we had to carefully maneuver our way especially as we walked through the boulders of the Talamitam River. That entailed a higher level of balance (and poise) with our phone flashlights on and all.

At sunrise we were already at the grassland plateau, graced with cool winds and a lovely view of the nearby mountains. I love the sound of birds, and I saw a flying crane near a carabao. These are the simple things that always make me smile.

What I like about climbing a mountain is that during the whole process, my sole focus was each step to get to the destination. It’s like a meditation of sorts. During the climb, all thoughts on work, anxieties, travel plans, etc were nonexistent. Everything’s been replaced by listening to my own breathing, huffing and puffing, and watching my steps. Well, I stand corrected – there were several thoughts of positive self encouragement especially as I neared the summit. It was so tiring, but man it was so worth it. I know my mind and body were grateful for that Sunday morning workout.

That was quite fun. I’m on a quest to find our next climb destination. Still gonna be a begginer friendly mountain, and the plan is to start much earlier next time, and we’ll do it on a weekday.