A Date With Maria Makiling

Having been a student of UP Los Baños, I was always a big admirer of Mt. Makiling. She was overlooking our campus and gives us conducive climate for learning (as if I was really a dedicated student. hahaha). Anyway, I did not have the chance to climb Peak 2 (the summit, 1090 meters above sea level) during my 4 years' stay on elbi, mainly because I have other interests and priorities that time. 

I had a chance to ask her out last July 6. Not that good date to pick though, because we are already at the onset of the rainy season and that a typhoon has just left which will make the trail slippery and muddy. I just took my chances and just went through with the climb, making a calculated risk. Let me relate this experience to real life - dating real people. To start off, here's a Bob Marley quotation I got over the net:

"If she's amazing, she won't be easy. If she's easy, she won't be amazing. If she's worth it, you won't give up. If you give up, you're not worthy. ...Truth is, everybody is going to hurt you; you just gotta find the ones worth suffering for."

In keeping with this blog's count-to-three tradition  (that's why it was named as such), we'll dissect this quotation into three. So here it goes.

#1. If she's amazing, she won't be easy. 

Mt. Makiling boasts of pristine forest, awesome large hardwoods, and a very well taken care of biodiversity. Cool clean fresh air, that is pretty much a scarce commodity if you are living in the metropolis, is very abundant here. That's why many people want to see and experience it first hand. But before you have the chance to experience these good stuff, be prepared to test your limits because climbing up Makiling can be exhausting (if you are planning to do a dayhike, it will take about 8-10 hours ascent-descent, depending on your pacing). Everything you see there is just so amazing - all green and refreshing, considering the fact that you are always being exposed to the pollution and the hustle and bustle of the cities. That's why expect that it won't be easy, quite a reasonable price to pay for such beauty. Basking in her vast wilderness can be an exhilarating experience and is worth every sweat you shed (and blood, if you are unlucky like me. haha).

Part of the Wilderness Zone of Mt. Makiling. Very much reminiscent of that animated movie entitled "Fern Gully".

Just like how Mt. Makiling's beauty has drawn the fascination of tons of people from different walks of life and of different demographic backgrounds just because of her majestic presence, we too are being fascinated by the mere presence of the opposite sex. Saying that a woman/man's personality gets our attention first is bullshit. Whether we like or not, appearance is important. People tend to be visual (not to discriminate those visually impaired), thus we put importance in what we see. That's why the saying goes: "love at first sight" and not "love at first hear" or "love at first smell".  Deal with it.

Speaking of people, appearance and personality must go hand in hand. Good appearance and good personality is optimal, but if you have good appearance and bad personality, well, pardon these succeeding words, burn you little shit! All the more if you have bad of both. Why am I saying this? Average people like me tend to be intimidated and awestruck by beautiful women that are obviously out of our league, that's why we tend to shy away. Just striking a conversation gives us goosebumps and it takes a lot of courage to muster. Yeah, we know you are amazing and we know it's not gonna be easy for us. Competition is very stiff and we don't even know if we have any competitive advantage. That's the whole point while we endure looking and acting like idiots sometimes. We just go full retard. hahaha! 

#2. If she's worth it, you won't give up. 

Just like any other experiences in climbing a mountain, you can't just quit along the trail. Whether you like it or not, you have to move forward. You have to withstand pain, tiredness and fatigue just because you have no choice - you must reach your destination. Maria Makiling is no exception. Climbing up on rainy season gets pretty intense because it is where limatiks (worm-like leeches, which can be very small and go unnoticeable) are having biggest the party of their lives and are out there just waiting to cling to every exposed parts of your skin (6 of this tried to blood suck my face, I caught three crawling my face at the same time), plus of course, the muddy terrain. 

Limatik: It's all fun and games until you get blood sucked by these little bastards.

The most challenging part of the trail is the assault to the summit. This starts at station 21 and takes about an hour to the summit which composed of mostly steep inclines. It includes rope segments and at some point, a bamboo ladder was posted to help climbers scale a rock wall. 

Part of the rope sections along the UPLB trail. They call it the "90 degrees".

We were all willing to undergo these challenges because well, it is all part of the adventure. We were also excited what was in store for us at the summit. Plus of course, and more importantly, the achievement of climbing the top of this majestic mountain.  

Sounds familiar?

This is also the case in wooing or courting someone. You would go through all the trouble just to, you know, get that oh-so-awesome YES. If and only if, you get past the awkward "I don't know you, that's why everything you do creeps me out" phase OR the dreaded FRIENDZONE. You exert all efforts, all damoves and knowledge at your arsenal and even tried what is contained on Barney Stinson's THE Playbook (even though you know it looks absurd) all because of that amazing individual you've been eyeing. Because we are all aiming for one goal - that oh-so-awesome YES. 

BUT a favorable outcome is never guaranteed. 

We endured all the challenges in climbing Makiling because we wanted to see the scenic view of Los Baños from Peak 2. We were expecting to have our lunch overlooking the place we called home at some point in time. But the forever mysterious Maria Makiling did not gave us what we wished for. It's as if she was saying: "Oh, you overcame all the challenges I gave you. You surpassed your limitations and fend off those little blood-sucking assholes that are limatiks. Now, Let me reward you with this fogged up summit with no view or anything. Plus you get to eat your lunch with crawling limatiks around! Enjoy your reward!"

Peak 2, all fogged up. Visibility is limited. We were unsure at first if we really reached the summit, luckily these mountaineers who traversed from Batangas came minutes later and affirmed that we are indeed at Peak 2.

Same thing with people. You can never get what you want even you  gave your all and did not gave up. Face it, she/he just doesn't like you. Learn when to quit. And if, by any chance you are at the other side of the spectrum, be brave enough to tell that someone that it just won't work. Don't keep the poor kid hanging. This uncertainty of victory or defeat makes it all worth while. You can never enjoy a sure-win thing. Victory is best tasted if you worked hard for it, knowing that you could fail along the way. And, if you managed to get her/him, that'll make you appreciate your achievement even more.

If you are unlucky, it is perfectly okay to feel emoshit and all. But don't ever dwell on it long enough. Always remember that there are always lots of factors at play. Keep calm and move on. Just like what Ross Geller always say: "Well, you can't blame a man for trying."

People say that the best time to climb Makiling is during summer, lesser limatiks, more solid ground and that there will be a clear view at the summit. Maria Makiling just wants to tell one thing, TIMING IS EVERYTHING. 

#3. Truth is, everybody is going to hurt you; you just gotta find the ones worth suffering for.

Despite the fact that we were not able to see what we wanted to see at the summit, we still enjoyed the climb. Although honestly we felt a little disappointment. But you know, that's the beauty of it. A mountain's beauty is not necessarily at its summit. It is just the tip of the ice berg. Everything about Maria Makiling is great. We even had a chance to see a little clearing just below the clouds to see the town below during our descent.  You can say all the sweat, stress, fatigue and blood (in my case) was still worth it. 

You can see it in their faces. This was during the descent part, about 15 minutes from leaving the summit. 

I did not know I was bleeding until we reached Miko's place to freshen up. The leech bite was painless and it continued to bleed even after cleaning it with betadine and alcohol. 

After seeing my bloodied feet, I ain't even mad. Because it was all worth it. It was just a cheap price to pay in exchange of all the adventures we had at Mt. Makiling. Plus it was painless. Haha! It just looks kinda gross. 

In all undertakings, what is important is to be good in learning. There is no good teacher in life other than failure and hardships because that makes you stronger and it makes you appreciate little success. Remember, in playing video games, defeating a stronger, difficult opponent can give you even larger experience points compared to defeating weaker ones. 

I can not think of any better explanation to this statement. It explains everything in itself. I'll just leave it here.

"...Truth is, everybody is going to hurt you; you just gotta find the ones worth suffering for"