Jason

Its been more that a year since my last climb! I badly miss the natural high of being up on a mountain!

Its so funny that during every climb, I’d curse myself while going uphill!!! Climbing would have been so much easier if I didn’t always have that HUGE pack strapped on my back! The small guys and the girls are soooo lucky that they just end up with "jetpacks" (small bags!)

Back in highschool, I would have never imagined that I’d love the mountains. My passion for the outdoors came out thanks to a short hike up the mud springs of Mt. Makiling with my dormates when i was still studying in UPLB. I then joined the UP Badgers’ Club, a civic-outdoor org and with them I had my first real climb up on Mt. Makulot.

I will never forget that climb! The supposedly easy climb ended up to be one of my most eventful! We missed the usual trail up the campsite and we tried looking for another way. Me and my party almost had an accident which would have left us badly injured or worse… dead! Imagine that for my first climb?! Anyway, we backtracked to the right trail and the dark reached us before we could get to the campsite… A newbie climber going night trekking! san ka?!

That night, up on Makulot, when everyone was asleep in their tents… I immortalized that moment in my mind… I got out of my tent, I embraced the cold <REALLY COLD> night wind, with only a long sleeved shirt and a windbreaker to keep me somewhat warm. I looked around… the night lights of batangas city on one side and the few specks of lights on the other side which were most probably fishing boats on the calm waters. and the STARS!!! The stars are sooooo much brighter up high! It seemed to me that I could reach out and grab them… From that moment on… I knew what was my heaven… UP THERE!!!

The group I joined wasnt solely focused on mountaineering so we rarely had climbs. I went along with the UP Mountaineers on some of their climbs… I also tagged along Ayuk’s (Sir Ilana) outdoor rec class…

Now in Dasma, I’m itching to climb again! well, I got in touch with the mountaineering group there. Recruitment starts next week and I’m really considering it!

I always listen to the song "HIGHER" before a climb…

When dreaming I’m guided through another world
Time and time again
At sunrise I fight to stay asleep
‘Cause I don’t want to leave the comfort of this place
‘Cause there’s a hunger, a longing to escape
From the life I live when I’m awake

So let’s go there
Let’s make our escape
Come on, let’s go there
Let’s ask can we stay?
Can you take me higher?
To the place where blind men see
Can you take me higher?
To the place with golden streets

Although I would like the world to change
It helps me to appreciate
Those night and those dreams
But, my friend, I’d sacrifice all those nights
If I could make the Earth and my dreams the same
The only difference is
To let love replace all our hate

So let’s go there
Let’s make our escape
Come on, let’s go there
Let’s ask can we stay?
Can you take me higher?
To the place where blind men see
Can you take me higher?
To the place with golden streets

So let’s go there
And let’s go there
Come on, let’s go there
Let’s ask can we stay?

Up high, I feel like I’m alive for the very first time
So high, I’m strong enough to take these dreams
And make them mine

So high, I’m strong enough to take these dreams
And make them mine

Can you take me higher?
To the place where blind men see
Can you take me higher?
To the place with golden streets

Up high, I feel like I’m alive for the very first time
So high, I’m strong enough to take these dreams and make them mine…

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 15th, 2005 at 9:23 am and is filed under Weblogs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.