Few more minutes and we were able to reach a flat ground for the first time in hours – the first of the three Mt. Malipunyo peaks. Right there, realization
struck me – I have been there before (and I didn't like the ending). Which means that the failed Mt. Malipunyo climb last
year wasn’t really a failure after all since I’ve actually been to one of its
peaks. To add, we actually almost reached Peak 2 too. And
it would only take only a little less than an hour before the reaching Peak 3.
Only if storm did not throw its wrath on us that day, we could have fully
conquered Mt. Malipunyo at the first attempt. Meanwhile, we took a substantial
amount of time to rest and energize for the mean time.
I was
a sweeper during the climb but later decided to join the lead after reaching
the first peak to contain the excitement. As we continued with the clamber, the air started to get cooler and the
mountain’s diverse flora and fauna get even richer. I have seen at least eight
different orchid types and other rarely seen plant species strategically thriving along the
trails. The mountain also offered a wide range of diversity: mossy, grassy, thorny, and even spiraly trails.
The enthralling view started to present themselves as we go further which includes silhouettes of Mt. Banahaw, Mt. Cristobal, Talim Island, the Laguna Lake, and the rest of Laguna and Batangas cityscapes. We were further engrossed with an alternating course of ascents and descents towards the peak. The
pacing on the lead was perfect leaving me gasping at some point but ironically was satisfactory overall. There were lots of short stops here and there to
take some good breath and refill our canteens before the final assault bleakly came, along with the promise that sooner or later, we would find our feet finally unable
to go any higher at the end of that steep trail.
Finally, we reached Mt. Malipunyo’s third summit. We shortly took a moment to
appreciate another scenic view of the nearby towns and other mountains atop before delightedly feasted for lunch. Byt then the inevitable came; clouds started to condense then wept hardly upon us even before we’re done eating. We waited for
the 30-minute torrential downpour to cease before deciding to tarry down. It took us another four
hours of long walks, unseen tumbles, hard slides, totaling to a slight jeopardy on those wet and slippery trails, before calling it all
a day of yet another successful climb.
