[HIKING] LAGUNA : Mt. Mabilog (428 MASL), my First summit

I was always been fascinated of how strong mountaineers are. Carrying a huge backpack, climbing a mountain for the first time, going into an unknown terrain, and not to mention, the weather could vary in a blink of an eye. These uncertainties should be faced and a lot of comforts of life must be set a side to experience one magnificent site, the summit that is...

Me and my friends are thinking of one destination for the weekend. My friend Apple suggested for a day hike to Mt. Mabilog. I never heard of such mountain before and I thought he was just kidding; to my surprise, there was!

Few days to research for the place, I found an article for Mt. Mabilog in PinoyMountaineer.com. This blog was a great help for not being surprised when get to the jump off point.

As a newbie in hiking, PinoyMountaineer.com also helped, in a way, to educate people on what to expect, the trail, difficulty, what to bring, and the essentials of mountaineering. Mt. Mabilog is a minor climb.

I brought with me extra clothes, hygiene kit, 3L of water and some trail food (chocolates, sandwiches, and nuts).

LOCATION
Mt. Mabilog is situated between San Pablo and Nagcarlan in the province of Laguna. I have been to Laguna for hot springs, delicious food, and the Buco Pie of course! Unknowingly this provinces had a lot mountains which hikers are going back for.

THE TRAIL
We took the Sta. Catalina (WEST) trail going to the summit and planning to traverse going to Lake Pandin. The challenge is to walk into a muddy trail... Minus the muddy trail it could be easy, I think.  :)
We passed through farm lands of locals and banana trees. There were misleading trails due to the foot steps of horses.
No boulders along the trail... There was one house in the summit. The family is planting sweet potatoes and other crops. The kid who is guiding the hikers even offered their harvest to hikers for an amount.
We got lost one instance and thanks to Google Maps, we were able to get the right path to the summit.

THE VIEW

Halfway there...

THE SUMMIT

waiting to take flight

alone

the lake...

making love

THE GROUP

Overall, it was fun! Hiking is a great way to exercise and be able to witness a  majestic view. It's not always that you get to be in a summit, right?!