Before leaving Palawan a month
ago, Pinoy Mountaineer himself, Dr. Gideon Lasco challenged us to climb 3
mountains in one month. Before we start with the first mountain, we already
climbed up Mt. Magarwak, an easy hike and a good training ground before hiking
up higher mountains.With me are my schoolmates, now
my newly proclaimed hiking buddies, Jasper Arcinas, Julius De Vera and Brad Baguyo, all students
from Palawan State University. This was not an easy challenge for us, all of us are new to hiking except for Julius who already climbed up 2 mountains.
1st Mountain: Mt. Bloomfield
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| Eagles Ridge, Mt. Bloomfield |
To
start, we decided to climb Mt. Bloomfield located in Sitio Sabang, Puerto
Princesa City. You will be entering rocky forests and will go through steep slippery trails to reach eagle’s ridge, a part of the mountain where you can see the captivating view of sabang beach. This is the mountains perfect spot to take great photos. You will have to climb for another 20-30 minutes to reach the summit.
2nd Mountain: Mt. Beaufort
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| Mt. Beaufort Summit with Puerto Princesa City as the background |
Mount
Beaufort, a mountain standing at the heart of Palawan. The 1143 Meters above Sea Level Mountain is
just one multicab ride away from City Proper. The summit is a perfect spot to
see the entire city of Puerto Princesa.
3rd Mountain: Mt. Bahile
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| View atop Mt. Bahile |
The
hike was very challenging because thorny rattan and wild pandan plants are everywhere. You should also beware of
wasps, their bites aren't deadly but leaves marks.
Bahile ends our 3-mountain challenge and is a good hike to
start the year! But our hikes doesn't end here, yes, we are just getting started!
