Mt. Baloy-Daku: Our hiking highs and river dipping delights

"The journey is the reward."

Hello, Hive!

As cliché as this Steve Jobs quote may be, this simple statement rings true to all my hikes. The journey is, truly, the reward for me. Most of my fondest memories happen along the trail — the joy of seeing nature’s beauty unfold with our every step, the changing sceneries, the new discoveries, the stories shared. Even those moments of exasperation and the minor accidents bring a spiral of laughter looking back. It’s this tapestry of experience that add value to our hike.

For today’s blog, I’m sharing with you the Day 2 highlights of Mt. Baloy-Daku climb. From the grueling 16-kilometer river trekking, let’s head on to the scenic trail going to our campsite.

The journey to the campsite and the beauty of Baloy-gamay

The advantage of having a homestay during the climb, aside from reducing the hassle of pitching tents, is the free bath. Nothing beats hiking on a freshly cleaned body for me. It’s like a restart — prepping ourselves for another adventure.

After taking turns in the shower (technically, it’s just a plastic dipper and a drum filled with cold, free-flowing water), we headed back to the trail. It was already 5:12 AM when started the hike so we were able to see the sky changed colors as the sun slowly rose.

By 6 AM, Baloy-Gamay was in full view.

Baloy-Gamay is a smaller mountain adjoined to Mt. Baloy-Daku. Hence, its name. Those traversing from San Agustin Trail to Busog Trail will get a chance to see Antique’s vast panorama from its peak.

As for my friends and I, we only got to see Baloy-Gamay from afar. But we still enjoyed the scenic view and took our time taking photos.

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After feasting with our eyes, we resumed the hike over the gentle, rolling hills. There were sections where we had to climb over wooden fences that serve to confine the grazing cows within the area.

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As we went deeper into the forest, the trail started to shift. From the leaf-strewn path, the trail became more rugged. On some sections, we had to use the protruding roots as foothold, while on some parts, we had to navigate through uneven stones.

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Along the way, one of our guides spotted a young jackfruit which he quickly harvested for our dinner later.

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By 9:42 AM, we finally arrived at the campsite. The hike was supposed to take a total of six hours but we shortened it to four and a half. Nice!

Campsite chill: River dipping and sleeping, gossips in between

The campsite was only a few steps from the river. And since we had a lot of times on hour hand, we decided to take a dip in the waters.

Unfortunately, the water level this time was only knee high. There were some spots where it reached the waist but one had to climb over huge boulders to get to the other side.

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We chose to just stay closer to the bank since our priority was to rest our tired muscles. It felt nice to be finally out of pressure. To be one again with nature. The gentle rush of water gliding over our skin washed away the day’s fatigue. Here, amidst the river, time slowed and our worldly worries faded — even if only for a moment.

After our quick swim, we went back to the campsite and chitchatted as the guides prepared our lunch.

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There was also a light rain during the afternoon which forced us back to our tents — perhaps, nature’s way of telling us to rest and take a well-deserved sleep. Of course, as an auntie, I happily acquiesced.

By the time I woke up, the campsite was filled with lively voices from outside. It turned out my friends have long awakened and were busy joking around and gossiping. I decided to savor the moment in my tent while listening to their topics which went from serious concerns to playful antics.

When their voices became softer and softer, that’s when I knew the gossip was getting juicier. I just had to get out. Here are the faces of those gossipmongers. HAHA!

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The rest of the afternoon went by quickly. We capped the night early, fully recharged and excited to take on the main agenda of this climb: THE SUMMIT. Will we succeed? 😉

_{Maria is a hopeless romantic who travels in pages and places. She is an INFP who loves sunrises and moonlight nights and reading books in between. On weekdays, she works for a self-publishing company as a copywriter. On weekends, she lives her life as a poet or hiker. She hopes to share her love for words and the world with you here on HIVE.}

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