Of mountaineering, the worst night of my life and how it was all worth it (Mt. Pulag, Ambangeg-Ambangeg Trail, Part 1 of 3)

Why do people climb mountains?

I Google-d this question as I did my usual pre-work before writing down anything in this little web space of mine. I eventually got led to this Yahoo! Answers page where this response stood out:

I always think that people who do these things are trying to compensate for something they are lacking elseswhere (sic) in their lives.

At first I was like “Nega much?!?”, but then I thought, “Hmmm… Could this person have a point?”. Do I climb mountains to fill a void? In the first place, do I have a void so big, I need a mountain to fill it? Or am I just reading too much into a troll comment? Hehehe…

Anyway, I decided not to go the emo route (at least not yet) and just relished the fact that I have finally climbed one of the mountains I’ve been eyeing for a long time now: Mt. Pulag. The highest peak of Luzon, and the third tallest mountain of the Philippines, this achievement is something I don’t take lightly. *pats self on the back*

The next two posts will be a recollection of this personal feat where I share reflections on my journey (yep, here goes the emo part) and, similar to what I did for the Pinatubo post, a Q&A write-up (whichever of the two I finish first ). I think more than anything else, I’m excited to post the (admittedly amateur-ish) pictures. Ima make you guys jealous… Haha! I kid, I kid.

Let's try. How does this make you feel?

Oh! Going back to the question, well, I still haven’t succeeded nailing my thoughts on it down but I think my good friend Ish‘s answer comes pretty close to what I have in mind:

I’ve always thought it was because I can, but having more time to think about it, it’s more like because I need to believe that I can. I need to know that amidst all the chaos,  I still have a full grasp on what’s truly beautiful. 

I climb because I need to be reminded of how small I really am, because sometimes I forget.

Amen to that.