TC1 - Mt. Atimla-Lamot.. Nagcarlan, Laguna 7/15-16

this is it.. Mt. Atimla-Lamot our first training climb,, it proved tobe far too easy for the members but was received with mixed feelings by the trainees...

there were some who found it difficult and tiring.. others blazed thru the trail as if they have been doing it their whole lives..

it was supposed to be "Nature Appreciation" but most of the time, the trainees were preoccupied on how not to fall, skid and slide along the narrow, muddy and oftentimes debris-ridden trail...

there were about 90 climbers all in all... and the trail was thoroughly trodden with some of the vegetation destroyed (due to grappling and scrambling by most of us trainees!)

fortunately this flower was not destroyed... i saw this one right after the third kubo after our lunch break... this flower is of the Amorphophallus variety..literally meaning "deformed penis" figure it out!! but this plant not only has a bad name, it also has a bad smell.. like a corpse or a dead rat.. apparently it is used to attract a certain type of flies that pollinate it..

and so after 6 hours of trekking we finally made it to the top... some just threw their backpack and went right off to rest.. while others like me took the time and effort to get photos.. pops cecil and i went around different campsites to take pictures

so here we were on top of Mt. Atimla-Lamot.. nets, mike, me, aries, susan, leo,pie and pops cecil! we had a few minutes to spare before getting back to camp and so we took photos and appreciated the view before us.. a 360 degree vista overlooking Mt. Banahaw, M. Cristobal, Mt. Makiling and Mt. Malipunyo...

pie took this photo of me.. on a ridge with breathtaking view.. always always when i climb, everything turns spiritual once i reach the summit.. this is God's creation at its finest.. i am just a speck...yet He made all this beauty so that a speck like me can sit on top and gather strength out of its purity...

looking forward to TC2!!!!