Mt. Pico de Loro and Cavite 10/10-11/2012

Overnight Solo Cross Country Cycling and Trekking

I woke up late and only started pedaling at around eleven in the morning. I did not expect to spend seven grueling hours biking from Canlubang to the jump-off of Mt. Pico de Loro via Tagaytay. I knew Bisikletang Tagalog would take me long going across Casile, Tagaytay, Mendez, Indang, Naic, Maragondon and Ternate but it was more than what I anticipated. I reached the jump-off at sundown.

 

Trekking on foot to hit the summit took me three hours which was also longer than expected. The delay was due to the difficulty of looking for the right track in the dark. Besides, the exhaustion due to long distance biking slowed me down on trail. Six mountaineers were surprised by my sudden appearance. I was surprised by the sudden concentration of blinding lights coming from their headlamps. I left the young adventurers in the bushes. They might have been puzzled on whether I was human or something else.

I reached the summit at around 9:00 P.M. It was windy and drizzling when I reached the top. Aside from the flicker of lights in the surrounding hills and seashore below,  I saw nothing but silhouettes of plants, peaks and the sea. I reached the rock formation called Parrot's Beak. I tried climbing a rock face but failed due to darkness and moist slippery outcrop. (Earlier, I wrote in this blog that I didn't find Parrot's Beak. Later, however, after examining maps and mountaineer photos, I became convinced that I was able to find the rock formation.) Despite the darkness, it felt so good reaching the summit while savoring the wind, light rain and cold temperature.

From the summit, I returned to jump-off at twelve midnight. I had to trick the dogs that were guarding the DENR outpost by giving them biscuits before I could have the bike. I started pedaling at one in the morning to head home. The dogs of Ternate and Naic viciously attempted to take me down all the way through the road. One pack even made a military-like tactical formation while running after me. One hand on the handle bar and one hand with stick and stones to drive away the dogs.

Cavite and Mt. Pico de Loro were worth the time, energy and pain. The sad part of the story, however, was that I did not beat the schedule of getting home before midnight. Spending the night in the mountain and biking very early in the morning were never part of the plan. I missed doing the early morning chores and rituals with Imee, Jimel and Jong.