Monday, April 10, 2006

Mt. Napulak

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This past weekend was one of the most fun and enjoyable weekends I have had in a long time. Through meeting various people in the city, I was connected with the Iloilo Mountaineers. They were doing a fun climb to Mt. Napulak, which is located in the Provence north of Iloilo Provence. The thing about Mt. Napulak is that ever since my first visit to Miag-ao, I saw this mountain in the distance, it is very distinctive. It is the tallest in the area and has, what appears to be, a giant boulder at the top. So after be given the opportunity to spend a few days hiking and camping over the weekend, I of course accepted. I realize as I am writing this that I have failed to take a picture of the mountain from its base. I will try to get a picture up soon so all can see it. These pictures are all taken from the summit.

Now I don't want any of you did get any mis-conceptions. By now means was this a difficult climb, or technical in anyway. Just a lot of fun. A few spots along the way could have been considered a bit "hairy." As long as you kept your concentration and didn't fall off a path you were fine. It took a little under 7 hours for myself to get to the top with the first group of people. Other people took quite a few hours longer. The decent was much faster, for obvious reasons and we took a different route down. We did it in 3 hours.

It was great to be able to see islands off in the distance that I never could see from my beach. I could see 3 or the 4 major coasts of Panay island which was very interesting as well. When we arrived in the afternoon clouds were steadily rolling through, and visibility was fairly limited. However I woke up rather early, climbed to the top of the "Boulder" at the peak (which is much more like a huge rock formation once you are at its base, about 30-40 meters high and the same in width, great fun to boulder on) and watched the sun rise over Panay's neighboring island of Gimaras. It was stunning.
Below: Me, posing for all of you

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Below: Dusk at the top of Napulak

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Above: The left side of the picture, on the coast, is roughly where my house and beach are located

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Above: Our campsite
Below: The ridge we hiked to reach the top

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Above: Me posing one more time for all of you
Below: The "Boulder" at the top of Mt. Napulak. From my understanding the cross is a very recent, and not very visually aesthetic, addition to this gorgeous piece of nature.

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2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey bucko,
How those pictures are absolutly amazing! It looks so gorgeous like a dream. That is so cool that you got to see all that close up it must have been breath taking. Just looking at the pictures makes me step back and absorb it all, i can't imagine being there in its full beauty. Your photography is getting really good :) I am really excited to come out and see you. I can't wait i want to see and do everything :) Hope all is well and keep having fun, working and exploring
love
your lttl sis
trish

11:44 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Lloyd,

Thank you for sharing your hike with all of us. The photos are magnificent. I can't wait for you to go on your next adventure.

bw

12:57 AM  

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