2014 was the year I was supposed to graduate college but no, I didn't follow suit with the rest of my batchmates. I was a working student, working as a call center agent, and had a lot of failing marks on my grades. I cared less about the outcome of my educational endeavors while using every bit of my savings to go up the mountains.
This brought me back to a fun memory of a climb at Osmeña Peak. Osmena Peak is the highest point of Cebu island sitting at 1,013 m above sea level. Most tourists, climbers, and even locals have definitely visited this place at one point in their lives. It's a popular destination for everyone if you want a picturesque view of nature. Besides camping, one can also traverse from Osmeña Peak to Kawasan Falls which we just did with my friends.
Jump off Point to Osmeña Peak
We started our adventure at about 7:00 am. It was a 4-hour bus ride from Cebu City to Dalaguete, Cebu. Upon arriving, we agreed to have our lunch at a local eatery. After buying other supplies, we left the jump-off trail at 1:00 pm and started our trek. While some prefer to drive or ride a motorcycle to the nearest drop-off at Osmeña Peak, we opted to enjoy the scenic route.
Although relatively easy to reach, Osmeña Peak can be unforgiving in terms of heat. It was hot indeed but I'm just thankful that the sky was clear. I'd rather climb on a sunny hot day than a rainy one. We got some great views of the mountain ranges and green luscious vegetation surrounding us.
There were a few locals we came across while heading our way but one boy struck a chord in my bones. We walked alongside this guy and offered to carry two bottles from him. We parted our ways when we had to take another path. This path was now narrower and lead us to the middle of some cabbage farm then between some "hills" until it finally brought us to Osmeña's Peak camping grounds.
Camping at Osmeña Peak
We arrived at the campsite around 3:00 pm. We were sure that other climbers will be arriving soon so we had to mark our territory first. We immediately scouted for a good spot to pitch our tents. After doing so, we then were able to relax and enjoyed the remaining hours before nightfall basking in nature's beauty.
What was more memorable for this specific climb was seeing my cousins up in the mountains as well. They were with that school club which I quit. I knew they would be coming because they invited me beforehand to go with them but I declined. Good thing, my gang decided to climb on the same day and on the same mountain. So it was really good seeing them up there at the same time.
I went with my cousins to the peak and just submerged ourselves with the breathtaking view there. Here are some photos of me at the highest point of Cebu, Philippines:
I went back to my gang and waited for the skies to go dark. We had our dinner although there were no drinking sessions since our crazy friends Aldrin and Dale were not with us. And we were saving up our energy for the next day's traverse. Although we spent some 2-3 hours outside our tents for a good soulful talk with each other. It was damn cold up and when the cold wind was no longer bearable, we decided to call it a night.
Traversing from Osmeña Peak to Kawasan Falls
We woke up early that morning about 5:00 am. We quickly cooked and ate our breakfast and finished packing up asap. If I'm not mistaken, we were able to leave the campsite around 6:30 am. We had to be early because we need to reach the other side of Cebu as early as possible. We always don't know what other things might happen or the weather might just change all suddenly. So we bid goodbye to Osmeña Peak and started our 5-hour trek.
The wind was chilly and the fog was obstructing our view. Nonetheless, we still manage to follow a narrow trail. We came across huge pine trees which was a delight for me because we normally don't have this in our place. It felt like I was in another country. The traverse started out easy and the surrounding nature was comforting. We were passing through mountain ranges and we didn't see other hikers or locals in the first 2 hours.
We then managed to reach a water source where we filled our bottles. However, there were locals and children as well waiting in line to have their galloons of water to be filled. With this, we got curious and asked them about their situation. It turned out that this water supply system was the only source of clean drinking water for most of the locals up there in the mountains. Some of these kids came from other neighboring villages which would take them 1-2 hours to walk and another 1-2 hours to get back to their place. And this saddened my heart.
We left that spot with humble hearts and continued further down the path. The rest of the trail was "fun" passing through "hills", crop farms, and reaching a slope with the ground having loose rocks. We did manage to stop a couple of times to regain our spirit and energies.
After 6 hours, we reached Kawasan falls but I regret to inform you photo taking was no longer done because our phones and camera already ran out of batteries. But even my friends were no longer interested in taking photos of this famous waterfalls for we were already exhausted at this point and dying to go home.
We ended our climb with a sumptuous meal at a local eatery, manage to change into clean clothes, and rode the bus going back to the city which took us another 5 hours of travel. This was my first and last traverse in Osmeña peak and it was a memorable one.
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