Mount Balingkilat: the first peak of Cawag Hexa Climb
The Cawag Hexa Climb (or Hexalogy) is a challenging, multi-peak day hike in Subic, Zambales, Philippines, that traverses six mountains: Mount Balingkilat, Mount Bira-Bira, Mount Naulaw, Mout Dayungan, Mount Cinco Picos, and Mount Redondo, offering tough terrain, rocky ascents, and stunning coastal views, making it a difficult trek not for beginners.
I was one of the joiners in this climb and what attracted me to do this climb was its advert that for 6 mountains, it can be climbed for 14 hours, but actually we did it for more than 24 hours non-stop trekking. Indeed, not a day hike but rather a DIE HIKE.
While at the meet-up venue at Greenfield District Parking Lot
As early as 7:50 P.M., I was already at the Greenfield District Parking Lot in Ortigas Center waiting for 25 other joiners of the climb. We were booked by our organizer for 2 vans.
Left Greenfield District at 9:35 P.M.
We were supposed to leave at 9:00 P.M., but three joiners were late and they arrived at 9:32 P.M. since they came from their office work for an overtime.
Arrival at the jump-off point at 12:39 midnight
Without any sleep, where all of us joiners are working employees, we started our trek at 01:00 dawn our trek after registration and orientation at the jump-off point in Sitio San Martin, Brgy. Cawag, Subic, Zambales. As you can hear, the guide told us that the trek duration will be between 15-18 hours, as opposed to the Facebook advert of 14 hours.
The first river crossing at 1:24 dawn
The river where we crossed was too wide and has a very strong current and we had no choice but to cross without removing our trekking shoes. It was too dark then and the possibility of having a snake on the trail has not came into our minds. We were all in a hurry because the guide told us that the 15-18 hours is their pacing and not a regular trekking duration for climbers like us.
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