I Was Once A Mountaineer

Take nothing but pictures

Kill nothing but time

Leave nothing but footprints

I'm not the athletic type but I love adventure. The days that I took the challenge to trek and hike mountains are the days that I will always treasure.

When I was a freshman in the University of Santo Tomas I got interested in joining the UST Mountaineering Club (USTMC). What started to be an out-of-curiosity activity ended up to be an involvement and dedication to become a full-pledge mountaineer. It was not that easy. You have to train, attend courses, develop new skills and do a lot of running which I never thought I could ever do.

Many people asked me what do I get out of it. It's dangerous, You get tired, push yourself to the limits, get scratched and bruised, and what do you get once you reach the summit??? SENSE OF FULFILLMENT! This is when I was able to test my patience and found out that I have lots of it. It is when I found myself, that I CAN BE WHO I AM. The best part of being a mountaineer is being with real people. No matter how hard you try to pretend to be a different person than who you really are, the real "YOU" will come out as soon as the first climb.

I may not have stayed long with the club (not because I did not want to climb anymore of course) but it made a very important mark in my life. I may have been once a mountaineer physically but I will be forever a mountaineer by heart.