Less than a week from Hazel's first trekking experience in Mt. Agad-Agad, I finally decided to trek and dragged Hazel along even if she already told me that she doesn't want to trek there again. But, due to Caryl's consistent and persistent demand, she said yes and asked her colleague who has a habit to trek Mt. Agad-Agad every weekend to come along with us.

Mt. Agad-Agad has an estimated height of 1,600 feet above sea level and is situated in Barangay Puga-an, Iligan City, Lanao del Norte. It is quite known to every mountain hikers and other adventurers since it is accessible and good for an overnight camping.

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GETTING THERE

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From the city proper, you can ride a jeepney with a signboard, Puga-an. But I recommend riding a motorcycle for a more convenient and faster way of getting there. In our case, Hazel's colleague brought his car with him and parked it in Barangay Puga-an Task Force Kalikasan sub-office.

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WHAT TO BRING

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Since it's my first time to trek a mountain as high as Mount Agad-agad plus I have asthma, my nurse friend, Hazel, told me to leave my things behind except for the towel, extra shirt, water, and food. I also brought along my phone and the power bankfor documentation purposes. As much as possible, we wanted to keep our bags lighter.

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TREKKING STARTS NOW

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The plan was to start hiking by 6:00 AM, however, due to some circumstances, we were able to start around 6:45 AM. Before reaching the foot of the mountain, we crossed the barangay hanging bridge which literally made my world spinning like crazy.

After we passed the neighborhood, it was time to choose a path. There were two paths to choose but Hazel's colleague decided to choose the path he usually takes. The other pathway is not recommended for a first-timer, said by him, although it is said to be the shortcut yet it is difficult and the scenery is not as good as the one he suggested. Also, it was raining on the night before we had our trekking so the path was definitely slippery with not enough branches, leaves or twigs to hold onto.

My sweat glands started working after five minutes of walking and then doubled its gear power for the next ten minutes. After a nonstop 15-minute walk, I decided to make a short stop because I'm out of air already. Then, the nurses suggested that I should walk backward to make it easier and to slowly calm my lungs. Hazel and my sister @goiinmary walked at the same pace as mine.

Another neighborhood was sighted and it amazed me that they need to trek every day just to go to school and/or go to work. At the end of the neighborhood, there's a small hut with a log book in it. All climbers and adventurers should jot their names down. We decided to take a 10-minute rest and then started climbing again. After the 10-minute break, the extensive trekking was already starting since the path became steeper and narrower. There were times that we need to crawl, grab some twigs or branches just to climb safely. Some of the paths are at 60 to 80 degrees.

I still have a muscle pain in my legs because Hazel and I had a leg day session at the gym 2 days before our trekking. Our coach knew it so she decided to make an all out of our legs as a preparation for the trekking session. But, the sound of nature and the cool and fresh air I inhaled was very relaxing, I must say, which soothed my sore legs and tired lungs. Along the way, I heard the sound of falling water and minutes later, I saw a mini waterfall. We couldn't go down to see it clearly because of the different pathway but I was able to see it in a bird's eye view. The water is crystal clear though it's not good enough for a big splash and dip since the water level is super low.

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REACHING THE PEAK

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Hazel told me that her first trekking in Mount Agad-Agad took only an hour and thirty minutes, however, since I always made a short break, we ended up reaching the peak for two hours. It was really worth the trembling of my knees and about-to-explode lungs. We can see the partial view of Iligan City. The cool breeze was really refreshing to my skin and to my respiratory system.

The two cats greeted us warmly. There's a small hut where you can stay there, sit and lay down. There's also a house where the caretaker lives. A group of trekkers was already in the area eating. On the lower part, a tent stood still with trekkers on it. They planned to spend their night in Mount Agad-Agad. Few minutes passed, groups of trekkers started to arrive one at a time. Even though it became crowded as time passed by, the place was still spacious in my eyes. You can even have a picnic session below or sit on the long benches or have fun sitting on the three hammocks made of wheel tires. A group of trekkers even stayed at the caretaker's balcony and had a good chit-chat with him.

We decided to sit and have a rest on a long bench under the big tree. We unpacked our foods and asked the caretaker if he offers a hot drink. He then replied that he has a chocolate drink and a coffee. We waited for our hot drinks while we were having a good conversation. The cool and refreshing vibe at the peak made our stay a little bit longer, about 2 hours, then we roamed around the area and took pictures as a remembrance of my first trekking experience.

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GOING DOWN

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Compared to climbing the peak, going down from the peak to the feet was easier. We started to go down at 10:30 AM and the sun was at its peak already. With that, Hazel's colleague decided to take the route with a little bit of sunshine. The route we took had an aura of a forbidden forest and the passageway was much steeper than the other one. It was also slippery since the rays of the sun cannot easily penetrate to the large trees and thick leaves and bushes. Still, the sounds of nature sound like a symphony to my ears plus the gloomy but not creepy aura made this path a bit more relaxing and refreshing to me. The trekking on this part was continuous thus, it took us an hour only to reach the bottom.

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WHAT I DON'T LIKE

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The Comfort Room and the Dressing Room. I'm a very picky person when it comes to a comfort room. Cleaning thoroughly the comfort room with decent walls and doors should be imposed and done immediately. Every day there's group/s of trekkers who keep on climbing Mount Agad-Agad especially on weekends, so I think the management should take an action on this. Easier said than done, but I somehow understand the reason behind this, it is located at the peak of the mountain where there is no supply of water. But sooner or later, I hope they will have a solution for this.

Nevertheless, I will still climb again to Mount Agad-Agad and I will definitely bring along my book so I can read it while sitting on one of the hammocks.

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Here are some of the pictures I took in my Mount Agad-Agad Adventure:

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Eating while walking

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Muddy Pathway

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After having a 10-minute break in a small hut

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The small hut with some little reminders

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The long bench under the tree

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The welcoming felines

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The hammock

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The caretaker's house

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