Surprisingly, everyone was wide awake and prepared at 1:30 AM – one proof how everybody badly wanted to witness the sunrise at the summit. After making sure that everyone was equipped with their own headlamps or flashlights, we started our “Super Early Trek” to the summit.

Warning: the trek to the summit is 99.99% ASSAULT. One should be on 4×4 (trekking while on both hands and feet).

Of course, we did not have a lot of pictures during this dangerous trek. Full concentration and a lot of team work were strongly needed since the elevation of the trail was abrupt and consistently steep. It was totally a different experience wherein a good strategy on when and where to step plus which branches or root to hold were the secrets; attention to falling rocks was also a must!

The trek from Papaya River campsite to the summit took us around 3 hours and 15 minutes. It was a tedious and challenging climb that we were all nervous of our own safety for every step and assault we made.

It was too tiring to the nth level but immediately when we reached the summit, we were all speechless — it’s all worth it.

We were all left in awe. It was soooo rewarding.