The trek to the waterfalls of Mt. Romelo proved to be challenging. Of course, the weather had something to do with it. It was rainy, almost stormy, when we took on the mountain and the falls surrounding it. The thickness of the mud was something that could not be overstated. Saying that Mt. Romelo has a notorious reputation for being muddy is accurate at the very least, not to mention that we had to stop from time to time to remove the leeches clinging to our feet. Yes, there was a lot.

A little past 12:00 noon, we reached Sampaloc Falls, the fourth and final falls in our Mt. Romelo list. It was a sight to behold, a worthy finale in our waterfalls chase.

We were visibly tired and hungry, but we cannot pass on the photo ops. When beholding a beauty such as Sampaloc Falls, all the exhaustion and hunger just fades away, albeit temporarily.

As Sampaloc Falls was the last falls in out itinerary, Ran decided to take a dip in the cold water. As for me, I went to the banks of the river, snugged with my backpack and took a nap. Nagising ako nang naramdaman kong nababasa ako. Turns out, Ran was waking me up by splashing water on me. That was the cue. It was time to go. That was around 12:30 in the afternoon.

Based on experience, the way back to the jump-off point is far quicker. Mt. Romelo proved me wrong. The continuous rain all throughout our ascent and our trek to the waterfalls drastically changed the path we would tread going back. The mud got thicker and wetter, so much so that there were certain spots where we sank to the mud up to our hips. There were times when leeches were all our feet, and the mud got so thick on my sandals I had to remove them, only to find out that I already got wounded by the sandal strap that abrasively rubbed between my toes so hard. What was supposed to be a short distance and a relatively easy trail took around four hours to take!

As treading upon the mud required undivided attention, we got no photo of those scenes, but we still managed to get some shots whenever the trail permits it.

It was already late in the afternoon when we caught a glimpse of the sun. It was either telling me to carry on as there is comfort after the suffering or it was plainly mocking me. I think it was mocking me.

On our way down, I chanced upon John, the one who was supposed to be our original guide. Seeing how seemingly wasted I was, he checked on. Sinabayan na n’ya kami pababa hanggang makarating kami ulit sa jump-off point.

We reached the jump-off point a little before 05:00 in the afternoon. Yes, after 13 hours of being wet in the rain, wading through rivers, treading on slippery puddles and struggling with mounds of mud, we finally made it back. We took a bath, changed clothes, then rested a bit. I also managed to take photos with John as remembrance.

If you would want to experience Mt. Romelo and chase its waterfalls for yourself, you may want to check our Renegade Directory for more details.

A little around 06:00 PM, Ran and I decided to hit the road. We just stopped by a roadside pasalubong shop and bought buko pie, one delicacy Laguna is known for. We tried to look for a place to eat, but probably due to exhaustion, we were way too undecisive so I just kept on driving until it was settled that we would just eat when we get back to the Metro.

We reached the Metro, but we were still not able to decide where to eat, let alone what to eat. I asked Ran though to swap with me, so from Quezon City to Malolos City, he was the one who drove. We still was not able to take dinner. Ran told me that when he stopped the car at one of the gasoline stations along NLEX, I was sleeping deeply and snoring loudly, he was not able to wake me up.

I have to give it to Mt. Romelo for almost breaking me, quite literally as I got injured. This one is an adventure worth remembering: a long journey that was a fitting way to end the first month of 2023, all the weekends of which, we spent in the mountains.