Case 30: Mountain/Trek (14)
One girl came tumbling down the stony path, another slipped and dived unto the shallow stream, and yet another almost drowned. It seems girls were common casualties in the most exhausting but eventful field trip we ever had in high school.
To be honest, I was not even looking forward to this trip because we already went to Mt. Samat in Bataan in fifth grade (The real reason was I would be missing an episode of Evangelion). However, since this was supposed to be 'educational', we were tasked with a project for our Biology class. This means each group was bringing along with them several vials to collect samples (soil, plants, water)from the site. For some, this alone already sounded fun.
After climbing 200+ steps up the Mt. Samat cross (not counting the innumerable steps just to get to the base)and getting a nice view of the rest of Bataan, we went down and proceeded to Dunsulan Falls. This is when the interesting stuff happened. From our buses, we had to traverse a long winding path as the sun burned our napes. A couple of teachers were wise (and old) enough not to join us. The trek was anything but pleasant and all of us were wishing for a payoff. We were almost at the waterfalls when suddenly girl victim #1 rolled down the steep incline followed by her water jug. Though full of dirt, at least she ended the hellish trek more quickly.
At the Dunsulan Falls, a handful of my classmates decided to swim (This was preplanned, of course, as one of them even brought a beach ball) while others had their lunch. The water was not really inviting since it was green and probably full of algae. I just finished eating when we heard a cry. Girl victim #2 was sinking down and another girl swam towards her to help. Then we heard another cry. There were now two girls drowning. While the rest of us stared blankly and thought, "Huh," our Health teacher swiftly removed his shoes and dived for the save. It was advised later on not to swim with a full stomach, since it makes you more susceptible to cramps (I made up this one).
That incident could had prompted us to return to our buses and go home, but fortunately, we decided to stay adventurous. Some students found a rocky stream and were climbing up to its source. The younger teachers joined us, their curiousity simply too much to bear. Climbing up from one rock to another without getting wet was tricky (I did not bring extra clothes) and a bit perilous. The rocks were slippery and I had to cling on thorny vines. And you can see how girl # 3 met her demise. The trouble was well worth it, as we had discovered another falls (we called it the Secret Falls afterwards), its water much cleaner and clearer than Dunsulan Falls, until thirty students and a few teachers swam in it.
And yes, all of us did not do anything with our samples afterwards.
To be honest, I was not even looking forward to this trip because we already went to Mt. Samat in Bataan in fifth grade (The real reason was I would be missing an episode of Evangelion). However, since this was supposed to be 'educational', we were tasked with a project for our Biology class. This means each group was bringing along with them several vials to collect samples (soil, plants, water)from the site. For some, this alone already sounded fun.
After climbing 200+ steps up the Mt. Samat cross (not counting the innumerable steps just to get to the base)and getting a nice view of the rest of Bataan, we went down and proceeded to Dunsulan Falls. This is when the interesting stuff happened. From our buses, we had to traverse a long winding path as the sun burned our napes. A couple of teachers were wise (and old) enough not to join us. The trek was anything but pleasant and all of us were wishing for a payoff. We were almost at the waterfalls when suddenly girl victim #1 rolled down the steep incline followed by her water jug. Though full of dirt, at least she ended the hellish trek more quickly.
At the Dunsulan Falls, a handful of my classmates decided to swim (This was preplanned, of course, as one of them even brought a beach ball) while others had their lunch. The water was not really inviting since it was green and probably full of algae. I just finished eating when we heard a cry. Girl victim #2 was sinking down and another girl swam towards her to help. Then we heard another cry. There were now two girls drowning. While the rest of us stared blankly and thought, "Huh," our Health teacher swiftly removed his shoes and dived for the save. It was advised later on not to swim with a full stomach, since it makes you more susceptible to cramps (I made up this one).
That incident could had prompted us to return to our buses and go home, but fortunately, we decided to stay adventurous. Some students found a rocky stream and were climbing up to its source. The younger teachers joined us, their curiousity simply too much to bear. Climbing up from one rock to another without getting wet was tricky (I did not bring extra clothes) and a bit perilous. The rocks were slippery and I had to cling on thorny vines. And you can see how girl # 3 met her demise. The trouble was well worth it, as we had discovered another falls (we called it the Secret Falls afterwards), its water much cleaner and clearer than Dunsulan Falls, until thirty students and a few teachers swam in it.
And yes, all of us did not do anything with our samples afterwards.
dan_boa made you sneeze at 4:42 AM
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