Experiencing Mt. Apo...again...

"Take nothing but pictures. Leave nothing but footprints. Kill nothing but time. Bring nothing but memories." Reminds me of Nothing But by John Kay. See full lyrics here.

For many years, conquering Mt. Apo is a dream that became a reality. It's not my first but I feel that it would take a long time for me to be able to do it again. I would actually appreciate it if we went hiking not on a HOly Week but since it's the only long vacation we can have, there is no other choice. Some of the group had planned to go up Mt. Apo on the last week of December '06 but of the originally 7 or so persons who wanted to join, one by one begged off until only 3 of them made it.

April 4, Holy Wednesday

Straight from the office, I immediately proceeded to the meeting place to help out with the final preparations before leaving. We left for Bansalan, our starting point early evening of wednesday, April 3. We slept at a friend's house where he proudly showed us his newly built "kubo". Visitors are welcome to stay there. His is a nice place. Away from the city, the cicadas and other creatures of the night lull you to sleep. His mom and sis were beyond accomodating, they treated us like we were a long lost family. My hiking companions had the luxury of using their kitchen and kitchen implements to their liking. After dinner, the guys had their usual conversations over drinks while some of the women amused themselves by watching whatever was on CD. I on the other hand, too tired to mingle with the rest of the group slept on one of the hammocks.

April 5, Holy Thursday

Early morning of Holy Thursday, about 5 am, we said goodbye to the family and rode the truck bound for the jump off site. It was a long bumpy and dusty ride but I didn't mind because my mind was focused on the scenery, the few houses we passed by, the vegetable farms, etc. At the jump off site, we stretched our muscles some more and prayed for strength, guidance, and safety before the ascent. The group was informally divided into, the Lead Pack, those in the middle and the Sweepers. The Lead Pack means exactly what it says and they are the fastest hikers among the group, the Sweepers on the other hand are those who ensure that all of the persons in the group are accounted for and that no group member has been left behind. Personally, I like being one of the Sweepers. When you lack the necessary preparations (read: exercise) for a major climb such as that, you'd first feel the effects on your lungs and heart. The first 15 minutes of exertion were like hell. We were panting and breathing so hard some of us felt dizzy and our hearts felt like it wanted to come out of our chest cavity. However, once you've started picking momentum you'd not want to stop anymore because excitement kicks in.

The first pitstop was at a place called 'Kapilya' or Chapel. It was a small chapel at the foot of Mt. Apo. We rested, some took pictures and/or videos. The second pitstop was at this house where we replenished our energy by eating our morning merienda. Now here comes the part of this trail that I dread the most, to go down into a brook to go up again to see the sun. Mind you it's not an easy feat. This particular trail is narrow, muddy, has loose and sometimes wet soil and few handholds. Hehehe it was a challenge really, I was told very few climbers know of that trail. Hmmm...

We reached the place called Paradise before noon. As we were eating our lunch, the group went into discussing what to do next. The original plan was to go on with the hike after lunch and set up camp at Goddy Goddy but someone from the group got a feedback that water was scarse as it had not rained for days at Mt. Apo. Somebody suggested that we set up camp in Paradise, as water is plenty so we could cook for our packed lunch for the next day's ascent at the boulders. He said that we'd just have to wake up at 3 am to prepare and leave before the sun rises. Hah! Since there were plenty of time to kill, the men had again their usual small talk, big talk over drinks. Those who opted not to drink hudled nearby listening, some of the women joined in on the men's conversation while your's truly went sleeping on a nearby hut. Well actually, it was only 3 pm but every time the wind blew, I felt so cold I couldn't sleep. I sat up instead under the heat of the sun and thought and thought and thought some more. The drama was, Introspection. Lesson: Don't cheat on exercise.

Early evening, after dinner most of the women stayed in their tents while the men were having their drinks. I thought, "If this keeps on 'til 10 pm, I doubt if they'd be able to wake up at 3am..." and "Oh boy, no wonder they have gigantic back packs!" I slept amidst their loud voices.

April 6, Good Friday

I woke up at 2 am to the voices of Taba and Jen talking at 3 am right on the dot, they tried to rouse Butet, Tonio, and Ben - the ones who suggested we leave early for the boulders - by threating to spill naturally cold water on them if they'd not wake up. To which both Tonio and Ben replied, "Oo gising na kami!" Butet was too drunk last night so that he woke up a little later. Last night's drinking spree made us leave Paradise at 7 am but not before we had fun taking pictures of the sun rising.

After getting our water containers filled, we then left for Goody Goody where we will be eating our lunch. Another Batang obstacle course follows added by an ascent where the only handholds are the roots of trees. This is the part of the trek we call, "Kumustahan sa Ugat" and this is one of my favorite parts of the long hike. Around 12.30 am, we reached Goody Goody a small clearing in the forest where mountaineers to just rest awhile, eat dinner, or camp depending on the time of day.

After a brief resting period, we again set forth to the boulders. The trail is narrow and you'd have to pause, take a spot to the sides if you happen to pass by hikers going the opposite direction that is, going down the mountain. You'd know that you are almost at the boulders when, the path becomes narrower, the berry plants (or trees) become abundant and since you're going up, on the left side is a chasm and across is another mountain face. Ascending the boulders is another favorite part of the journey. It's extreme rock climbing. All you can see infront, behind, to your sides are rocks! I like this part because granted that you know where you are going, it's not necessary that you follow the trail signs. You can have it your way, you could go up the hard way or the easy way. Here, I found myself really plotting the course I was taking. I have to make sure that the rocks I was stepping on would not sway under my weight, and I also have to be sure of my footing, a misstep and my foot or feet would be stuck in the spaces in between the rocks. The sulfur deposits are located at the boulders trail just on the other side of the mountain face when the wind blows, you'd take in the unpleasant smell, the part of the trek I don't like. Another nice thing when you're at the boulders is the view, absolutely wonderful. The higher you are, the more you're going to see the surrounding mountains and plains. The other climbers below would look like ants falling in line as they are scaling the rocks. When it gets too hot you just have to spot the biggest rock and seek shelter. While resting, you can harvest some of the wild berries that grow on the rocks. Of course you must rinse them first before eating to remove the sulfur dust coating the berries. Lesson: Swimming against the tide can lead you to success too.

There were three sweepers, me, DA and BA. BA and and I were always ahead of DA because his speed was hampered by the size and weight of his bag. BA and I amused ourselves by using a slightly difficult trail from time to time. Since I'm not a first timer, I was able to enjoy the whole rock climbing experience contrary to the group of men we were able to overtake. One of the guys asked me to which group I belonged and I said, "Wala trip trip lang." Actually I was just a guest of BA's group. He is a rescuer from a well-known group in my city and also a member of a mountaineering team. I never had never undergone any basic mountaineering course (not recommended under normal conditions) but I was confident that I was in good hands, very good hands indeed. Going back to the group of guys we overtook, when it became apparent to BA that they were following the trail we were taking, he pointed to an easier route for beginners but the guys did not heed their advise and ended up complaining, "Hah, ang hirap ng daan dito!" Lesson: Take it from the expert.

After ascending the boulders, you will come to a small clearing leading to a trail called The 87. As usual, the handholds are either roots, stones, or shrubs also a part of this trail is composed of loose rock and soil. Oh, and it's called 87 because of the 87 degree angle of the trail itself here you have to be extra extra careful. Took me an hour or so to finally reach another small learing where the trail will be divided into routes that go up the peak, that leads to the camp site near the peak and the other, down to the mother crater. Last year at the boulders up to The 87 I had a friend carry my backpack for me. This year since he was not able to come with us, so I had to force myself to endure that part of the trek. It was all for good because I learned that having a weight on your back is actually good for achieving balance. I guess that is also true with life. You have to have weight otherwise everything would become so boring. When we reached the peak campsite, I suddenly felt very queasy and nauseous, tsk tsk, a sure sign of altitude sickness. Yaiks! I gave my friend a heck of a time tending to my needs. Hehehe feels good to be cared for yah know. I just slept everything off after of course errr vomiting errr what I ate that day. Lesson: You'll never know until you've tried.

April 7, Black Saturday

Around 1 am I woke up with the desire to take a leak. I got out of the tent armed with my cute and I mean cute flashlight and wadda you know, I saw the most beautiful night sky I've ever seen. It wasn't foggy so I really didn't need my flashlight with me, the moon was my illumination. I never saw that many stars up there, they seemed like glittering dust covering the night sky. When you live in the city you don't see that much stars because of the things that block them from view, the city lights among other things. It would have been romantic having someone to gaze up the sky with you. Yeah right! I could hear Harry telling me, "You wish!" Hehehe.. I was cold, so I went back to sleep. At 5am people were shouting and answering each other things like: "Ice cream, ice cream kayo dyan!!" To which someone replied, "Magkanong kilo?" Another guy shouted, "Balut, penoy!" Still another shouted, "Manga! Manga!" They were like vendors, it was funny but err unappropriate. I believe that the silence of the mountain has to be respected and sleeping persons should be respected too.

At around 6am, we paid one of the peaks a visit. Ahhh I tell you, the view was very gorgeous! Pictures aren't actually enough to capture everything. Back at camp, there was a group of climbers who set up rapeling equipment on one of the rock faces. I had fun looking at the persons who one by one rapeled down the rock face. The most fascinating guy however was someone they called Pastor because he was wearing a coat and tie. Now whatever made him wear that beats me. When it was his turn to rapel somebody shouted at him, "Uy si James Bond!" Because his gloves were yellow as opposed to his black coat, white polo and black tie, someone from the crowd quipped, "Hoy hindi bagay ang gloves mo sa soot mo!" There were daring women who rapeled too some were even first timers. Heck I wanted to try it as well but I stopped myself because I didn't want to look foolish to my friends. You see I know that those things are easier said than done so why risk it?

After having our water containers refilled, we went to the famous Lake Venado where we will have our last night. For many of my companions, going up the mountain is a very laborious task. For me its the other way around. I hate the trek going down. This is the time when my leg muscles would be bearing the most strain. Oh someone's knees locked on the way down. If you run going down, the less impact there will be on the leg muscles therefore less cramping. I don't run because I'm afraid that one misstep would send me rolling down or would twist my ankles etc etc. Better safe than sorry. On the way down we came upon a group of guys resting. We saw they had a fullsized Philippine flag with them. AS asked them why they have such and they said, "Philippine team to!" They must have been refering to sports but with the way they looked they didn't seem like they belonged to any Philippine team whatsover. What made us really pissed of at that group was the fact that the flag touched what it wasn't supposed to, the ground. AS told them to handle the flag taking care not to let it touch the ground but I don't know if the group listened to us because to avoid flare ups we continued on our way.

Black Saturday it was indeed. Two days ago, around 5 pm as the reports would have it someone from another mountaineering group drowned while swimming at the lake. His body never floated and his remains weren't retrieved until Sunday afternoon. He was the talk of the whole Venado area I guess. The guys started with their drinking session again. They talked of what they could do for Ian the guy who drowned. They thought of offering a prayer to him. Datu made a small raft with a cross and a candle on top of it. On the cross was taped a message they made me compose. It was decided that the raft will be made to float after a short prayer at 6 in the evening. While waiting for the time, the boys resumed their idle talk over drinks. (Hi Lib...) I don't drink and I got bored so I went around the Venado area looking at the place, taking mental notes of what I saw, taking some shots and looking for familiar faces. Alas! There were no familiar faces. Later, I learned that I wasn't the only one who had altitude sickness. Another woman companion got sick the night before which was what was expected because she was a first timer. I am not a first timer so why did I get sick?? Beats me.

April 8, Easter Sunday

We were preparing for the trek going home when the two whirlybirds came. Naturally we flocked to take pictures of the whirlybirds. Hehehe a bunch of ignoramuses we were but hey it's not everyday you'd get to see whirlybirds up close you know. So sue us! Hehehe. To answer your question, the whirlybirds were carrying equipment and the frogmen tasked to retrieve the remains of Ian. We stood near the lake to catch the action from the time the divers took their first dip up to the time they would retrieve the body. I knew it was never gonna be easy. One reason is the water temperature, very cold and the other is the muddy water, you can't see the bottom of the lake. It took them several hours to finally finish the task by that time we were already halfway down.

My companions are fond of traversing the mountain not doing backtrails. So we took a trail that will take us 4 hours give or take to reach the highway where we will be waiting for our ride to the bus station. Going down this trail is not easy but it's fun. You'd also get to walk over fallen trees, go down on all fours with roots as handholds, use a rope to go down an almost 90 degree drop, use log bridges to get across (pretty challenging for a person who has fear of falling), and do the river trek. Along the way, you'll be relieved if you try to relax and look around. There were many trees with orchids growing on their trunks which made me remember an officemate tell me, "Orchids lang ipasalubong mo sa akin ok." Sorry, remember the mantra written up there about pictures, time, and footprints? We also passed by what I was told to be a burial ground of the natives living in Mt. Apo. You'll also get to have a glimpse of the Mt. Apo geothermal plant. Just a glimpse ok, its not promising as you'd need binoculars to see the plant clearly. The river trek was different this year, I was told that a landslide happened a few months back. We saw evidences of the landslide which widened the river and exposed the rocks. The last bridge we were to cross was where a companion fell. Lucky for him he landed on his back, his bag absorbed the impact of the fall. It would have been ironic to meet an accident when you are already 20 to 30 minutes from the highway. We are thankful no one got hurt.

So there, the adventures of Kathie. I still hope to return for more...