I keep getting late with my posts. This is bad.
Anyway, more than two weeks ago, me and my twin brother went to Davao to for a quick nature trip (no, it's not really that quick) to.. guess what? Mount Apo. The highest peak in the country. See, my twin bro's into mountaineering lately, along with his officemates. He's already climbed two mountains already. One co-worker planned for them to go to Davao just to spend a few days in the beach or maybe a quick tour, and Vito asked me if I wanted to go too. Of course I do! And I said yes (uhh. doesn't sound right). So anyway, during the week before the flight, his co-worker suddenly had the idea to climb Mt. Apo, instead of just strolling around town! The guys had no physical preparation for it, and it was my first time to climb a mountain, and Mt. Apo at that! But, oh well. Why not, right?
So we arrived in Davao International Airport at around 6 or 7 am (I forgot about the details of the trip, as I was too overwhelmed with being able to ride a plane for the first time). From there we took about one hour (I think?) of a jeepney ride to a nearby market, where we bought several necessities (tissue, batteries, plastic bags, etc.), then a bus ride to the nearest town somewhere at the foot of the mountain, and a mini-truck ride to the side of the mountain a little bit more upward the mountain. I won't be able to give much details about the rides for two reasons: one, I was too busy looking around when I'm awake, and two, I was too busy sleeping when I get my eyes closed.
at the first mini-truck. ©vgmarimat
We arrived at a small town, where we had our lunch before the climb. Let me try to describe the place: it was a very small town, but with their own computer shops, drugstores, a really big sari-sari store (where we bought our stash of alcoholic drinks), and several tiangge selling very affordable clothes. We watched the NBA Finals game 2 in the drugstore, where Dallas won over the Heat, bringing the series to a tie.
From there we rode on a smaller mini-truck, but was a really badass truck. It drove on the very (and I mean VERY) rocky road, like those shown on commercials with the prestigious pick-ups and 4x4s, but this one had a smaller frame, smaller wheels but a really impressive climb strength. And we even came across one kid, probably ten or eleven years old, and driving this thing like it's just a bumpcar in a carnival!
We stopped somewhere (again, forgive me for the lack of detail), hopped off the truck, filled our bottles and bladders, and began our ascent. We took the KAPATAGAN-KIDAPAWAN route, which was said to be the easiest. The first phase of the climb was the mildest part, where we only walked through small plantation farms and plots. Unfortunately, the first mistake that I did for this trip was stepping on a huge horse poo, thinking it was a stone. My entire shoe was buried in it. But I continued on, and we then arrived at our first stop, another small village in the mountains.
First stop. I left my jacket there.
Then we continued with our climb, passing through slippery and muddy tracks. Whenever we come upon a river, we stop and wash ourselves with the freezing water,
creek. ©vgmarimat
and move on. We stop by every now and then to take a quick snack and catch our breaths. It was a jungle out there, indeed, so just before total darkness falls upon us, we set up our tents and make camp.
the couple in the tent. ©vgmarimat
Come early morning, and I really had to pee and poo. So first thing I did when I went outside the tent was to find a good place to release the bad spirits. But then thinking about the breakfast and how I might feel this suffering again for this second day of the climb, so I held the latter for a bit more time, and released the former. Ahh. Nature.
We ate breakfast. And this is no ordinary mountain breakfast. We were served salted eggs with onions and tomatoes, scrambled eggs, adobo (which we had to save some for lunch) and the leftover sinigang from the past night.
cooking breakfast.
After the breakfast, while some are brushing their teeth or wrapping up their stuff from the tent, I was busy looking for my own secret garden. After passing by one spot taken by one of our members (yeah), I finally found one spot a bit deeper within the woods. Then I did the "deed." Again, ahh... nature.
So we continued our climb, where the first phase for the second day was a bit similar to the trail we went through the first day. Several muddy trails, trees blocking the way, and not to mention having to crawl below a stumbled tree. Considering the stuff we were carrying with us, it was a bit tricky, but it's part of the adventure. Our first destination for the second day was Godi-Godi, some kind of a stopover where we rested for a few minutes. We had to make the most out of this rest period, as the next part of the climb will be the second trickiest to our climb.
the team (without me of course) at Godi-Godi
The porters refilled our bottles and bladders at the nearest stream, we ate our energy bars, and after wrapping up, off we went again. The trail from Godi-Godi was initially the same as that before it, but then after reaching a particular section of the trail, I was totally (and I mean totally) amazed, overwhelmed, speechless, whatever you call it - at the next part of the trail: (pre) BOULDERS. We had to walk through a trail surrounded by small boulders (at this point only), where some vegetation was still visible. The sight was utterly breathtaking. From this point we could almost see the peak, but there's still some distance to it.
As we proceed, I noticed the vegetation decreases in thickness. We were reaching the main Boulders stage of the climb. This time, it's a tough challenge. We had to crawl along boulders larger than our balls, even larger than our size. On the side of the mountain opposite to our direction we could see the sulfur puffing out of the mountainside. It was a great view, but still a scary climb. In my opinion, this was the scariest part of the climb, considering it was my first time to do mountain climbing.
me and ken on the boulders. ©vgmarimat
Along the way, we still took a few stops to rest and to have lunch. As we rested, some took pictures, not to mention at dangerous spots on the area. But that's for the pros. I'm no good at this kind of thing yet, so I passed this one.
Then we finally reached the crater of the mountain. We are almost at the peak at this point, but this one alone felt rewarding. Even though the water in the lake is not potable for drinking, we still enjoyed the view, and the soft vegetation beside the lake relaxed our tired muscles. We all felt the same way about the crater: ang ganda.
the crater (I forgot the name)
near the lake at the crater.
As I've previously mentioned, we are almost at the last part of our climb. The peak was very near to us at this point, so we decided to push through and pull out the last of our energies to the climb. But this one's not something to laugh at either; the trail was around 80+ degrees or so, and we only had two options to grip on: boulders, some of which were shaky, and the roots of the plants along the trail. I had to rest every ten steps to catch my breath and to keep my grip strong. But, we're almost there, so I pushed through.
a view from almost the top.
We kept pushing and pushing our energies through the trek (well at least I did, again they are experienced mountaineers already, so they know what to do), and finally, the most rewarding part of the climb, we reached the highest peak in the Philippines. We were above the clouds. We can see the sea of clouds. This was no match to the Everest, but still, for someone like me who did this for the very first time, I was so glad I joined these guys. Words won't be enough to describe it, so just check out these pictures.
the sea of clouds.
me and the sea of clouds.
the couple and the sea of clouds. Sweet, right?
the couple and Ken (Shak's bro)
The team. Unforgettable. :)
They even did jump shots, which I was not able to do for some reason. Prolly forgot about it. So that was my experience of the climb. This post's getting too long, so I might post a part two for the descent.
EXTRA! EXTRA! EXTRA! EXTRA! EXTRA! EXTRA! EXTRA! EXTRA! EXTRA!
We got to see Romy Garduce, the first known Filipino to climb the everest, shooting for the show Born to be Wild (GMA7).
Anver and Romy Garduce. (Did I spell it right for both names?)
