I was just restarting my climbing career (as if I have one. haha!) December last year after a 2-year hiatus. We were trekking Mt. Romelo last February when Hannah told me that they were going with Deo (our lead climber in Backpackers United) on a November Mt. Apo climb, then she added, "sama ka na rin!". She could've asked me this question on a better time, because at that moment, I was already sweating huge cold droplets because 1.) my legs are already cramping and 2.) I really need to poop - my mind's circuits are already going haywire and I could not think clearly. haha! So, without thinking through, I just replied: "o.. oo sige."
Weeks later, Deo booked my ticket. I paid my dues. Then come November, I find myself pooping at about 1,000+ meters above sea level, at the emergency camp of Mt. Apo. hahaha! Enough of the poop talk. I was just trying to ruin your appetite with the hope that you'll be disgusted and discontinue reading this blog.
Just kidding.
Anyway, since it is named so, I have selected three pictures that best describes our Mt. Apo climb. Ladies and gentlemen, let me start our count-to-three with this:
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| Nope. This is not the set of Lord of the Rings. This is THE BOULDERS, where dreams goes to die. HAHA! |
This part looks like a set in Lord of the Rings, the differences are: the boulders are real, there are sulfur vents on the side - which are real, the clouds are real, and the body pain as well as the scratches and scrapes you get are frikkin real. Seeing this from afar or in pictures is in no way comparable when you are there, climbing the sh*t out of it. haha! It's not that hard as you think it is. We had to scramble our way with the rocks, climbing over, crawling at some point, and on some occasion, jump over crevaces. That's why, it is essential that you wear gloves and have legs of steel for this part of the trail.
Just as any mountain trail, no matter how physically spent-up you are, you have no choice but to push onwards. You can't bug your team down. This is more of a test of mental fortitude rather than a test of physical endurance. And yeah, don't forget to enjoy the view on the way up.
I kid you not, at first sight of the boulders, I can't help myself from smiling from ear-to-ear. Which was immediately replaced by "WTF-am-I-doing?" face moments later. haha! This is truly a sight to behold.
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| What's the view at the highest point in the Philippines? This. |
We were waiting for the clearing to set in which would last for about a minute then disappear, much like a paparazzi prepping their camera waiting for a celebrity make an ass out of themselves. haha! Anyway, I managed to take some shots of it and it was oh-so-awesome. The sun was rising on top of Davao gulf which was quite dramatic because the sea was reflecting the sun's light.
People often ask us why do we go out of our comfort zone and expose ourselves to extreme conditions just to climb mountains. Is it just to have something to brag about in Facebook? Well, if you consider sharing the beauty of nature which can only be seen if you put effort to it grounds for bragging, then yeah.
It's not as if this reward was handed to us on a silver platter. We prepared for it. We worked hard for it. And we accomplished it as a team.
....and because great tales of adventure is not complete without a plot twist:
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| Kuya Onel (the one in yellow head gear) and the Porter Squad. ©Dwight Fetizanan |
Note: I do not mean to cast any accusations of some sort, I'll try my best throw in statements of facts and observations. Don't get me wrong, the porters were very cool people and they were of great help to us.
We prepped up our gears and prepared to break camp about 7am the third day to start our Kidapawan descent.
Mountain Talk: What we did in our Mt. Apo climb was a traverse. Meaning, the trail we used on the descent (going down) is different from what we used on the ascent (going up). The other one is backtrail, you use the same trail both for the ascent and descent. We did a Kapatagan-Kidapawan traverse, so essentially, we crossed two provinces in the process. Kapatagan is in Digos, Davao del Sur while Kidapawan is in North Cotabato.
Moving on, we were surprised at the contrast of the trail in Kidapawan, it was mostly grasslands with mossy forest going down as compared to the rocky boulders on the other side. Since it has been raining for the past days (oh, we have been welcomed by thunderstorms on our first day by the way), the trail was helluva muddy.
Now back to Kuya Onel. When we stopped for our lunch along the trail, Kuya Onel told Deo that there are some changes. The payment for the guide will be Php500 per head, a ripoff to the originally agreed Php400 per day. Of course, Deo did not approve of it. (pesonal commentary: Sino ba namang ungas ang magbabayad ng 500 per head, na dun lang mismo sinabi. diba?)
The guides and Kuya Onel insisted that we cannot make it to Lake Agko at 3pm and that our estimated time of arrival to the Kidapawan jump off will be at about 6pm. That means we will be trekking for about 10 long hours for that day. 10.long.knee.wrecking.hours. We trekked through jungle trail and did epic river crossing. They said that we will be crossing Agko River 13 times. Honestly, I lost count. I was too tired to count.
Anyway, along the trail, we can sense the tension between Kuya Onel and Deo. Kuya Onel was sour graping to Paolo (who was at my back) at some point. He even complained on why did we feed them Spaghetti for breakfast. I was like, 'WTF. Some of the porters were even praising us because they rarely experience climbers letting them eat the same food the mountaineers eat. And we even gave them tents to sleep in, which was also a rare treat in their experience'. In my opinion, those were just empty arguments on his part just to make Deo the bad guy. We reached the Kidapawan jumpoff at almost 7pm, it was dark and we were damn exhausted.
Everything cleared out when we reached Davao. In the end, Deo gave in to the Php500 per head rate of Kuya Onel. Why? Because he threw this one: "Tutal, di naman na kayo nagbayad ng exit fee sa Kidapawan, yun nalang ipambayad nyo" (non verbatim)
There is a strict compliance in paying exit fee to Kidapawan, especially those that came from other trails. This is in payment to the local government for the upkeep of the trail. Since it was already dark and was already past office hours in Kidapawan when we completed the trail, there was no way we can pay the exit fee. Furthermore, upon learning that we were all first timers in doing the Kidapawan descent, MAYBE, they did use this to their advantage and that's why they only informed us to the changes in the guide fee only on the third day.
Well, for our part, there were no economic losses because the exit fee was already budgetted. We also enjoyed the long trek, not only it was challenging, but also the river crossing was an epic adventure experience. Good thing our group was mentally and physically prepared (We almost did not stop to rest along the trail for the duration of the climb. We clocked in about 22hours of trekking time for 3 days). Our concern really is that, how about those teams that are not as equally prepared? They run a risk of being stranded on the tracks, when same thing happens to them, the river could also swell up fast even the slightest of rains which would also endanger lives.
We were 16 in the team, that is Php8,000 for them (plus the separate porter's fee for those who availed of their services). Maybe the opportunity of earning such amount is just too attractive to let it pass.
To validate, I searched for a same itinerary: http://www.pinoymountaineer.com/2008/10/mt-apokapatagan-kidapawan-traverse.html
Whatever their motivation is, let's just leave it up to them. For whatever it's worth, we treated them as how responsible mountaineers should.
I am stating this here to let everyone know that such things happen. Be vigilant.
To end this blog entry, I'll be leaving a useless trivia behind: Mt. Apo is my 10th mountain, and pooping there was my first experience in pooping during a climb. HAHAHA!
Bon Appétit!
for the whole album, here's the link: https://www.facebook.com/bentambling123/media_set?set=a.10200899146864016.1073741867.1325427197&type=3
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