Mt. Apo....Day2...A Special Gift from the Creator Above...

Our final trek to summit...

Group picture at Godi-godi Camp
(photo credit to Ms. Clue of Bp)

We woke up early that day and everybody was so excited and energized. After having some breakfast, we took our last minute in Godi-godi Camp by taking our remembrance pictures...then we start our trek by asking more guidance to our Creator as the Backpackers used to do before the climb...

This time, I can say that the real challenge begins...In this part of our trek, we experienced to use not only our legs, but with our both hands too. Grabe, ramdam mo agad ang matatarik na akyatan. You really have to use your both hands just to hold the roots and stems of the trees para lang makaakyat...and I ask the group...Ganito ba ang Mt. Tarak, sabi ng iba sa Tarak daw mag aabot ang muka at tuhod mo sa pag akyat? And one of the Bps replied...."Mas mahirap ito mommy Weng"... another psychological strength for me since Mt. Tarak is one of the mountain that I am afraid to climb...hehe.

After a couple of hours of passing through the mossy part of the trail, and doing some "spiderman" like style of climbing....hehe...we saw a clearance....Huwahhh!...the most awaited Boulders of Mt. Apo...What a fantastic view! We clearly saw the whole view of the Boulders and the sulfuric smoke coming out from that mountain....Everybody was so happy that time and I don't see any tired face among the group. And being so excited, every cameras we had, came out and start shooting the Majestic Mt. Apo...Kung minsan biglang tumatahimik ang grupo na para bang kinakausap ang kalikasan...Like on my experience when I am on that part of the trail...my tears almost fell down with so much happiness in my heart...And these are the only things I can say..."Thank you Lord and you made me so lucky to see this beautiful and amazing creation of yours"..."I know that you loved me so much and you have given me this unforgettable experience and opportunity." Emotions are over-flowing to each and everyone of us....Ang saya ng feeling ko! Di na nga namin naiisip nung time na yun kung gaano kahirap akyatin ang napakalalaking bato. At kung titingnan sa ibaba nito ay napakataas at matarik....And our lead guide gave another precaution to the group. " Mam/Sir, doble ingat lang po sa pag-akyat...may mga malalambot at mga umuugang bato...tingin lang po sa inaapakan at kakapitan. Paki handa na rin po ang mask at mabaho po ang amoy ng usok na lumalabas" Haaay ....ang babait talaga nila!

Boulders of Mt. Apo

Berries

Photo of Ms. Clue

Thanks Ms. Clue

And we start to trek the Boulders...Kuya Omel lead us to the right side of the Boulders from where the air is blowing with the opposite direction, so that we cannot inhale the smoke coming out from it. But you realy cann't predict the wind during that time...It seems that, Mt. Apo did not want us to passed on that part without experiencing to smell the smoke coming out from him. Urgh! Ang hirap talaga huminga pag na tyempo and usok papunta sayo.....Grabe!  And like the winds, we cannot predict the weather, we also experience some rain showers while we are trekking the boulders, we have to take on and off our raincoats. But it does not mean that it will spoil our excitement in completing the trail. Boulders of Mt. Apo was truly amazing...there are lots of wild berries around and that is the only plants that lives in the area. Nakakatuwa talagang makita, it seems that it was the season for wild berries. Berries...berries...berries...everywhere...hahaha!

Until we reached the E-camp called Boracay. It was called Boracay because it is the flat part of the trail and it has a white sand and pebbles that makes the place so beautiful and admirable. We took our lunch on that place and as usual...our porters and guide prepared our food and assist us since everybody was so tired and exhausted. 

The Boracay Camp

We took our chances to some photo things and have some rest for an hour and a half...but again  a strong wind blewed up with some rain showers....ganun ata talaga ang hirap na pwede mo danasin makita lang si Apo...but the group can still uttered some jokes..."mam, teka lang ililipat ko yang bato para maharangan tayo"...knowing that the stone was big as a car...lol...But we have to push and continue to hike for our final assault to Mt. Apo's creater and summit. We have to take the 90degrees trail this time. Looking on the trail that we are about to climb ....parang di ko kakayanin....haaay!....kailangan nanaman dito ang "spiderman style". This time, we have to be very extra careful and cautious where to hold and where to step your feet...because it was really stiff and no roots or trees that you can hold...only rocks....whew! Buti na lang wala akong backpack na dala-dala...kundi pwede kang bumaligtad at mahulog...ang lakas pa naman ng hangin...ang hirap tumayo ng diretso...Daddy
Willie keeps on saying...."Guys...stay low...stay low..." Di talaga siya nakakalimot magpaalala...

Me, on Mt. Apo's Crater
(photo credit to Ms. Liz)

Mt. Apo's Crater

It was so cold and very windy when we reach the Crater...Sir Ivan told to the group..."Guys, konti na lang, we have to continue our trek to summit because the wind and rain is getting stronger"...And the group followed what he said.  We reach the summit in 5mins. Grabe ang ginaw....sobrang lakas ng hangin...mabuti na lang and I protected my head and back not to get wet...Natakot na kasi ako na baka mangyari ulit sa akin ang Pulag experience ko....Thanks be to God....even we are not lucky enough to have a clear view...punong-puno pa rin kami ang kasiyahan...Kakaiba talaga ang pakiramdam kapag narating mo ang tutok ng Mt. Apo....!

Mt. Apo Summit

Ms. Clue & Dadddy Willie
at the Summit

Though we wanted to spend more time in the summit, we decided to go down and proceed our trek to Lake Venado from where we will spend our 2nd night with Apo....

View of Lake Venado 

While on our way to Lake Venado, we experience it quite difficult because of the rain. Napakadulas ng trail and lahat kami giniginaw na....I ask sir Ivan na kung pwede na kami mauna with other porters kasi nakita ko nanginginig na sila sa ginaw...and I was thinking na kung mauuna na kami...they can take a little rest and we can make shelter for the others specially to Heinz, Clue and Tin who got some minor injuries along our way. And we are so lucky that we met a group from Bicol, inaya nila kami sa loob ng tarp nila para makasilong at binigyan pa kami ng coffee...super bait nila sayang at di ko nakuha ang name nila. Anyway, thank you guys who ever you are...And after that hot drink, we started to set our camp. Naawa talaga ako sa mga kasama kong giniginaw...thanks be to God and He gave me a strong body condition that time.....alam na bakit...hahaha...young at once! After pitching our tents, makikita mo talaga ang division of tasks among our porters...may nagtayo ng tarp, may kumuha ng tubig, may nagluto ng dinner. Sobrang swerte talaga namin sa porters and guide. Di ko kayang ubusin ang pasasalamat sa inyong lahat. Dinner was finished. Early lights off....pagod lahat....Zzzzzzz....Brrrrrr....basa kaming lahat pati loob ng tents...yaiks! Hirap matulog....hay!

I know na nakakabitin ang kwento...but let me cut it here...again...I cannot say my traditional ending, rather follow me on my 3rd day of adventure with Mt. Apo...see you again folks!!!

Mt. Apo...Day 1...A Special Gift from the Creator Above...

Via Kapatagan-Kidapawan Trail (Davao del Sur-Northern Cotabato)

I decided to write this adventure of mine in three parts since we took this hike in three days ang I don't want to miss any exciting moment of this event of my life....This was so memorable to me and I want it to share with you with all my humble and giggling way...Hope you will enjoy reading this ..."A special gift from the Creator above"...and here it goes...

Mt. Apo...The Highest mountain in the Philippines...A dream mountain to most hikers in the country or even by those in other countries. But not for me. Yes! You read it right...not for me!...That is the truth and the reality of life that I must accept and bear in mind. I did not dreamt for this mountain, simply because... I'm afraid to do so... I'm afraid to think that I can still climb this mountain which I know the facts that I am too weak for these and I don't have the same endurance and strenght as other mountaineers had...Afraid that if I dreamt of this mountain...those dreams will just go into trash and waste my time of thinking about it. I just told myself..."marami pa namang bundok dyan na pwede at kaya ko pang akyatin para maipagpatuloy ko ang iba kong pangarap at kaligayahang makita ang kagandahan ng kalikasan"..."di ko kailangang pangarapin ang alam kong di ko kayang gawin"...But I am not happy the way I think like these. Sometimes I envy myself if I heard that some of my buddies did some major climbs...some even stop inviting me when they found out that I am not fast as they are...or not as young as them....or maybe others don't go with the group if they knew that I am one of the participants...But that is fine with me...That's life...that is the truth...that is real!

But Sir Ivan known to be makulit...and hard to resist his invitation...I ask the heaven above to give me a sign if I will push to join their climb or not...I search about the trail and characteristics of the said mountain, and my fear lessen when I read one of the famous blogger about it. And every time I looked my facebook status, I always saw different experiences about their climb in Mt. Apo, some friends are also pushing me to climb...Then, I ask myself...Is this the sign I'm asking? Until one of my fellow hiker gave me a very intriguing advice...knowing that he is much older than me...hehehe...and we both have the passion to see nature and be with the nature....yun nga lang...mga late bloomers...LOL...And he said, "kaya mo yan...ako nga nakaya ko eh...nung pumunta nga ako dun when they get my blood pressure, the result was a little bit higher...pero umakyat pa rin ako....di naman kailangan magmadali eh, kailangan mong i-enjoy ang view at trail....wala namang madaling bundok...it's just how you do it and how you feel the nature"...Pasok na pasok sa banga diba?..hehe...Until I finally told myself..."kapag walang nag oppose or nagbigay sa akin ng negative vibes, I will do it!"...At yun nga ang nangyari....all things are getting smoother and my fear is slowly getting weaker...and that fear was transformed into excitement and giggling.....And this is it..pansit!...I decide to join the Backpackers to conquer the Highest Mountain in PH.....Umaayon sa akin ang lahat ng bagay...my physical condition, my schedule, my friends, the weather and I also felt so much happiness inside my heart....Two days before our flight, I message Sir Ivan that I will join them in climbing Mt. Apo...and he replies with a very exciting voice. "Yehey...kasama na si Mommy Weng"

And the journey of conquering Mt. Apo began after our relaxing day in Davao City... http://byahengjologslakwatsera.blogspot.com/2013/03/davao-city-adventure.html

Camp Linaw, Digos City Davao del Sur...from where we stayed our first night

February 15...the most awaited day ...We had a pleasant and comfy place to sleep at Camp Linaw in Digos City. It was just a minute walk away from Lake Mirror from where you can see the whole Mt. Apo on its very awesone view.

View of Mt. Apo reflecting its image to Lake Mirror
(photo credit to Ms. Liz of The Backpackers)

After our picture taking, the group prepared to depart Camp Linaw around 8am and proceed to the main jump-off at Brgy. Mainit, Digos, Davao del Sur by riding an open mini cab. We spent around an hour and a half in an uphill and bumpy road, but still we enjoyed our ride by seeing those beautifull views along the way until we stop at a small sari-sari store. And everyone was so excited unloading our backpacks and as always, we asked for God's guidance for everyone's safety along our way.  And our trek starts with a big smile and excitement within our face.

Trails from Kapatagan jump-off to Paradise Campsite...

Rest area along the small village in Kapatagan

Kapatagan Jump-off

vegetable platation of the locals

A local harvesting his craft

Paradise Camp

The first part of our trek was like we are walking on a huge uphill vegetable plantation...cabbage, carrots and potatoes...are everywhere...one of the soon to be a member of BPs utter a joke..."Mommy Weng kuha tayo ng carrots para dun sa chicken afritata natin" and the group starts to laugh...Until we reach the Paradise Camp from where we made our lunch break with a nap on a trail...again? Hehehe...this is my second experience taking nap on trail...first was in Mt. Tapulao...but this one is better ang lamig ng hangin at malambot ang higaan...hahaha!

After almost two hours of rest and lunch break, we again proceed to the second pace of our trek...Paradise Camp to Godi-godi Camp our target place to take our dinner and resting place for the whole night...

 Trail from Paradise Camp to Godi-godi Campsite...

Our trek to Godi-godi Camp has a differnt kind of excitement...in this trail you can experience lots of passing through logs and sometimes you will go under the logs...

Ms.Clue, one of the Bps encountered a minor injury during this trek...she accidentally bump her head on one of the branch after she made a jump from a log that she passed by...but being with a group that treats everyone like a family, she was given a first aid and everyone shows concern about what happen to her....Yan ang gusto ko sa samahan nila...para silang magkakapatid na laging handa at may malasakit sa isa't isa....Thanks be to God and nothing too serious happened to her...

Godi-godi Campsite
(photo credit to Ms. Clue)

After the insident, we continued our trek. Everyone was a little bit worried....ayaw naming abutan kami ng dilim sa daan because our guide Kuya Omel told us that it is difficult to do night trek in the area....and he is right...along the way we encountered some stiff assault that needs to use both your hand and feet and do some hopping moves...and if you cannot see it ...diretso ka sa bangin...OMG!

But with God's blessing, we reached Godi-godi campsite while the sun is still up....it is around 5:30pm and everyone was so happy because we reached our target on time.. We started to pitched our tents while our porters prepared dinner and others went to get some water for all of us... I was very much impressed with these group of porters led by Kuya Omel because they are so energetic and very helpful...This is the first time I encountered a porter and guide pampering us in the mountain considering that they are carrying much load than us... And we are very lucky to have them as our guides and porters....Thanks to Kuya Omel, Kuya Bobong, Kuya Jun-jun, Kuya Juvan, James and Turoy.

And we had a very goodnight with a little chat together with the Bps and the guides...What an awesome  day...I can't believe that on that day...I am sleeping at the famous Godi-godi Campsite.....

Ups!....I wouldn't say my usual ending...instead kindly read my Day 2 experience in Mt. Apo.... this has a different pacing of our treck....

Mt. Tapulao, Palauig, Zambales

My very first major climb....Mt. Tapulao

Last January19 to 20, I was invited with a climbing buddy Gerald on his event to climb Mt. Tapulao in Palauig, Zambales.  At first, I was so hesitant again to accept the invitation because...Wow...It's a major climb boy!....kaya ko ba yan?... My fear to do a major climb is increasing especially when I heared the story of another climb buddy which he said....isinusumpa ko ang Tapulao...grabe pahirap!... Gosh!...how can I do this? Until another climbing buddy of mine, which is also a joiner to this event told me....kaya mo yan...sige kasama naman ako...Nakakapagpalakas ng loob di ba?...But still the fear is there. Lessen? Yes...because I have with me the very comfortable buddy I ever had...Gerald and Erwin...Thanks to them for the support and the boost to do it...And it was a very successful major climb...and I can't believe I did it with all my pride and happiness...

Leo and Erwin

So, here are some of my story about this adventure of mine...and I am proud and humbly sharing it with you...and to all the nature lovers out there...Come and join us...!

Since most of our climbing buddies will came from the north, (Angeles City and Baguio City), we are only three who travelled all the way from Manila to Zambales(as my prior knowledge). Me, Erwin and Leo, met at the Victory Liner Bus Station in Caloocan City around 9pm of Jan.18th...  It is my first time to meet Leo and I don't have any idea how he looks....Gerald told me that he is a foreigner but not mentioning his nationality...Gosh! sabi ko kay Erwin...duguan ng ilong ito bro....hahaha. And it's good that Leo, a German national, has no heavy accent and he speaks slowly...not like some other foreigners that speaks too fast and had a hard time to understand because of their accent. So lucky for both of us, Me and Erwin...hahaha!

Sir Gerald, event host

A sign showing that you are already at the
jump-off point of Mt.Tapulao

And as per our itinerary is concerned, we have to ride a bus bound direct to Iba or Sta.Cruz, Zambales by 10pm of Jan.18th so that we can take a little rest upon arriving to our jump-off in Palauig before we start to hike. But a very sad situation happened. All the bus is fully-booked until 12mn.  So we take our chance to take a bus bound to Angeles City that leaves the station by 10:30pm, and from Angeles, we will have to ride another bus going to Iba. And that is the hardest part of our travel....we don't have any idea that it is difficult to ride another bus from Angeles going to Iba that time...whew! We stayed there for almost an hour and I tried to call Amber, also a climbing buddy, just to ask if there is any alternative transportation going to Iba....but she only knew the same route that we had in mind...but still many thanks to her because she gave us an idea how far are we from the jump-off even in the middle of the night. And having a hard time waiting for the bus to Iba, a man approached us offering a taxi...Huh! di ko alam may taxi pala sa Angeles...but you know what a taxi means in that area?  It is a private car/van...hehe! He offered Php1,500 para ihatid sa Iba...salamat at may sumabay sa amin hanggang San Antonio...we pay only Php800 for the three of us....And from Iba, a tricycle was already parking at the other side of Victory Bus station in Iba, Zambales. We paid Php400 to the tricycle going to our jump-off in Palauig...Thanks God...we arrived around 3am of Jan.19th at the registration area and from there, we met Sir Gerald's group from Baguio City. Next to us arrived was the group from Elektrekkers also based in Manila...And upon waiting for the Clark group to arrive...we did not waste the time to take a rest....So we did our nap...and gain some more energy...Pero bakit di ako makatulog....haist! ...excited???nervous???

The Elektrekkers Group

Our trek starts at 6:30am, a little late to our IT....but still...everybody is excited and happy meeting each participants...para bang matagal na kaming magkakakilala....lahat ay may nabubuong kwentuhan...biruan at kung anu-anu pa... Ito ang masaya sa pamumundok...lahat ay masaya, lahat ay pantay-pantay, lahat ay may bigayan, lahat ay may paggalang sa isa't-isa, lahat ay marunong magpahalaga sa kalikasan....Sana sa kapatagan nabubuo din ang ganitong samahan...Ito ang isang katangian ng Kabundukan na naibabahagi nya sa ating mga tao...sa isang Mamumundok...
Ikaw kaibigan...napapansin mo ba ito? Ginagawa mo ba ito sa kapatagan?
At bilang pagbabahagi ko ng karanasan dito sa Mt. Tapulao, sana ay maibigan nyo ang isa ko pang munting karanasan sa pag-akyat ng kabundukan at maipakita ko ang kagandahan ng kalikasan...

Types of trail we encountered before the camp site...

Since this mountain was classified as a major climb, we took it 11hrs before we reached the camp site...this was so tiring for me though the trail is not that stif, it is because of the rocks that I found so hard ...grabe! walang katapusang batuhan ang pakiramdam ko that time...thanks to all the participants because they always finds a way how it will become enjoyable to all of us...their sense of humor are superb...Ganado!

Some trees, views and landscape that attracts my attention 

our camp site

our camp site before sunrise...photo credit to Mam Gilda

Sunrise and Sea of Clouds in Mt. Tapulao...

This moment is the most precious on all mountaineers...to wait and see the view of the sunrise...the most overwhelming moment when you're in the mountain...the very priceless event of our life that not all person had a chance to see....This is what I always love to see and feel every time I climbed....

Mt. Tapulao summit

the most popular tree on Mt. Tapulao's summit

With this, I am very much proud and happy that at this moment of my life...I can still do and did a major climb...this is how Byaheng Jologs made to conquer her fear....kaya taralets...akyat na tayo para makita pa natin ang ganda ng kalikasan...

Tara...Byaheng Jologs na!!!