Sunday, December 2, 2012

Mt. Apo: The Grandfather of Philippine Mountains


Being a mountaineer, reaching the highest has always been the reason which lures us into getting on the challenge.  On November the 7th 2012, along with my office mates, we took on the challenge of reaching the highest peak in the country, with an elevation of 2,956 meters above sea level, Mt. Apo stands mightily over 2 provinces south of the Philippines. 




From afar, with its enormity, you would actually think that the mountain is just a couple of hours drive from the airport when its not, it took us nearly half the day just by getting to the jump off. We took the Kapatagan-Kidapawan trail which starts at Davao del Sur then decent on the Cotabato side. 









The trip begins after our contact/guide picked us up from Davao International Airport then off to the market for buying stuff and items for the climb. After securing all the stuff needed, we went ahead and travel via a van for nearly 3hrs to get to Digos where the jump off is located. It is somewhat similar to that of Mt. Pulag where the jump off point is already at a very high altitude. 
      
             




 


We started trekking at around 7am after breakfast. The trail begins with an uphill terrain of farmlands with some small community (Brgy. Paradise) along the way then off to the forest. Fallen logs along the trail made the experience much more challenging not to mention the load we are carrying nearly half our weight. After trekking for nearly 4-5 hours, we took our lunch at gody-gody camp site along the trail and rest for an hour. 

Group picture during take5 at the forest trail.


Lots of fallen logs along the trail.



Take5 at the "Baroring", local dialect for "stream".



This sight marks the end of the forest as you enter the boulders.



After passing through the forest of dense vegetation, grown trees and some streams, you will reach the boulders side of the mountain where you'll find sulfur vents all around. This part of the trail gets too technical where one has to be using both hands and feet to negotiate the very rocky terrain, and when i say rocky,  i mean boulders as big as a TV set or up to a size of a car. That, accompanied by the unpleasant smell of sulfur all over us, made this one unforgiving. 





After about 2 hours of scrambling, you will reach the "bedrock" where one can camp for the night before summiting. We pushed thru to the higher campsite planning to summit early the following day for sunrise viewing. And also, there  is no water source in the area based on our guide so we really need to push thru to the next camp site.  


Upon reaching the "bedrock", you will be greeted by a wall standing nearly 90 degrees, as if separating you from the summit it self, which took us nearly 30 mins to traverse reaching Peak 4. We took a 5 mins rest at Peak 4 then went on ahead to reach the camp site which is another 15-20 mins trek downhill between the towering peaks of the majestic mountain.


"Bedrock" is the small clearing on the top right part of this image.



We reached the campsite all knackered at around 6pm, immediately pitched camp and settled all cramped inside the tent due to extreme cold. No one even managed to prepare and take a single meal for dinner. 

At around 5 am, we took off for summit bid just in time for the sunrise. Peak1 which is the highest point is about 20 mins uphill from the camp. We've reached the highest point just before the first ray of the sun hit our eyes. We've had just the best weather that day, with the sun on the horizon, clouds below us, cool breeze kissing our faces and the vast blue sky overhead. 

We stayed there for about an hour, taking all the photos we can.

At the highest point (Peak1)


As the saying goes, "the summit is only half way". We still need to get down and traverse to the other side (Cotabato side) using Kidapawan trail. First part of the decent is  the trek towards Venado Lake. 



View of Lake Venado on the way down.

Statistics show that most fatality in climbing mountains occurred during decent and Kidapawan trail is known notorious for being dangerous in that using this trail entail mountaineers crossing rivers. There are several reported incidents of climbers being stranded due to swelling of the Marbel river and had to be rescued by local authorities. Even the calm Venado Lake is said to have claimed a life of a mountaineer before. 

We were given 2 hours to descent to Venado Lake from the camp site then we'll take our lunch there. We needed to hustle up to avoid crossing the river in the dark. And also we need to take advantage of the good weather. Our guide told us the Marbel river over flows with just a quick rain fall.

We were told about river crossing, but no one informed us about the rapids we are yet to cross over at the Marbel River. The water current nearly swept us up. We sometimes needed to hold each other's hand before getting a stable foothold. If I remember it right, we crossed the river more or less 10 times going from one side to the other, and at least 3-4 of them has a makeshift bridge made of either a bamboo or a log, the rest, we braved into the water and through the rapids, some knee-deep high and some are up to our waist.
It took a good 6 hours trek from Lake Venado down to reach our target destination that day, the Lake Agco Resort, where we stayed for the night before going back to Davao.   It was already dark when we reached the road leading to the resort. Its a laid-back resort ran by the locals (as far as I know). There's no perfect way to end the day after 8 hours of trekking but to soak in their hot spring pool to soothe the aching muscles and tired body. We ended the day looking forward to our "Samal Island Undertaking" the next day as a sidetrip to our Mt. Apo climb. 

***Photo Credits: Francis Gimenez and Ronnel Carmen




Friday, August 24, 2012

The Playground of the Gods, Mt. Pulag


On January 2012, the team embarked on a different journey, a climbing trip higher than the clouds.

 


The Playground of the Gods, that's what the locals call this sacred place. Mount Pulag is the highest peak in the island of Luzon, Philippines. Standing high at 2,922 meters above sea level,  it covers 3 provinces on the north namely Benguet, Nueva Vizcaya and Ifugao.











Triboa Mangrove Park

On March 2012, we depart for Subic, Zambales to try to capture the sunset over the Triboa Mangrove Park. Equipped with the camera and a tripod, me and my shooting buddy waded over the water to get a good spot.






This mangrove park is currently being developed. The park itself is in its infant stage, currently being opened to the public only a year ago (2011).



Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Team Pahinga climbs w/ Team Australia

Well it's been a while since my last post, but now im back to blog about a recent climb with my team EPSON Australia.

It was actually a team building activity proposed by one of my colleagues, Joy, someone whom i never expected it will come out from. So there it is, about 5 weeks of  planning and preparation. Initially, it was agreed that we climb Mt. Batulao in Batangas as a beginner's climb, since none of the team members have tried this physical sport before. But then later on, I reckon Mt Pinagbanderahan (Gulugod Baboy) will be much more suitable for first timers. An hour or two easy uphill trekking, plus a 360 panoramic view on top, im sure everyone will enjoy.




Assembly time is lunch time at the Jam Liner Kamuning Terminal, after buying everything necessary for the climb, we boarded the bus and went on our way. Bus fare is Php130 per head.  We got dark and shady sky all the way to Batangaas as if  rain is ready to strike us anytime, and by the way, we climbed on the onset of typhoon Quiel. We got off at Batangas City Diversion Rd and took a  jeepney ride for 100 bucks per head. That was a pre-arranged fare, on the condition of taking us straight to Philpan rather than taking another trike ride from Anilao. Regular fare for jeepney to Anilao is around Php60-70 then trike is Php40-50 per head. So a Php100 per pax is pretty much a fair deal dropping us straight to the jump off.
 We reached the Philpan Beach Resort at around 4pm, worried that we might trek in the dark, we immediately started trekking after a couple of group shots at the jump off. The trail head is a very steep concrete road about a kilometer uphill. Then the ascent on the dirt started after reaching a small store/rest station right after the first left turn. Just after about 10mins of trekking uphill on the dirt, we were already greeted by a spectacular view of the beaches/resorts down hill.


We reached the campsite after one and a half hour of trekking.  Strong winds and a bit of drizzle welcomed us up there. We started pitching tents and preparing meals for the night. Pitching tents amidst very strong winds is something but setting up the camp in the dark is another. Thanks to my reliable team mates who initiated the cooking while some gave a hand setting up tents. Too bad, strong winds tear down 2 of our tents, lagot kami sa may-ari.















Add caption












Below is a blog created by Joyce titled "Team Climb" from http://joycee08.blogspot.com


-Team Climb-

Yap, we had a team building last Saturday. We climb Mt. Gulugod Baboy in Batangas. It was I think a two hour trek. So scary, tiring, fun and yeah worth to give it a try.
Mountain Climbing is a popular activity in Epson. My brother and sister are both part of a separate mountain climbing group. But knowing me. I didn't imagine myself doing that actually. But I was able to conquer it. Wow, I’m so proud of myself. :)
But being able to experience it made me ask myself, why the hell mountain climbers kept doing it over and over again. Treks will vary from mountain to mountain. Climbers will carry 40+L of bags especially designed for climbing purposes. You will walk and walk on a rough mountain trek with damn ants and mosquito bites will make you ask why the hell they have to add up on a suffering you can choose not to feel. But as soon as we were able to reach the camp site and the summit. I was able to answer my own question. I now know why..
You will just smile, a genuine smile, while appreciating and seeing the true beauty of an untouched mother nature. You will thank the stick that became your best friend and served as a 3rd feet. You will thank your team mate for the support and words of encouragement, the unending "malapit na". :) You will thank the hill that covered the camp site so the wind wont blow directly on us. You will thank God more. A true nature lover will really get addicted to it. I now have a new found respect for mountaineers. Hats off to the guys.
As for me, though I enjoyed it. I guess once is enough. But who knows.


Saturday, September 10, 2011

Wall Climbing @ Centro Atletico

Original plan was to wall climb in Rockwell Power Plant mall only to find out that the wall has long been gone, good thing there's a back up plan, we ended up doing it here in Centro Atletico, in North Rd. Cubao.






          
                           

                                              

It's not easy as it may seem.






























This is Daivey on top of the game. 




That's Noel belaying. Included on the fees paid is the Belay Card, which serves like a license to belay, and before getting on, participants must go thru a brief orientation on what are the DO's and DONT's for this kind of activity. Orientation includes 'short course' on how to use the Belay Device, pretty interesting stuff.