Jun 17, 2006 ... "It's not only the PROMISE of BREATHTAKING VIEWS that should make ONE SCALE A MOUNTAIN. It's also the THRILL OF INTERACTING with THE MOUNTAIN... and SURVIVING and LEARNING from that INTERACTION." - excerpts from "Lost in Maculot - the Daredevils' Ascent to Nowhere" by E. Palacio Posted by Emmanuel on Sep 6, '08 9:57 PM for everyone | Start: | Oct 4, '08 | | End: | Oct 5, '08 | | Location: | Barlig, Mountain Province |
Elevetion: 2,702 meters a.s.l. Route: Barlig-Barlig Special Info: 10th highest in the Philippines Just can't get enough of this mountain...after doing the infamous Amuyao traverse last April, I find myself again longing for those noxious stairways and some night trekking! Hehehe! On the other hand, this will allow the team to summit all the Luzon peaks in RP's Top 10 after Mt. Timbak (July 2008) and Mts. Tabayoc & Pulag (August 2008)... Then off we go to MIndanao for Mt. Pandadagsaan (White Peak) (said to be RP's 9th highest climb-able peak). First 12 only...Hehehe! Posted by Emmanuel on Sep 6, '08 4:10 AM for everyone |  | Tabayoc-Pulag Cross-Country Episode II |
Posted by Emmanuel on Aug 31, '08 3:59 AM for everyone | Start: | Sep 13, '08 | | End: | Sep 14, '08 | | Location: | Mariveles, Bataan |
Elevation: 1,006 m.a.s.l. (Ridge) / 1,130 m.a.s.l. (Peak) Pre-climb Meeting: September 5 @ 8pm, Wendy's Park Square 1 Another climb for the AF and LEVELS enthusiasts! GO TEAM LEADER KC (Jerome Sajise)!!! Hehehe! Posted by Emmanuel on Aug 25, '08 6:36 AM for everyone | | Tabayoc-Pulag Cross-Country Episode I |
Posted by Emmanuel on Aug 3, '08 7:49 AM for everyone Posted by Emmanuel on Aug 1, '08 1:00 PM for everyone | Start: | Nov 27, '08 | | End: | Dec 1, '08 | | Location: | New Bataan, Compostela Valley |
SPECIAL INFO: - One of the 10 highest mountains in the Philippines - One of Mindanao's most difficult mountain trails ITINERARY: November 27 (Thursday) - Manila to Davao November 28 - 30 - Cimb Proper December 1 (Monday / Holiday according to Bloomberg) - Davao to Manila After Mt. Candalaga last May, here's another peak to scale back at home... Hopefully, this will be my 9th of the Philippines' 10 highest, even though this mountain is still unofficially part of the Top 10. Anyway, there's no better way to find out than to be at its summit and say "Guys, levels?!" Hehehe! If you want to join, just PM me or leave a comment on this page or better yet text me at 09178062253. Thanks! Posted by Emmanuel on Jul 30, '08 12:22 PM for everyone | Start: | Aug 16, '08 | | End: | Aug 18, '08 | | Location: | Mt. Pulag National Park, Kabayan, Benguet |
ELEVATIONS: - Mt. Tabayoc: 2,842 meters a.s.l. (5th in RP, 2nd in Luzon) - Mt. Pulag: 2,922 meters a.s.l. (3rd in RP, highest in Luzon) ROUTE: - Mt. Tabayoc via trail from Lake Tabeo - Mt. Pulag via Tawangan - Ambangeg CLASSIFICATION: Major Climb This climb has been my favorote post-delete-repost-delete calendar entry here in Multiply. For the past 2 years, this has remained a plan with an indefinite implementation date (or should I say incubation period). As I near completion of my 10 summit conquest (Tabayoc will be my 8th hopefully), there's nothing sweeter than doing this traverse soon. Guys, levels?! Hehehe! There are actually other reasons that will make this climb special: - Reunion Climb of the 2006 Mt. Apo Dream Team - Despedida Climb of Ma'am Norie (We'll miss you again!) - Reunion Climb of the "Illegal" Climbers The names have already been e-mailed to DENR - Mt. Pulag National Park. Posted by Emmanuel on Jul 27, '08 2:08 AM for everyone Posted by Emmanuel on May 25, '08 6:27 AM for everyone | | Life is short, live it hardcore. Sounds suicidal?! Nonetheless, this specially works when you’ve been privileged to have two straight weeks of vacation with pay.
MAY 9, 2008 - Wasting no time while still nursing some muscle pain from the Kalatungan traverse climb just a couple of days ago, I and my 2 hardcore buddies from Bukidnon dashed to Maragusan, Compostela Valley. This is to check out what many say is a mountain “more challenging than Mt. Apo” and for those who have tried is “their most challenging climb” to date. After all, it’s now time for me to scale a summit near home. Nonetheless, I was absolutely filled with apprehension. First, I wouldn't be climbing with my regular buddies. This implies no "take 5's." Second, we all agreed to complete the climb in 2 days. This agreement has constricted me from blurting out: "guys, I got a 3-day itinerary here." I got no choice but to beat my own benchmarks!
Arriving past 8pm at Nabunturan, we had no alternative but to take a 2.5-hour “habal-habal” ride to Maragusan. Along the dark upward sloping mountain rough road, the light from the motorcycle can reflect nothing but the clouds of dust being scraped by the other “habal-habal” ahead of us. Drowsiness visited me several times. But the discomfort and the feeling of almost falling off the motorcycle every time it tilts kept me awake. That time, I never had any plea to heaven but for that noxious ride to come to a full stop.
MAY 10, 2008 – My head was still heavy due to last night’s brief liquor session. But the orange beams permeating our Maragusan Inn room’s window persuaded me to get up and take pictures of the sunrise. Standing at the Inn’s porch, I was awe-struck by the majesty of a great mountain complementing the budding eastern blaze. Could this be Mt. Candalaga? I was only able to verify this theory after an hour when I asked the same question to the personnel at the Municipal Tourism Office. However, similar to what most people said, Jonald, a staff at the Tourism Office, reiterated that it would take 3 days to complete the climb through Mt. Candalaga and that groups usually start trekking to Camp 1 at 6am! Still, my hardcore buddies are adamant to our objectives – setting the 1st camp at Camp 2 and more importantly completing the climb in 2-days. After registering, we ate breakfast then proceeded to Brgy. New Albay – the headstart of this epic journey.
TO BE CONTINUED... |
Posted by Emmanuel on May 19, '08 11:13 AM for everyone Posted by Emmanuel on May 19, '08 9:37 AM for everyone Posted by Emmanuel on May 8, '08 2:46 AM for everyone Just finished my 6th out of the 10 highest Philippine summits...and incidentally, Kalatungan is also the 6th highest...Guys, levels???!!! Hehehe! I'll post the pictures when I come back to Manila next week. Posted by Emmanuel on Apr 26, '08 11:05 PM for everyone | Start: | May 10, '08 09:00a | | End: | May 12, '08 | | Location: | Maragusan, Compostela Valley |
Elevation: 2,402 meters a.s.l. Classification: Level III, Major Climb, Strenuous This is legitimately a homecoming climb. Compostela Valley was formerly a part of Davao del Norte, the place where I had spent 1/6 of my life. Based on what I've read and from what I've been told by my peers in Mindanao, Mt. Candalaga is one of the fiercest peaks to conquer because of the whole day river-crossing before reaching Camp 1 and the ultra-steep trails. Hmmm...definitely something to look forward to. I'm just hoping that I still have adequate energy for this climb...coz I will only have 3 days to recover my strength, which I might exhaust fully in the Kalatungan Traverse climb that will precede this. I'm really excited for the next two weeks of full hardcore adventure. Hehehe! Posted by Emmanuel on Apr 20, '08 4:33 AM for everyone | | FLASHBACK SEPTEMBER 2007 - I together with 4 climbing buddies did what could be the most haphazard weekend activity one could think of – climbing Mt. Amuyao. Not filing for a vacation leave, we compressed everything (including travel to and from Barlig) within the 2-day weekend. To do this, our Circadian rhythms were compelled to operate in a light-saving time mode. As a result, we ascended the stairways in absolute darkness (and not to mention under the torrential rain), had dinner at 11:30pm, had Generoso sessions until 4am, woke up at 5am so as not to miss the sunrise and scurried past landslides (take note...on foot) to catch the 8pm trip to Manila. Those were the moments in our lives where we just didn’t know how to stop.
APRIL 5, 2008 – With 11 climbers mostly from the Napulauan and G2 teams, I went back to Amuyao to fulfill a long-time mission – to do the infamous traverse. From Banaue, to Bay-yo, to Barlig and finally to the summit of Mt. Amuyao, I retraced the route of our September 2007 climb with the very same guide – Ma’am Carolda. Good thing there was no sign of impending precipitation. Multitudes of stars also peppered the evening sky. At the other half of the horizon, lights from Barlig and from the far away villages of Cambulo and Batad glistened like constellations at the base of the mountain. These were supplemented by the procession of headlamps from the midpack and the sweepers inching their way up the treacherous wood-lined Monkelat stairways. That milieu could have had inspired Vincent Van Gogh to rework his timeless masterpiece. Standing at the Barlig Viewpoint, I turned off my headlamp and relished that starry starry night.
APRIL 6, 2008 – I woke up to the cheers of people fascinated by the sea of clouds – a view that has eluded me for some time. Through my journey to the highest Philippine summits, this was probably the grandest sea of clouds. The peaks of the Cordillera range were reduced to small islands floating on a vast cottony white ocean. And this ocean simulated a barrier between the heaven-like summit and the world below it.
Literally piercing through this barrier of clouds as we set off to Pat-yay and Cambulo, we discovered that below this heaven, however, was an infinite stretch of hell. In fact, we utterly forgot about yesterday’s tedious assault as the descent proved to be a more tedious scourge. It was like plunging to the realm of Hades. Nevertheless, there was still a fleeting moment of earth – the village of Pat-yay. The splendor of the rice terraces, the warmth of the people and the food for lunch (though late) all relieved our weary souls. At 4 pm, we started our journey to Cambulo with the optimism of having a comfortable sleep in one of the village buildings and a liquor session to wrap up the 2nd leg of the traverse – reputed to be its toughest part.
Thinking that the 2nd day was all about descents, we were upset to see an ultra-steep hill above the rice terraces that we have to ascend. Though the assault took us only about half an hour, we were almost drained of the energy we just regained from having lunch. Seeing the village and the terraces of Pat-yay from the top of the hill, we were granted yet another brief moment of tranquility. And the tranquility was indeed brief. As darkness gradually devoured the remaining light, we plunged back into the forest…back into the realm of Hades. And from that moment on, the forest trail seemed to stretch farther and farther…. Again, I was in a point in my life where I was compelled not to stop.
APRIL 7, 2008, midnight – We were finally out of the forest trail. “Malapit na,” uttered Abner, who was only on his 2nd time to guide climbers in traversing Mt. Amuyao. A constellation of fireflies also welcomed us. This, though superstitiously, further bolstered our optimism that the village was no longer that far away. Meticulously, we balanced and sometimes crawled over the rocks that line the paddies of the Cambulo rice terraces. Our pace, however, was dramatically slowed down by the darkness and most especially by the fear of dropping to the potentially great depth of the next rice terrace. At every 180 degree turn through the rice paddies to the other side of the mountain, we were all longing for village lights. What materialized before us, nonetheless, were another infinite stretch of rice paddies and a renewed hope of finally seeing village lights at the other side of the mountain. After more than two traumatic hours of crossing rice paddies and getting to yet another side of the mountain but still without signs of any village lights, we ultimately succumbed to the wrath of the traverse. At that point, we forgot about sleeping in one of the village buildings. We forgot about the planned liquor session. At a relatively spacious grazing area beside a pathway, we finally decided to stop.
APRIL 7, 2008, 11am – After eating late breakfast, we continued trekking only to be surprised that the village was just a meager 10 minutes away from where we stayed. Any regrets we may have that time, however, were overpowered by our craving for Coke. As we find our way through the village, we had asked nothing but: “San po ang bilihan ng Coke?” And as we continued our trek to Batad, we stopped at every station that sells Coke (or Gatorade if Coke is not available). Despite the price mark-up, there was nothing sweeter than a bottle of Coke…and more Coke.
APRIL 7, 2008, 4pm – A waiting shed loomed from about twenty meters from the trail. The sound of gushing water, possibly used in irrigation, could also be heard. With renewed vigor, we scurried toward the waiting shed. And we weren’t disappointed. The imposing amphitheater of Batad was just a few steps below us! Undermining any leg pain or scraped toe nail we may have gotten from yesterday’s torture, we ran down the cemented stairways of Batad. Basking in its grandeur, we took countless photos… and drank Coke while still awestruck by the majesty of Ifugao's engineering masterpiece.
BATAD SADDLE, 6pm – We finally reached the last step of the on-off stairways that stretched miles away from Barlig, Mountain Province. The sky was already painted red by the setting sun. Nevertheless, the aerial bloodbath was like nature’s way of commemorating with the team in that moment of triumph and euphoria. The clouds then gave way and revealed a very high mountain dominating the distant horizon. It was Mt. Amuyao! Far may not be enough to depict the distance between me and the mountain. But my affinity to it has grown more through this climb. This traverse, though comparable to a DEATH MARCH, is among the few life experiences that made me proud of myself and therefore something that I would do again in the future. It’s one of the few climbs where I think I outperformed my benchmark. After all, it was through climbing Mt. Amuyao where I became unconscious of time and learned how to not stop… |
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