FOR SOULS AND SAINTS: THE KALATUNGAN-WIJI TRAVERSE EXPERIENCE #3

The sea of clouds from afar and the view from atop Mt. Wiji

DAY 3

Wake up call

Past 5am, when daylight breaks, I slipped out of my sleeping bag and armed with my GoPro and Smartphone, I head outside the tarp and rejoiced at the beautiful day. There was just the wind to beat. The view was amazing. There was neither fog nor clouds to cover our view. The clouds were actually lower than us. I woke everyone up but I guess this is the only time that they slept. I went around the summit, took pictures and videos and waited for the sun to rise. Our guide was pointing to me Mt. Apo and the Kitanglad Ranges. One can actually see it from our point of view. I was really elated to have seen it all. One by one, each of the climbers rose and joined me in our viewing.

When the sun was fully up, we started to hang our wet clothes. The ladies started preparing breakfast. We have to leave at 9am so that we can reach Mendis before dark. After eating our breakfast, we started to repack and break camp. This is going to be a whole day descent. Everyone is ready and energized. We grabbed our backpacks and did a farewell photo at the peak and we started our descent.

Trying a pensive mood on a bright sunny day at the summit

Gay and B overlooking the other side of the summit

Pointing at Mt. Kalatungan

Enjoying the view and the fresh cold air

Picture perfect

Dancing in the wind

Thanking God for the beauty of creation

The silhouette that made it to the main page

 

The sea of clouds became prominent past 8am. Others were too busy to notice.

Within several minutes, the sea of clouds disappeared just before we took our farewell shot.

Dead Nail’s Trail

We encountered two danger trails on the way but good thing it was foggy that we could not see the cliff or else it would be too scary to walk over the edge of the mountain. The trail was most of the time descending but there were three instances that we need to climb up. Some us made quite a number of slips and falls but it’s part of the trek. There was a time that we were traversing a forest that looks monotonous. Trees, leaves, mud, roots – trees, leaves, mud, roots…over and over again for 4hours of trekking and there was no other view. It seemed that you are not progressing – you are walking stationary.

A short rest after hours and hours of descent

We stopped for lunch at a rest area and there started a fire to ease out the cold temperature. We cooked our provisions and reheated some of our viands. What was exciting was the preparation of s’more. While the rest were busy preparing lunch, some of us were enjoying ourselves with the sweet treat of s’mores. What’s funny is that this treat is foreign to our guide and porters. When our head cook asked for a stick (where you can use it to heat the mallows), the porters brought large twigs that could be enough to be used as firewood. The forest exploded into bursts of laughter. When they learned about it, they were not interested anymore for lunch but they were into the s’mores.

While preparing lunch, the rest enjoyed a sweet treat - S'mores

Another rendezvous

While we were taking our lunch, the group that we encountered at the View Deck and at the Junction campsite caught up with us. They stopped to rest then after a while head on to Mendis. We’ve learned that from Junction Campsite, they traversed the Wiji Summit and descended. Now, the trail is full of mountaineers. As we continued on our way home, we were navigating a slippery path. The danger is that the soft soil is covered under a pile of dried leaves. This is very difficult for us to walk on. That is why we were so careful not to butt-fall or maybe roll ourselves down the cliff.

After hours and hours of walk, we finally made it into the open air. We now have the view of the View Deck but it was at the opposite side of the mountain. There is a cliff that is between us. Then looking ahead, we saw how far we have traversed the other day and all of us could not believe the distance we’ve covered for the couple of days. This is really the beauty of mountain climbing; it will make you and unbeliever because you could not believe how you got to the top.

Another two hours before arriving Mendis. Near and yet so far

The first sighting of civilization was after 10 hours of hike from the Wiji summit. Other groups also caught up with us and we walked with them on the same path. We passed some plantations and fields, livestocks and huts, then we arrived at the farthest settlement. The road was very slippery because Carabao-driven cart is the mode of transportation and the path made by these carts is hardened and when it is wet, it is very slippery. Reports came to us that many among those who went ahead of us, slipped.

Again, the rain poured hard on us. When we were almost home, we were again drenched. The last group arrived when it was almost dark. We met at the social hall of Mendis and there we settled our account with the porters and guide. We handed also some freebies to them and then we took the habal2 back to the Municipal Hall of Pangantucan.

No wash up and no certificate yet a sumptuous dinner

When we arrived Pangantucan, the Department of Tourism office was already closed. After making some calls, we were unfortunately running out of option. We just changed our wet clothes at the washroom of the Municipal Hall and we drove back to Cagayan De Oro. Yes, fresh from the 12hr trek, now we are heading back to CDO for a six-hour drive. Crazy isn’t it? C’est la vie!

Oh, I almost forgot, our van has malfunctioning brakes. Don’t forget also that the heavy downpour is still on. Visibility is really limited and we’re all starving. Passing by Valencia, Bukidnon, we chanced upon an open restaurant. So glad that they accepted us even though they were about to close. The HMU had the most deserved Victory Party. We ate our hearts out but fatigue caught up with us sooner than later. The reality is that we were all dead tired. So after that hearty meal, we got back in the van and continued our journey to CDO.

Arriving CDO almost midnight, we bade goodbye to three of our colleagues who will still travel to Surigao. The three who will fly to manila the following day stayed in a sponsored accommodation.

All smiles but sitting down and getting up is a challenge that only climbers would know.

All were overwhelmed about the difficult challenge that was overcome in a 3D2N expedition. The Sixth highest in the Philippines with an 8/9 difficulty level, the Kalatungan-Wiji traverse proved to be too much to handle. But wait…we scaled it. We succeeded with not just one peak but two peaks at least. And wait, the dreaded Dead Nail’s Trail did not even spell its fortune on us. We made it without any dead nails.

We thank God for the strength and the will to push through whatever difficulties and barriers that hinder us. We thank all the Saints in heaven for protecting and guiding us. We pray that the sacrifices we made have alleviated the sufferings of our dearly departed loved one’s in purgatory.

Two peaks made it to the list of HMU’s Hall of Fame. We have conquered again and will be conquering more in the future.

“Nature is the best teacher, but you better enter its classroom.” - HMU

Jing overlooking at the sea of coulds from afar.

The rest of the gang with our sponsor, Mr. Medalla of Santo Padres Tours

Inside an almost empty CebPac flight to Mla. The fun continued.

 'Til the next climb

FOR SOULS AND SAINTS: THE KALATUNGAN-WIJI TRAVERSE EXPERIENCE #2

Overlooking the Kitanglad Ranges. If only we have wings to fly.

DAY 2

Relief

Getting up under the cold morning weather is a real struggle but thank God the rain stopped and the sun’s rays forced its way under the thick forest to warm us a bit. We tidied up the place, arranged our gears, hanged our damped clothes and immediately prepared breakfast. We greeted everyone and we recalled the recent experience and how we managed to survive. We never had a chance to talk anymore last night because we were all wasted.

 

Everyone needs to fill up during breakfast because they fasted yesterday.

We started to prepare breakfast for everyone and shared hot soup and drinks. Then each went to his or her own personal necessities. At past 8am, we prepared to scale the peak of Mt. Kalatungan. Leaving our things behind bringing only the necessary things for the summit, we started to climb for an hour or more. We passed again under the thick layer of mossy forest and the trail was a bit muddy because of the heavy downpour yesterday. Others were way ahead while the rest were 30minutes behind.

Going to the summit passing through the mossy forest

Son and G took a little breather and posed for a remembrance

Jing maneuvering around muddy path as we are nearing the summit

First Summit

At past 9am, we finally reached the peak of Kalatungan. It was grassy and there were some burnt trees standing which were very peculiar sights in almost all of the summits we have been to. There was the marker standing at the highest point. Some charcoaled wood that speaks of previous bonfire made by campers. Then there are different kinds of coins littered around which we heard are tribal offerings of some sort. We did not waste time, as the last group arrived; we offered thanksgiving prayer for finally making it together to the top.  It was foggy and there were only quick moments when the view presented itself. We took snapshots and saved the moments for eternity. We chatted for a while, cracked jokes and our guides pointed to us the rest of the mountains in the range as far as our eyes can see. After 30mins or so, we started our descent back to the camp.

By the summit marker, we are all smiles as we finally conquered Mt. Kalatungan.

The Kitanglad Ranges at the background and still furter, Bukidnon.

Thumbs up to the HMU for job well done.

We could not really contain our joy. Another bragging right.

Feeling cold at the summit

Gay presenting the summit marker of Kalatungan.

Thanksgiving

After cleaning up, we prepared ourselves for the celebration of the Holy Eucharist. It was Sunday and it is our obligation to thank God for everything and to pray for our safety when we go back home. The guide and porters joined the celebration under the foliage of the forest. We set up a small altar and with the sacred vessels and linens prepared we continued the celebration.

Right after the mass, we prepared our lunch. We were scavenging for our supplies because our menu was not anymore followed due to the incident last night. We were not able to prepare something last night because everyone was already tired and cold.

 

Lunch coming!

The messy Junction campsite after the heavy downpour yesterday

Rendezvous

When the group was already busy packing up for the next summit attempt, the group that we met at the View Deck started to arrive by the trickle. We greeted them. We learned that they are going to camp at this place for the night. It was good that we were not able to come together yesterday or else, the campsite will really be a crowd and the space was not actually enough for us since some areas were really damp and puddled. As we vacated our areas, the other group quickly erected their tents there. Then the crowd started to build as the other climbers arrived in groups. They were also dead tired and we know the feeling. But, what can we do? We need to move now so that we will reach the next peak before sunset.

Picture ops before packing up and heading to the Second Peak

Photo ops with our industrious guide and porters

Battered

The way towards the summit of Mt. Wiji was rewarding at first but the second half was punishing. In traversing to the other summit, we need to go down to the base of the valley before we start the assault to the next peak. It was a walk in the park then a steep assault. What made it worse is that the rain started to pour again. With my poncho torn to pieces, I was at the mercy of the heavy downpour. Nah! It’s gonna be a struggle once again. When we have walked past the mossy forest, we were already traversing the grassy hill, we were already exposed to the rain and the wind. Then it felt cold. Hours away from the summit, we were already drenched. The path was muddy and slippery while the wind kept on battering us from every side. This made our assault turtle-paced. Being in the middle group, I started to hear the first group shouting. Then I realized that the summit is near.

At 30mins before reaching the summit, rain and wind is battering down on us. Gotta keep moving!

Second Summit

Wow, I am finally at the Second Summit – Mt. Wiji. But it was too early to celebrate since the wind started to pick up and the rain started to really pour down on us so hard. I need to find a way to slip into our dry clothes or else we will be waging war against hypothermia. It was wet all around. There were some few patches of land where we can erect our tent. Our colleagues who were not used to extreme weather conditions popped up my 2 second tent and they gathered inside like wet chicks. I supposed it was really a struggle for them. The rest were under the heavy rain. We were on the highest point and we don’t expect to be covered by something unless we do something about it. Since the ground is wet, I snipped some fodder cane and piled them up on the ground for insulation and to avoid seepage on our ground sheet. We erected the tarp – the fastest shelter we can erect. We were racing against time. My hands started to numb. I could not feel my fingers anymore. Some more cords, some more pegs, some more insulators, and when we finally had our shelter, one by one we slipped into our dry clothes and gradually regained our normal body temperature. Again, no other tents were erected though we still have two tents. There was just no more energy to use. We were exhausted once again.

A big help from our little friends Mr. Hennessy, Mr. Daniels and Mr. Baileys so we can survive the 5degree temperature.

Another long night

I know that this night will be worse than the first night because here we are fully exposed. We started to wrap our feet with thermal blankets, put some heat pads, layers of coats and thermals and whatever we can think of. We cooked dinner and shared them to others. Yes, it was still raining during dinner. Two colleagues remained in the tent for fear that they are going to freeze to death when they will go out from their tent. They were drenched since the tent was not waterproof-cured ahead of time. They said that water is seeping under the ground and water is dripping from the roof of the tent. We could not do anything more.

Three packs of pancit canton, hot drinks and some other food stuff were necessities that we could not let pass. We ate our hearts out to regain our energy. After that, we drank shots of liquor to help us gather heat swiftly. We left the LED lantern on so that we will not be afraid of the dark. Hehehe.

As night slipped so slowly, the wind battered us before midnight. The rain came to a drizzle but the wind was so strong. I was scared that the pegs would give up and our tarp be blown away by the wind, so, I was in constant vigil. I felt that the temperature dropped as low as 5degrees. I found it hard to sleep and I believe my colleagues too. The rain stopped somehow and gave view to the bright stars in the sky. I was tempted to go out and have a moment of stargazing but it was just impossible to bear the freezing wind. So I watched from where I was lying.

...to be continued.

FOR SOULS AND SAINTS: THE KALATUNGAN-WIJI TRAVERSE EXPERIENCE #1

The proud Mt. Katalungan viewed from Mt. Wiji Summit

The time is ripe! We are resolved to push ourselves to our limit…if we have one. The Kalatungan-Wiji traverse is a dreaded 8/9 in the difficulty scale (Pinoy Mountaineer) and honestly, we are a bit worried about this. The dead nail’s trail poses a traumatic remembrance of the Mt. Ugo’s long and exhausting descent that literally killed some of our nails. Are we going to do this again? Maybe this time, we are going to cremate our dead nails.

The plan to conquer Kalatungan was rather an alternative to scaling Mt. Kitanglad which we avoided because of a previous climber’s disappointment. We don’t want to experience that so we chose another venue, another peak to overcome. Fortunately, this time, we are going to summit not only one but two peaks in one expedition.

The communications were made, the invitations were sent, the gears were updated and the date was set.  A long holiday was the choice for this arduous task. October 28-30 is weekend and 31 to November 1 is a non-working holiday. We have a 5-day break that would be enough for this undertaking.

Leaving Mactan International Airport on a delayed Cebu Pacific flight

Six able men and women committed to climb and we did not lose much time. We contacted a close friend in Cagayan De Oro for accommodation and transportation and we right away proposed our itinerary. One climber comes from Luzon, three from the Visayas and two from Mindanao. We are eventually “inter-archipelagic”, so to say.

An hour up in the air and now we just landed in Laguindingan Airport

Meet up at the airport

DAY 0

Destination Cagayan De Oro

Our meet up venue was at a travel agency in Cagayan de Oro. Scheduled to meet up in the afternoon, we played with lady luck to arrive on time knowing that with flights getting delayed, we are going to spoil our planned activities. The first to arrive in Cagayan de Oro is the one coming from Luzon. Yes! It is always the case. The one from the farthest is the first one to arrive. The next to arrive is the delegate from the Visayas who endured more than an hour of flight delay. The last delegation has the home court advantage.

Jing ang Gay at the Laguindingan Airport Arrival area after flight delays

At 8pm, as planned, we hastily purchased our provisions trying to catch up before the store closes because it was already too late. We don’t want to proceed without our food rations. We hurriedly went back to our meet up point, met and greeted each other, did some repacking and freshening up for the long trip ahead. We are scheduled to leave at 10pm to beat the sunrise at the jump off in Pangantucan, Bukidnon.

We already left past 10pm with the thought that we can beat our schedule if we drive a bit faster. But what the heck, our self-drive van has malfunctioning brakes. It was noticed when at the crossroad, the vehicle did not stop. Hahaha! Now this, we could not drive faster and we don’t have time to change vehicles. We just prayed that no incident will gravely happen before our climb.

Driving in Cagayan de Oro to Bukidnon late at night is smooth and fast apart from being quite dark because there are few street lamps. Though the roads are impressively wide, it’s just so dangerous to overspeed when you could not see well and you have malfunctioning brakes.

DAY 1

Early Arrival

With a lot of help from my co-pilot, I tried to stay awake because I have never really slept for two days straight and the jetlag is sickening. Then, here I am, driving for the next six-hour trip to our destination. The rest of the gang, are in the middle of their dreams. Feeling exhausted and starved, we tried to look for a place to eat. Arriving in Malaybalay past 2am, we stopped at a nearby 7-11, the only open shop. Well, it should. Satisfying temporarily our growling tummies, we proceeded further. Before reaching Valencia, we got stuck in traffic at this hour of dawn. We were just standing still for an hour or more. There was an infrastructural work on a bridge and both ways were barred. We were really worried of not making it on time.

Driving and driving in a never-ending road, we turned away from the highway and we traversed the provincial road that will bring us to Pangantucan. We even drove past Pangantucan. Going back on our track we finally reached the Municipal Hall of Pangantucan at 0430hrs. With the delays and the pit stop, we still managed to travel in six-hours. How is this possible? I have no idea.

Only the assigned guard was present at the Municipal hall. We begged to use the washrooms and we rested for several minutes just to acclimatize ourselves. The weather was fair and it was subtly cold. We were too early. The offices were still closed and will not be open until 7am. We asked around were we can take breakfast and the folks were kind enough to direct us to a small “carenderia”. Though it was open, breakfast was not yet served. So what we did was to park the van and dozed off.

A sunny day to start the trek

By 0630hrs, we woke everyone up for breakfast. The carenderia was soon catering not only to us but to early workers and patrons at the start of the new day. After breakfast, we purchased our lunch together with the lunch of our porters and guide. We freshened up a bit and warmed ourselves up for the climb. We were greeted with a very fair weather and sunny at that. We were not any more concerned about our timetable. 

G, Fra and Son filling up the waiver issued by the DOT in Pangantucan

By 0830hrs we reported to the Department of Tourism but this was already too late and the sun was really up and shining. We filled up the waiver, paid the registration and waited for our ride. There is another large group who will climb also today and they are organizing a reach-out program for the inhabitants of Mendis (jump off point). There was a van that will carry all their bags and equipment and we put our luggage also together with theirs. We took our habal-habal ride and in less than 30 minutes, we arrived at Mendis. We met our guide and porters and we dispersed our provisions and gear to them. The ritual that we were compelled to attend was already passed on to the large group so we were already free of that. 

Getting cozy with the Habal-habal. It's still a 30min drive to Mendis Jump off

At Brgy. Mendis Multi-purpose Hall, we distrubuted our loads to our porters. All are excited now to start the trek.

The pose before the trek. No one has any idea of the difficulties that lie ahead. Good luck guys!

As soon as everything was in order, we held our prayer and we started our trek. Everyone was reminded that this trek is not an ordinary endeavor because every step we make and every difficulty we encounter, we offer them to the souls of our loved ones. May our sacrifices will liberate our dearly departed from the pains they are undergoing wherever they may be.

The first hour of the trek is usually the hard one.

Lunch break

Past 1pm, we arrived at the View Deck and we prepared our lunch. The view deck is a two-storey wooden structure complete with tables and benches. There is a good view of the plains and hills below if you go up the deck. As we heard, some mountaineers made this place also as their campsite. The only problem was the presence of a bunch of honey bees and they scared our ladies very much. Don’t just hurt them and they will not sting. It was just a relief that they did not cause much trouble, though, at times they really ventured into the deepest recesses of our pants. 

Crossing by the river during the first hour of trekking. Someone's glove fell over the water to oblivion.

We have decided to camp at the summit of Kalatungan because I was convinced that the group can make it to the top before dark. But the guide told us that with our pacing, we might reach the summit at 7pm. I was then confident that we can make it. In less than an hour of lunch break, we proceeded towards the forest line where all kinds of vegetation were already visible.

By the time we reached Buko-buko sa Anay, it was already past 4pm and they said that we are still a long way up the summit. The ascent was gradual but the distance seemed a bit farther still. 

Gay and B at the Buko-buko sa Anay's Ridge

Heavy downpour

After passing by Saco camp, it started to pour. This was what I dreaded. The higher we climb, the wet we become and the colder it gets. As we were passing by the mossy forest, the rain went heavy and we have got to stop to pull our ponchos out. Then it started to get darker by the minute. We become oblivious of the trail markers that we have to get our head lamps. We took a bit of time to find it because it was buried deep in our backpacks. We thought that we are very near the Junction Campsite but it was all an illusion. As we got into the grassy field, the wind was battering upon us. Traversing between the grassy hills, I felt like it’s endless. Darkness fell upon us and I was already worried about those who were still farther down. Will they make it? Will they camp out somewhere down there? We started to fabricate theories on how we are going to survive if worst comes to worst. Our porters were also divided among the small groups. If we are going to decide to just camp out because we could not move on, do we have all the gear to keep us alive through the night. We thought that we can. Then the guide met us along the way. He wanted to carry our gear for us but I begged him to rather fetch the last group behind us. They said that they were still at Buko-buko sa Anay, which in my rough estimate would still be a couple of hours behind us. Our guide proposed that under this weather condition we could not anymore reach the summit. We need to camp out for the night at the Junction camp. He has instructed the group who were ahead of us. Even those who were ahead of us did not yet reach the campsite. Thus, we are still so far away. We’re dead! 

The mossy forest

Crisis management

Little by little, we pushed through. The group was divided among three smaller group of two’s. My torch was starting to give up on me. It was not fully charged. Oh my! I could not see where I am going anymore. We went deep into the jungle again somehow shielding us from the wind and downpour. Not seeing well where I am going, I fell several times even once I tumbled down when my pack got stuck in a branch. I picked myself up and with the last ounce of courage I inched my way to the campsite. We arrived at 7pm (just as the guide was telling us when we were still at the View Deck). I was overconfident that we can make it to the top. I found our fellow mountaineers using the cabin as their tent because they were drenched and were shivering in the cold. Our guide decided to go back and help the last group. Since there were still porters along with the last group, we could not organize as of yet. Our gears and provisions were divided so much so that we could not cook because the butane canisters were at the last porter. Even our tents were scattered. This was for us another experience that we could not forget. We were drenched and chilling under the cold temperature. We rummaged through our packs looking for something to make hot drinks. Even the food was with the last porter. All we could do was to establish right away a dry place so that we can jump into our dry clothes and be warm. 

The saving camp

Good thing that the tarp is already at the camp. We assembled it right away and built it above a wet patch of clearing. We put the ground sheet and we hurriedly switched into our dry outfits. After that, we erected another tent for our suffering members. We were lucky to find one butane canister from the backpack of our guide and we started heating up hot noodles to keep us warm. Everything was topsy-turvy. Our gears and equipment were scattered around. There was mud all around. I could not organize everything. Maybe this is the effect of hypothermia – disorientation. In one hand, we are struggling to survive. In the other hand, it was ridiculous. We could not seem to complete the tasks in hand because our supplies were scattered among the porters. Much of what we need were with the last porter. Adrenaline kicked in and we improvised for survival’s sake. The last group arrived at 9pm, two hours behind us.

Exhaustion

All were wasted. Some did not anymore take dinner and just slept their way out of the cold. Our guide and porter prepared the meal on their own. Some of us just contented ourselves with the hot noodles and a cup of coffee. We did not even dare anymore to erect the rest of the tents because of exhaustion and just simply nowhere you can find a place good enough to build it. Under the tarp, three of us cramped in a very small place using all the heat we can to make it through the night.

The longest night

This was one of the longest nights in my life when however you want to sleep was not just possible because of the frigid night. We were at the mercy of the 5-10degrees temperature with no walls or windbreaker to protect us. I was really freezing out in the night and it was still before midnight. Oh my! What have I done to deserve this??? My companions were sound asleep (I presumed) while I was fighting with numbness. I prayed that it will be daylight right away. Rain kept on pouring and the night seemed to pass us by so slowly. I never considered anymore the danger of night creatures crawling on us or whatever. I was focused on how to heat myself up so I can sleep. But to no avail, I was just counting sheep ever hour, every minute and every second of the night.

…to be continued.