CLIMB FOR MERCY

As the Church celebrates the Jubilee of Mercy,

we will make this climb as our own way

of reaching out to our brothers and sisters

in the remote areas of Mt. Canlaon

by distributing basic commodities, school supplies,

and just about anything that we can share

to them.

JOIN US!

NO OTHER WAY BUT UP: THE UGO EXPERIENCE 3/3

Time to pack up

WAKE UP CALL

At 0500hrs, I woke everyone up and we broke camp. Our tents were still drained with morning dew but we need to pack them up. We placed our provision safely for our meal breaks on the way. We cleaned the area, rounded up our trash, pulled out pegs and kept the area in order for the next campers who will arrive. The guide and porters came later and started to rearrange our packs. The wind was once again picking up and the chill of the cold morning hit us hard. The campsite was shrouded with fog. What a beautiful morning.

FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT

Starting the day with the Eucharist

Quarter to seven, we convened around the table of the Lord’s sacrifice to celebrate the first Sunday of Advent. Amidst the chilly morning, we gave thanks to God for the wonderful experience on top of his mountain. I reminded everyone about our duty to fulfill our obligation no matter wherever we will be and to thank God always for the gift of creation and the resilience of the human spirit to push oneself to his limits.

We shared God’s body and blood and we prayed for the strength to return to our lives full of hope that we can overcome our own difficulties and trials because this is what this mountain is teaching us.

MORE CHALLENGES AHEAD

Descending from the summit

Wet terrain, slippery rocks, steep slopes, less visibility, strong wind and wobbly knees are ingredients of disaster. The climbers experienced that it is much difficult to traverse the descent than that of the ascent. Everyone has his share of slips and bumps. With the body aching in pain, a butt landing is much worse. We navigated the slopes with utmost attention because the drop was really deep. I gave the instruction to utilize the reeds along the way to get more support but with thorny herbs, we had unexpected cuts. What we thought as a walk in the park became a very difficult trek.

One group caught up with us and since they were more experienced, we gave way to them. When we were the only ones left behind, the child in us started to play. Here we used our cameras and took so many snapshots while enjoying the view as the fog gradually dissipated and revealed the beautiful surrounding.

SILENCE

Walk, walk and walk

The first hours were fun hours full of excitement. Cheers, jeers and jokes can be audible from the sweeper’s point. But the farther we hike, the silent we all became. From one marker to the next we became doubtful about the real distance we are traversing. The interval between climbers became so distant that everyone seemed to disappear towards the bend. No conversations whatsoever. We were all by ourselves asking if this trek will ever end.

Now, our adrenalines were all exhausted and our minds are playing tricks on us. Walk, walk, walk and walk. All we ever do was walk. Then we encountered a hill to traverse and we started to complain why we need to climb again.

CIVILIZATION

Digging into our provisions after a long walk.

After hours and hours of walk, we finally encountered civilization. The first sighting of houses, dogs, horse, cows and rice paddies gave us a hope that the end is near. We stopped for lunch under a shed in a house where potable water is flowing freely. We dug into our provision and took our lunch. Some of us even bought sodas from a nearby store. We gave ourselves a 30min break for a short siesta but this was a premature celebration. We were discouraged to stay longer because the walk is still long. I agreed to this because the body might think that we have reached our destination and it will start to shutdown. It might already be too painful to continue walking for another 5-7hrs. So, we rounded everyone up and we started to walk.

SCORCHING HEAT

The view under the heat of the day

We were already scorched under the intense heat of the sun even before lunch break and here we are once again walking under the heat of the sun. We found ourselves rehydrating more often. The next water source is still far and we are running out of water. We passed by under pine trees and open areas and no shade can protect us from the afternoon sun. We were sweating and every descent became very difficult with our aching knees and feet. If before a mere 500M is manageable by a 15min walk, now, we need a good 30mins to traverse half a kilometer. The descent started to be very difficult for some of our mountaineers. We were once again face to face with the 3km to forever experience.

SUNSET

Just before sunset and still miles away from the bridge

Our guide and porters during lunch time calculated that we will arrive past 7pm and now, other than defying what was prophesied, we thought to ourselves that they might be right and the descent could be really difficult. And so it is. The setting sun caught up with us on the way. It started to get darker again. Group after group, we were overtaken along the way. We were already very slow. When we were at the 1.5km marker I started to doubt my fighting spirit. I was really about to give up because my feet were already so painful and my knees were uncontrollable anymore. I need to run if I want to survive. When the good porter took the sweeper post, I ran the remaining 500m and I arrived at the foot of the mountain ahead of everyone. I sat down and thank God that I survived. One last kilometer to go and we’re done.

CAN WE MAKE IT HOME?

The hanging steel bridge at night

With a weary heart and energy-drained mountaineers, we asked if we can still make it home. We made a longer rest in a store. While the guide and porters took their dinner, we were resting and contemplating what lies ahead. We shared some trail snacks to give us the final boost to reach the pick up point. After 30mins, we started to hike the remaining 1km towards the hanging steel bridge. We had our final picture ops at the bridge but the dark surrounding made it difficult to have a perfect shot of the bridge. What was important was to take a picture at the km.0 marker to seal our success. After passing the bridge, we still need to walk uphill towards the waiting shed to wait for our pick-up van. When we arrived at the roadside, we dropped our packs and we prayed. We congratulated everyone and it became a very emotional moment for each of us. We made it. We are alive. We are tired. We are hungry. The question now is “When will we be fetched from here?”

VICTORY PARTY

Holding their certificates, they celebrated the successful expedition

After a very long wait, we were finally fetched by our van and we made our way towards the Tinongdan Barangay Hall. We caught up with another group who overtook us. They have already showered and cleaned up getting ready to leave. For us, we were met by the officers of the barangay as well as the good Brgy. Captain Benjamin. They were so accommodating asking us to take coffee or to take showers and wash up. With body pain all over, the girls refused to take the offer and they did not even dared to go down from the van. They were all dead tired. Only the treasurer made the final transactions for the fee and the climb certificate. After 30mins. we were on our way to Baguio City.

We decided to go directly to a restaurant for the victory party than to go first to our overnight accommodation. At a certain restaurant we celebrated our success. Everyone limped on their way to the hall and refused to stand quick because of the pain. We made our orders and we ate and celebrated with our throwback experiences. After the meal, I presented the certificate to everyone and we had our photos taken with our certificates.

EPILOGUE

We've made history once again

What can I say? There’s no other way but up! But life is not always a life on top. We need to know our origin and somehow man’s real success is measured in how he acknowledges his beginnings. We climbed and reached the top. No matter how we desired to just stay on top forever, we have to say goodbye and get back to where we come from. Yes! Today, we have made a significant mark in our lives. We have conquered Mt. Ugo the least. We know that there are still other mountains to conquer in the near future but what we have learned from this journey is that we have the inner power to overcome all difficulties. God did not make the earth and kept it hidden from man. When He made the world, He empowered man to conquer it. In the same way, God did not allow trials and difficulties to disable us humans. He allowed these in our lives because He knows that we can conquer them all.

To my fellow mountaineers who were with me in this momentous journey, I salute you all for your resilience and your determination. We made it because we carried each other in our difficulties. I hope and pray that in the same manner, when one of us will have a difficult trial in life, we will be there to carry him/her to the top. Kudos!

ITINERARY

DAY 1

2030hrs                -              Assembly at SM Sucat for marketing

DAY 2   

0000hrs                -              Departure for Kayapa, Nueva Vizcaya

0700hrs                -              Arrival at Kayapa Public Market

0830hrs                -              Start Trek

0930hrs                -              First Waiting Shed

1045hrs                -              Open area rest

1145hrs                -              Second Waiting Shed

1300hrs                -              Lunch break at Km.12 to Summit

1445hrs                -              Boulder on the cliff

1450hrs                -              Third waiting shed (We might have passed by another shed on the way)

1525hrs                -              Fourth waiting shed

1730hrs                -              Km.3 marker

1900hrs                -              Arrival at campsite/ Good night

DAY 3

0630hrs                -              Wake up call

0830hrs                -              Breakfast

0930hrs                -              Picture Ops

1130hrs                -              Holy Eucharist

1300hrs                -              Lunch

1500hrs                -              Summit Assault

1515hrs                -              Arrival at Summit

1800hrs                -              Supper/ Good night

DAY 4

0500hrs                -              Wake up call/ Break camp

0645hrs                -              Holy Eucharist

0730hrs                -              Departure

0800hrs                -              Last view of the summit

0900hrs                -              Breakfast

0950hrs                -              Km. 13

1036hrs                -              Km. 11

1100hrs                -              Old Saw Mill

1104hrs                -              Km. 10

1130hrs                -              Km. 9

1210hrs                -              Cow’s gate

1217hrs                -              Rice paddies

1250hrs                -              Lunch break and 30min rest

1620hrs                -              Km. 3.5 and water source

1642hrs                -              Km. 3 stop near a house and a clean canal

1718hrs                -              Km. 2

1852hrs                -              Depiy hanging bridge

2014hrs                -              Arrival at Tinongdan Barangay Hall for the certificates

2200hrs                -              Arrival in Baguio and Resto for Victory party

ITINERARY SUMMARY

Trip from Manila to Kayapa                       -              7hrs.

Trek from Kayapa to Campsite                  -              10.5hrs.

Trek from Campsite to Summit                  -              15mins.               

Trek from Campsite to Pick-up point         -              11.5hrs.

*All trips and treks includes stopovers for meals and personal necessities.                          

BUDGET

Registration Fee which includes the printing of the certificate     -              P200

Commemorative shirt + printing                                                   -              P250

Food (including the victory party meal)                                        -              P800

Transportation                                                                                -              P700

Guide                                                                                              -              P125

Porter (excluding personal porter’s fee)                                         -              P125

TOTAL                                                                                             -         P2,200

MT. UGO INFORMATION

Mr. Ramsee (Brgy. Tinongdan)  -              09195222881

Brgy. Captain Benjamin             -              09082637134

Ms. Liza Diase (DENR)             -              09223529454

Guide (Rudy)                              -              09301556685

Councilor Pacio                          -              09102508492

NO OTHER WAY BUT UP: THE UGO EXPERIENCE 2/3

STRONG WINDS

Battered by strong winds, the tents stood their ground

From the time we reached the campsite, we were already battered with super strong winds. The tents were difficult to assemble because we could not stabilize it. There should be two or three persons erecting the tent. From inside the tents, we tried to sleep the night away. Waking up more often in the night and at dawn, the wind did not stop but it made the clouds disappear. Just days after the full moon, I got to witness the beautiful lunar brightness that enlightened the whole campsite. I went out of the tent and there was the roar of the mighty wind but the tents stood silently. Everyone was fast asleep. I made my way through the bushes and relieved myself from the burden.

BREAKFAST ABOVE 2K MASL

All smiles as the ladies had their first meal at the campsite

Wake up call was around 630am. I rounded everyone up to see if they are alright. Thank God, everyone was ready for another day. We started unpacking our provisions, looking for a place to assemble our stoves and we prepared our breakfast. Some of us are busy trying to answer the call of nature. The chill was around 14degrees C. I was busy looking for small parts of logs that we may use as benches. I collected broken branches to cover our cooking area from the wind. Hot water was shared and coffee aroma filled the air. We then prepared the tarp and the ground sheet for our meals. Pegs were collected to stabilize our small mess hall and we also stabilized our tents. Breakfast is ready. We hopped in, recited our grace before meal and we feasted on the variety of food that we have prepared. We talked about the experience yesterday and how we survived the climb and the weather.

ALONE AT THE CAMPSITE

By 10am, the group that came ahead of us, broke camp and hiked towards the summit and towards their traverse course to Mt. Pulag. Only then, the group was left alone at the campsite. We took the liberty to make the whole campsite our own. We took pictures and selfies and chanced upon the clear skies that we saw the surrounding view. Everyone enjoyed the breathtaking view. Jump shot, climb shot, low shot, high shot, selfie shot, dangerous shot, and all kinds of shots were executed.

INTRUDERS

Checking up on the visitors

Not for long, cows started to arrive at the campsite. We were warned by the guide and porters to secure our wet clothing because cows usually nibble on them like food because they like the salty content of the human sweat in the clothing. They also will rummage into our food supply. So, we were shooing them away with just about anything we can pick from the ground. Unfortunately, we could not find stones so we use their own dried wastes to hit back on them. But in vain, they come around and we could not let them leave us. We just tried to keep them away from the tents and from the mess hall. I guess we are in their habitation. We are the intruders.

THANKSGIVING MASS

Celebrating the Holy Eucharist at 2,000MASL

At around 1130hrs when we were all tired from all the picture ops, we rested and we thanked the Lord for the strength to bear all the hardships and for the wonderful creation that he has kept from those who are not brave enough to climb the heights. Under our makeshift mess hall, we prepared for the Holy Eucharist. The Saturday before the first Sunday of Advent we were encouraged to prepare for the coming of the Lord. We partake in the holy communion and we spent moments of silence for our personal intentions. It was wonderful to celebrate the Lord’s mysteries on top of the mountain that we can call heaven on earth.

LUNCH TIME

Still the rice was half-cooked. Who cares, we are hungry.

After the Misa is Lamesa. We are now busy with preparing the lunch. I made sure that everyone is involved in food preparation by assigning two climbers for each meal but unfortunately, the notes were left in the van. So, everyone just helped in every way they could. I can see that they really like the setup. It’s reminiscent of the bahay-bahayan that as children we usually play. Some are washing the dishes, some are cooking, some are preparing the drinks, while some are taking pictures. Documentation is also necessary. Food was ready in a matter of an hour and we squatted back again in our mess hall to enjoy share the food. But as of lunch time, our cooks found it hard to cook the rice well. They always end up with half-cooked rice.

ASSAULT TOWARDS THE SUMMIT

As we near the summit

The plan was to go by batch since we could not leave the campsite with cows roaming around ready to eat our provisions. Good thing that after lunch, a group of mountaineers arrived and started to camp. Our porters also came with them with a 20-liter potable water brought from the nearest water source. We paid P300 for the service.

So that we can all go climb together the summit, I requested one of their leaders of the other group to look after our campsite and our provisions from the cows. Thus, at 1500hrs, we commenced our assault to the summit. The summit is just a 15-30min trek from the campsite. The weather started to be windy and foggy again and we don’t have any vision of what lies beneath us and what lies ahead. After a breath-catching hike, we arrived as what appeared to be the summit. But no! I was looking for the marker. There was none. We tried to look for it but we could not find anything. Are we on top???

What's left as the summit marker. We made it to the top!

Almost frustrated in looking for the marker, I called barangay Tinongdan. It was then brought to our attention that the summit marker was stolen by bandits. Oh, poor thing. Oh, what a pity. We wouldn’t have any photographical evidence of our reaching the summit. But anyway, we found a piece of marker at the summit, a piece of concrete marker with “PROVINCE” engraved on it. We touched it with our fingers and then took our picture with it. Then we commenced the partying on top of Mt. Ugo but we never forgot to pray for the success of the climb and pray also for the souls of those who perished from the Philippine Airlines crash victims.

Wacky!

Summit pose

DINNER PREPARATION

"What do we have for dinner girls? Half-cooked rice again?"

After an hour on the summit, we commenced our descent to the campsite. When we reached the place, we were astonished by the multitude of mountaineers who arrived. There were already tents sprouting around. We got to meet other climbers, greet them and welcome them.

Fire dance and fire pose

For fear that the same wind will batter us this evening; we started to prepare our meals earlier. We prepared also our breakfast and lunch for the following day since our wake up call time is at 0500hrs and our ETD is at 0700hrs. Hence, we won’t have much time to cook for our meals during the descent. I started to collect firewood so that I can start with a little campfire always being cautious that a large fire might cause forest fire because of the wind. While they were busy cooking, I was lighting already the campfire.

Bad news again: Rice was half-cooked. So, we need to fry it after cooking so that we can still eat it. Breakfast was ready as well as lunch for tomorrow. We secured it inside the sack. Dinner was ready and as the night started to descend, we were already taking our dinner. The campfire burned steadily and it helped us warm ourselves. It started to get colder and colder by the hour. Good thing that the wind was not so strong. We spent longer times outside of our tent. The cooks were busy frying the half-cooked rice while we were waiting for the others so that we can continue with our socials. But when, they were already suffering from the cold, one by one, crawled back into their tents and dozed off. We were not able to pursue with our socials this evening.

Alas! Gotcha Moony-moony!

IN PURSUIT OF THE MOON

As we went deeper into the night, other group of mountaineers busied themselves with their socials over a glass of wine. This will help warm the human body but I read somewhere that this is not and advisable practice. We don’t have that provision. We only have the fire to warm our bodies.

We were watching in patience when the moon will show itself again so that we can take pictures. The longer we waited; the dimmer was our chances to see the moon. It showed just for a few seconds then it is covered by the clouds. We really did not have a good chance. When it started to drizzle, we called it a night and we took off inside our tents. Oh, moon, we know you are there just above the skies. If you are shy, then we will sleep.

SCAVENGER

We were awakened in our deep sleep when one of our mountaineers called to us. She said that there is a dog rummaging around our provision. What came to mind was the breakfast and lunch that we are going to take with us today. I was really alarmed. When I peeked from the tent, I saw a black…puppy. It was not even a dog yet. I run the light of my penlight and saw that only the trash bag was disturbed. Our sack of provision was still untouched. Good thing that we were spared. 

... TO BE CONTINUED.