 |
| 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 comments:
Post a Comment