HAKBANG MOUNTAINEERS UNLIMITED: 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