Mt Apo: Day 3

Day Three: Lake Venado and Mt Apo Descent to Agco Resort

As mentioned in the previous blog describing how I spent night in Lake Venado, it was raining a lot and rain water had gotten inside my tent. My sleeping bag and all dirty garments were water -soaked. Had I not put my clean clothes in plastic bags, they could have been wet too. 

As a result of the non-stop rain, I could hardly sleep at my second night in Mt Apo. I was chilling to death. I cried the whole night, called my mom for rescue and kept praying that God should forgive me for doubting his existence, as if I'm going to die right there. Some miracles might have happened because despite the uncomfortable night in my tent, I was still able catch some sleep and when I woke up, sun had started to show up again. According to one of the guides, the rain stopped to pour by past mid night, though I felt like it didn't stop until early in the morning. I didn't check the time so I couldn't be sure. I made some fun with my face when I woke up because when I took my mirror out from my kit and saw my face, it's so puffy, and when I checked other people's face, most of us had bloated face! That's maybe because of the coldest weather we had plus the rain.

With BPs Christine, Henry and Ivan

Mt Apo and where we camped

 

This is Mt Apo as seen from Lake Venado

After our breakfast, the group got ready and prepared for a surprise wedding proposal by Louie to her long - time girlfriend Shyne, and take note they got married in May 2013. Here are some photos of Lake Venado:

BP Boys brainstorming on the proposal concept

As we needed to descend as early as we could, while the sun was up, everyone got busy packing things up and prepared to set-off  

With other mountaineers

The trek was going to end soon, and that means goodbye to Mt Apo. I'm going to miss it, I know.

The trail going down was not difficult but everyone needed to slow down a bit and be careful because it's slippery due to rain . Although there was already sunlight in most of the trek, rain was still sporadic, but not as heavy as in second day. On our way down, we passed by some waterfalls and I was sad for not able to take photos. It was raining and I couldn't take my cam out of its bag, unless I wanted it damaged :| .

What challenged me during our third day was the use of rappel and bamboo-made ladder, not to mention several river crossings that we did.

  

Photo Credit to Byaheng Jologs

Photo Credit to Byaheng Jologs

Photo Credit to Byaheng Jologs

 

Photo Credit to Byaheng Jologs

We'd been walking for more than half a day and we were all hungry and tired. Rappelling and river crossing had consumed much of my energy, and I had no more trail food. When we reached place where our guides said we could rest while they prepared for our lunch, I was at my happiest mood, same with the rest.

My swollen right foot

Photo by Byaheng Jologs

Photo by Liz

After an hour of resting, we proceeded. The river crossing continued.

Photo by Liz

 

After such a tiring whole-day trek, we went straight to Agco Resort where we spent a night. Yes, finally, I would be able to sleep on a soft. comfy bed. It was past 5 in the afternoon when we reached the resort, and I couldn't wait for the group to check-in so I could lay my back on bed and have a very good night sleep.

Agco Mountain Resort_Photo by Liz

Agco Resort_Photo by Liz

Agco Resort_Photo by Liz

To celebrate the success of the climb, the lead and climb organizer, Ivan, had called for an evening "socials" after our dinner. I wanted to join the socials all night long but I could only spare some time. My body was all so weary that it's begging for long hours of comfortable sleep. After spending some time in swimming pool and had myself cleaned, I went to bed and the next thing I knew it was already morning. And that's not something new to the group. It's so expected of me to go sleep after the trek or when I get tired.

Dinner Time @ Agko Mountain Resort

The Socials_Photo by Liz

 

The Socials_Photo by Liz

It was a successful climb, a very fulfilling one. I'm so lucky that despite the injury I had on the first day, I was okay, as in completely fine, though I needed to see a doctor and have ct scan or something the moment I get back to Manila, just to make sure.

Climbing Mt Apo was the most unforgettable climb I ever have, not because this is the highest mountain in Philippines, neither because this was the longest climb I ever had but because I got to see the different sides of this mountain - the rocks, the sulfur vent, the forest, waterfalls and the lake. This is truly a magical gift and I'd say I'm one of the luckiest person to ever witness such very rare, magnificent beauty of the nature. I so love this mountain and the entire 3-day trek experience. Every second counts, and every moment completes me as a nature-loving person.

Cristina
Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila