MT APO: Journey To The Summit (Day 2)

Day 2 of Our Three-Day Trek

Mixed emotions. That's what I felt when the trek began on Day 2. I was both excited and at the same time tensed and not comfortable. I've been thrilled to reach the summit of Mt Apo however all kinds of risk are imaginable before one could even set his feet at the pinnacle. I just got an injury on my Day 1 so I might get another one if I don't act with utmost care and with 100% presence of mind. But I'm ready for the challenge, both mentally and emotionally. Besides, I was with most trustworthy people in trail, the Backpackers. I know when worst things come, they won't leave me.

When I was told of ascent through boulders, that's what scared me a bit because what I had in mind was similar experience when we traversed Bagong Bali to Madlum River in Bulacan over 2 years ago. That was my first climb that caused my knee injury to worsen. To read my blog on that experience you may click this.  That was a nightmare, but thinking how I was able to survive, that gave me a different sense of fulfillment that is never achieved through formal education, not even a promotion.

So, thinking of the same boulders, I was not confident to make it through without having another injury. But like I said, I was ready. I wanted it and I'm gonna get it done.

When the team left Godi-Godi campsite, everyone had that high spirit and excitement to reach the summit. Once again, we're blessed with a very fine weather so everybody was delighted. I was smiling when we began the trek, not until we needed to climb an almost 90 degrees up hill. Thank goodness, I availed porter service so I didn't have heavy bag to carry.

Liz with her heavy back pack

Christine, in one of the trails

It wasn't an easy trail. One of the guides I spoke with said that if we were like strolling in a park on day 1, real climb begins in day 2 trail. And he's right. We're close to the summit so difficult ascent is always expected. 

Few more kilometers and we're already reaching almost half of the trail. I usually don't look back when I climb because when I get to higher elevation and look down, I feel as if I advance only few meters away from the starting point. But this isn't the case for Mt Apo. As we moved up and tried to turn back to see how far we've reached, we're seeing different spots around the mountain, so it's like we're walking upward in a surrounding pattern; thus, giving us different beautiful views or scenes.

Seen is the KAPATAGAN.

The porters behind us

I wish I can have these plants in our backyard.

We just turned to the other side of the mountain

This is adjacent to the trail

I was amazed by the flora and fauna in Mt Apo. I had seen plants that were new to  me. I guess the only wild plant that I'm familiar with is the so-called carabao grass, and I'm not even 100% sure if those grasses were really carabao grass because although they look pretty much alike, the stems or vines are quite bigger. And hey, there's another plant I know, the wild ferns! 

These plants were so entertaining that I didn't even care about the trail anymore. My focus switched from the rocky trail to the wild life I'd been seeing on our way to Mt Apo, until I heard Ivan saying we're near the sulfur vent. 

And that is right! We're near, and the closer we get to the vent, the harder the trail became because that means we need to pass through the boulders.

But before we began the boulder interaction, why wouldn't we stop for a while to take photos :) ?

And my most scary part of the trek was about to start... We're going to climb the most rocky portion...

Liz advancing to the boulders

Pahinga din pag may time

April and she's closer to the sulfur

One of the guides

And then the sulfur vent! We needed to wear mask otherwise we wouldn't be able to breathe.

Oh wow! That was one of the best part of the trek! Seeing nothing around me but rocks, I felt like I was in a scene in the movie "The Hobbit" where gigantic rocks forming like giant monsters were fighting against one another! So those creatures could be real!


As the trek does not end in the sulfur vent, we proceeded. We were getting higher, and higher.

Ivan, the group's event organizer and leader

Then, we reached the so called BORACAY. While on the way to this resting area, I had no clue as to why the place is called Boracay. I was thinking of some guesses like "is there like an island or white sand at the top of Mt Apo?" Knowing it would not be possible to have an island on top of a mountain, I inquired from one of the guides as to why the place is called BORACAY, which is the famous beach-island in Philippines, and he said that it's for no reason other than the seemingly white sandy ground that we're going to see. Then I responded with "Ahhhhh!, Okay" then let's see.


When we got to the place, it's not similar to Boracay but it's sand is purely white and cream colors. It's spectacular! According to the guide, it's the only portion in the mountain that is flattened so mountaineers can rest and cook.

Boracay :) Our guides were setting up a tent.

  

We had our lunch at Boracay. It was a nice place to rest. After spending plenty of time there, we started the trek again. Our next stop would be the crater lake of Mt Apo.

Ivan and Heinz. Behind them is the Boracay

It all started with a good weather but that condition didn't last long. Just before we reached the crater lake, rain drops had begun pouring. I thought rain would only pass by after few minutes but as predicted by one of the guides, it's going to be heavy. And that's exactly what happened. The most difficult part of the entire trek was our assault to the summit. It was very windy that if I didn't position my body leaning toward the rocks, I would have fallen off the peak and probably die. That's how strong the wind was. Plus, rain showered, making the trail much more slippery.


With bad weather that seemed to prevent us from ascending all the way to the summit, I needed to think twice. We had an option not to proceed to the summit. At the lake side, we could go right and exit going to the other side of the mountain. But we're almost at the top! In just few meters away, we're on the summit already. Besides, I can't call it a success without me reaching the summit. Hence, I went on.


As the wind was blowing so strong plus sporadic rain drops, we couldn't take nicer photos. It was so cold at the top and we couldn't stay long.

The SUMMIT PHOTOS

  

Photo Credit to Byaheng Jologs

Photo Credit to Byaheng Jologs

Photo Credit to Byaheng Jologs

The Crater Lake as seen while we were descending from the Summit

On our descent, the weather was no longer convenient. Rain just continued as if there's no tomorrow. And this is one of the challenges I'm not ready physically. I can't and should never force my left leg to stretch or get sprain. It's prone to injury. But with wet and mossy ground, accident is inevitable. I remember how many times I swept my body on tree branches laid on the ground. There were many. Slowly I was feeling some pain on my lower back and I knew that was primarily due to sliding off in multiple times. But we must go on, rain or shine :)

Photo Credit to Byaheng Jologs

Lake Venado

Our final stop for the day was Lake Venado. It was raining so hard when we reached the lake. Our guides and porters were behind us so when we got to the campsite, we couldn't set-up our tents yet because our porters had them. Good thing there were other mountaineers who were camping in Lake Venado. One of the groups, if I'm not  mistaken it was Camp1 in Bicol, offered us temporary shelter and food. They let us stay in their tents and gave us cup of coffees. They were such good samaritans of current times.

When the porters came, we had our tents set up. It was still raining even by the time we needed to sleep. My tent was not able to sustain or provide me with a good convenience it used to give me. I was inside my tent and it was flooding inside. I thought the water from the lake went up, but it didn't. It's just that my tent was no good anymore. So just imagine spending a night on a wet ground, and a body that's soaked in a cold, rain water, oh my, that was the most uncomfortable night I ever had. I was crying the whole night, praying for the rain to stop and for the morning to come sooner. In other words, I wasn't able to sleep. Who could be?
So the second day was both gain and pain adventure for me. It was all great until the rain came. I got to reach the highest point of Mt Apo and that was a real success for me as a person. And as what wise men say, no pain, no gain! So I may have experienced all the worst things that could happen, they are all worth it with an adventure that's so precious.


As to what happened on the third day, please click here


Cristina
Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila