Girl On The Killer Trail
by Pia Gil / March 2006
Three weeks before the Mt. Pulag trek, I was just a simple chatter with a simple dream … to be able to go on vacation this coming ‘holy week’. That simple. Somebody said, (Don’t ask me who coz I don’t know either) “be careful of what you wish for, it just might happen”. Tadaaaaaahn! I got what I wished for, Jeo and Daren invited me to join them in their Mt. Pulag expedition (yeah man, expedition =))
Since the Internet is at my disposal, I started researching on it…. Then the realization came too late… Mt. Pulag just happened to be the 2 nd highest mountain and THE HIGHEST in Luzon. I’ll be damned. What have I got myself into? I’m no professional hiker neither do I consider committing suicide …Any rates, even with so many things going in and out of my little brain, I decided not to back-out. Why? Because the information I gathered from my research was enough guarantee that it’s a trip worth taking. So, it’s final. I’m going up MT. PULAG. SOMEBODY STOP MEHHHH!!!!!!
Days passed, with all the planning & meetings everything seemed ok. The menu was set, things to be packed readied, permits and registrations done, all set and everybody excited. I was so excited ß an understatement if I may emphasize. I just happened to lose sleep for the last 3 days, Can’t even eat properly. It was like I’m in love; hehehehehe … can’t get Mt Pulag off my mind. Hahahaha.
As the dreaded day neared, my doubts and fears increased. I can’t seem to get enough reassurance from myself. I was even telling myself, Kaya mo yan! Kaw pa! Astig ka diba? Believe in the power of Dreams! DREAM, BELIEVE, SURVIVE. …STARSTRUCK! Enough of my neurotic musings, what really eased my mind was the talk I had with the Apexterra people at the YM conference room.
That no matter what happened I won’t be left behind since we have a sweeper who will follow my pace in case I find the trek rigorous. Hay, buti naman. Kase ayaw ko maiwan sa dilim magisa. Mamaya may enkanto at matipuhan ako gawin akong reyna nya. And I boldly told myself, heck, this is just Mt. Pulag and not Mt. Everest, right? YEAH, RIGHT!!!
Wednesday. En route from Los Baños, Laguna; I hurriedly packed my things. Double-checked my lists. When all of my things were in order, I left for Cubao since we were supposed to meet around 9PM as insisted by Jeo (who came in late the most). The traffic was horrendous; everybody seemed to be in a hurry to leave Manila. Arriving at the Victory Liner terminal, where I found a huge crowd all waiting for a ride. My God! Pupunta din sila ng Pulag???? Toinkz!
Then I saw Badong …. My heart skipped a bit…. Wow ang gwapo! Hehehehehe But that’s not the real story. When I saw him, he was already signaling for me to join the group who were waiting outside the terminal, considering the terminal was really swarming with people. When I joined them, Angela suddenly uttered, “ Ako nga pala si Angela, mukhang walang balak akong ipakilala ng mga ‘to sayo.” That broke the ice.
Small chitchat here and there, distribution of shirts and ticket, arrival of Jeo, then we all set for the bus. When everybody settled, the bull session started, oblivious to the other passengers. You can really hear the excitement from their voices. While I keep my silence since I really was nervous. By 10:15 the bus left for Baguio. After a few minutes, the talk died down. Lights off. All you can hear were heavy breathing (Hmmmm, what was Bryan up to???) and snores of different range.
Thursday. We arrived in Baguio at around 4:30 am. Everybody was ecstatic, lalo na si Daren and Maki since it was their first time to be in Baguio. From the bus terminal, we walked towards the market to buy some additional provisions of course not forgetting to take some pictures along the way. Upon reaching the market area, we set up a meeting place where we were to meet after doing our respective errand. Afterwards, we heed the call of nature and run to the nearest comfort room. It was a pay restroom, no big deal. But suddenly, the woman keeper asked us, “ Ano gagawin nyo? Tatae o iihi?” I was aghast, where in the hell am I? Do I need to state in minute details my activity inside a restroom?
Then the woman explained, “kung iihi kayo limang piso lang may kasama pang tissue, kung tatae kayo, sampung piso.’ Matter-of-factly. Only in the Philippines. Well, we have no choice but do as she ordered. When it was Ria’s turn, she payed 10 pesos, you know what I mean (hahaha), but when she emerged from the room, she asked the woman, “Miss, pwede ba refund? But the woman refused to give her the refund since she already issued the ticket for the 10 pesos worth of activity = )
By 6:15 AM, we hired an FX taxi going to the Slaughterhouse, where we were to hire a PUJ going to Benguet if ever we can’t find a bus that would take us to the foot of Mt. Pulag. That’s where we had our breakfast (Im not even sure if it’s real beef or dog meat…tsk tsk tsk) and bought our lunch as well. Another group approached us and talked us to sharing the rent for our hired dump. We left the slaughterhouse around 8:15 AM.
It was one hell of a jeepney ride, almost 5 hours of rough, asthma-inducing, butt-breaking road trip. Kaya naman pala nag-uunahan un mga lalake na sa bubong ng jeep sumakay dahil sa tindi ng alikabok sa daan. All the while, I was thinking, “Ang init sa bubong”. Arriving in Kabayan by 1PM, with our guide waiting on the shed, we promptly started hiking towards the registration area. It was hot, the air was dry and I almost didn’t make it to the registration office.
I could hear my heart pounding so loud that it scared the shit out of me. Imagine, it was just a 5-minute trek and I’m complaining already. Sabi ko kay Jeo, “ Parang ayoko na, pagod na ako; pwede ba akong maiwan dito at balikan nyo lang after ng hike nyo?” He responded, “ Pia, wag kang ganyan.
Hindi pwedeng may maiwan” he reassured me then that no matter how slow I go, the sweeper which in this case was Daren would remain the last person in the line up since it is his job to make sure that everybody’s ok and moving forward. Upon reaching the office, we hurriedly ate lunch and the briefing shortly followed.
2:00 PM, We started moving, destination: Edette River Camp Site. We were told that it’s a 3-4 hour trek up but an easy one. We haven’t gone far when it started to rain. Thank God everybody was prepared for it since we were briefed about Mt. Pulag’s unpredictable weather. The rain didn’t stop us; we just continued our normal beat. With Soriano leading the pack of 13 hikers and Daren at the end of the tail.
Everybody seemed ok and jolly even, jeers and jokes continued until someone from the group said, “Oi naalala nyo sabi sa briefing? Inuulan daw un mga maiingay”, it hit a cord, almost everybody was guilty. The trek continued until we reached a shed were the group decided to rest for a few minutes and waited for the clouds to clear up. The pissing contest resumed between Hurricane Badong and Snooty Bryan, with each guy trying to out-do one another.
It was really amusing and the exchange was friendly. After two and a half hour of trek, we finally reached the first camp. We were the 2 nd group to arrive at the camp. Shortly after, we started setting the tents while others changed clothes because we got drenched from the rain. When everyone settled, the cooks; dominated the limelight. Meal for the night: the ever-famous Sinigang na baboy. San ka pa? Nasa Bundok na? Talagang lutong bahay pa rin ang pagkain namin.
That night we had a joyous feast, dining al fresco. Everyone got their respective decent share of the food. Though we haven’t gone far with the hike, the night was like an exaltation of the groups’ effort and perseverance. Naks, dahil lang yan sa Sinigang na punong puno ng labanos c/o Aris. By 9PM, most of us were already in the sack, but some of the guys stayed up late, why? For the simplest reason: Alcohol. Then by 12AM, you can here the peaceful sound of snoring.
Friday. As planned, we all woke up by 4am because we wanted to reach camp 3 ahead of the other trekkers. With darkness still enveloping the area, the task was distributed at a breakneck speed. The once snore-veiled and fart-smelling camp became alive. With everyone doing their respective task, the food was cooked and readied and our backpacks primed. We had another feast, the most awaited meal of the day, Chicken curry ala con Jeo (canned chicken curry with fresh cabbage). Ang sarap. Lahat busog.
By 6:30 AM we started moving. We got excited upon learning that we will be passing by a real hanging bridge. Angela who was 4 th in line was mischievously shaking the bridge causing the others to take hold of the railings tighter. Of course we never forgot to take pictures at the area. And this time, the trek was not easy.
The steps heavier, trail steeper, temperature hotter. We started to sweat and the pace slower. Undeniable, the ‘killer trail’ had begun. But nobody complained. Only this time, everyone’s resting more often than the previous day. And the formation changed. Badong and Mark leading the pack with Jeo and Pia (that’s me!) following them. Ever so often, Jeo would stop and say, “ Pia ok ka lang? Wala bang masakit? Nanginginig na ba yan tuhod mo?” yakiti yak yakiti yak.
And every time he asked me that, I always answered, “ ok lang ako. Ndi pa nanginginig tuhod ko.” It was a vicious cycle but deeply appreciated. I guess that made me push myself further. The concern shown by Jeo and the rest of the gang were a constant reminder that I was really part of the group even if it was just my first time to join them. Touchy.
We reached Marlboro Country in less than 4 hours. Wala dito c Marlboro man at lalong walang kabayo. Marami etchas ng baka. Though there were other hikers who passed us along the trail and reached the temporary camp ahead of us kahit nauna kami umalis ng Camp 2, it was no big deal. Hmmmp, talaga lang. There, we refilled our trail bottles with water, prepared and ate lunch (hot n spicy tuna and soup), rested for a couple of minutes, took pictures then off we went.
This time, we were told that the hike would be easier owing to the fact that we already passed through the hardest part of the trail. Un lang ba un mahirap? Mah Gawd!!! (courtesy of Badong) Any rates, the trek towards Camp 3 had gone smoothly though it was a long trek, but for me I find it harder than the trek we did earlier. The temperature had change, lower by a few degrees and it was literally a walk in the clouds (not the film, you dimwit!).
We got passed different ecosystem (wow, heavy word…. Ecosystem…. Nu ba ibig sabihin nun? Sabi sa Webster dictionary: An ecological community together with its environment, functioning as a unit) Mossy. Grassland and ano ba un isa? Kayo na lang mag fill-up nito ha. Since it was my first time to go up the mountain, I was so amaze by everything I saw there. The colorful flowers, trees of different sizes, giant ferns, the moist air, the sounds of birds, the cow dung … COW DUNG??? What the??? Well, its all organic. = )
Each members distance got further from one another as we go along the trail, and the fact that Angela’s toe was hurting (due to an earlier injury) and Badong was in a hurry to reach Camp 3 to reserve a space for the whole team; the Apexterra members got divided into two groups. Soriano, Badong, Jeo, Mark, Pia reached the camp by 4:00 PM. Immediately, the 1 st team set-up tent while waiting for the others to arrive.
The temperature was terribly cold. I felt like a raw meat placed inside a freezer, “Ganito pala feeling ng manok sa loob ng ref.” And pin-like pain I felt on my skin was really annoying. Grabe, the clouds were just breezing through. That’s why the air was damp and freezing. The clouds were leveled to the camp. Pag ikaw ang andun, makikita mo un movement ng clouds. Amazing.
After sometime when the rest of the team hasn’t arrived yet, Jeo and Badong decided to go back and check on the others (nakunsensya ata’). So I was left with Mark on Camp 3. After a few sec, Mark followed as well. When they returned, you could see from their faces the exhaustion BUT it was replaced by awe after seeing what’s in store for them at the base. Well, what was in store for them? CLOUDS! CLOUDS! CLOUDS! Hehehehe. Clouds everywhere. They didn’t even stop to rest before they started setting up their tents.
When everybody was settled, Angela and Ria went inside the tent to do the business of cleaning the ‘murdered’ toe, and the rest started preparing 2 kilos of Geay’s famous Mt. Batulao’s beef sirloin steaks for supper. After dinner, the others went in their respective tents due to the freezing temperature. And this time, I decided to follow my instinct, go inside the tent and wear all the clothes I could wear. Imagine this, a thermal blouse, sando, shirt, thermal jacket, arm warmer, leg warmer, 3 sets of socks, jogging pants, thermal gloves, magnanakaw-like bonnet plus the hood of my jacket.
That was what I was wearing and still my body was freezing. Hirap na ako kumilos, naninigas na buto ko. I even told myself, Paker, baka hindi ako makatulog at hindi ako makaakyat sa summit. T@%&NA!!!! While I was contemplating if I’m going to join the others in their drinking spree (this was in celebration of reaching camp 3…… TELL IT TO THE MARINES!) I decided against it, baka kase lalo akong mahirapan.
So while the guys were having fun, I was inside the tent having a hard time sleeping due to the freezing temperature. But from my view, which was limited to the insides of Jeo’s tent, you would see Jeo’s predicament as well. He removed his things from his backpack and that’s were he placed his legs. Kase nga sobrang lamig na talaga.
Parang futile na lahat ng ginagawa mo para lang hindi mo maramdaman un lamig. But then, while I can hear the conversation outside the tent, with Bryan and Daren’s voice floating among others, sleep overcame me. When by 2AM, Badong rises from dreamland and started talking to the rest of the Apexterra people who were at that time sleeping still.
By 4:00AM, we started moving towards the summit. We left our things on Camp 3 since we thought its best for everybody. We need to reach the summit before the sun rises. And off we go. It was a 30 minute trek. With darkness still covering the trail, we managed to reach the peak in time. Upon reaching the summit. Everybody became ecstatic. HIGH talaga ang feeling. It’s hard to describe what I felt when I saw the clouds below us.
It’s harder to fathom the fact that I was really there. I, not you asshole … but I, a first time climber were able to reach the peak of Mt. Pulag using the Akiki-Ambaneg trail, the so-called ‘KILLER TRAIL’ with no injuries, no pain in my body, with complete facilities of my senses and didn’t caused any delay at all (… my greatest fear ) and best of all, the whole team was there. No one was left behind or seriously injured. Siguro malakas lang talaga magdasal si Angela,kase kung hindi baka natulak ko na si Badong sa isa sa mga bangin dun =)
The scene was like from a movie, I guess most of you reading this shit had seen a waterfall. But who among you (except for the Apexterra people) had seen a cloudfalls??? Ha?! See?!!! That’s what I’m talking about. It’s hard to relate to a story if you haven’t encountered yet the things I am talking about here. So what are you waiting for? Turn off that damn computer of yours and go take a hike. BUT WAIT! Continue reading this before you go to Mt. Pulag because I’m going to give you some tips on how you can conquer the killer trail.
For now use your imagination (if ever you have any…), where was I? Ok, since climbers were already gathering at the summit, we move to one of the peak and there we dance, took picture, emoted like serious climbers, made fun of each other and the of course waited for the sun to show it self. After a few minutes, the sun did show its majestic beauty. Parang first time ko lang nakita un araw. That was the first time I really appreciated its grace and grandeur. WOW PHILIPPINES. Mahirap I describe talaga. Basta, masarap un feeling.
Then Maki made a scene. I heard from someone that he has this habit of exposing himself (ndi naman totally nude, pero pwedeng pang insert sa porn movies). We chanted and he obliged. First, he removed all his clothes except for his boxers and the camera flashed. Then on the second scene, he partially exposed his butt. Nice butt though =) it made the trek to the summit more interesting. That’s why I’m looking forward to more summit treks. Ha ha ha. Because summit equates to butt scenes….hmmm, faggish.
After spending around 30 minutes up there, we started moving back to Camp 3. In fast paced, we prepared breakfast and ate in a hurry. Packed our things and move, this time… we again returned to the summit trail (hay, kapagod na to), but before we reached the summit, we took a different trail and started our descent. Finally, we were walking in leisure. It was breezy, the trail was easy and all you can see from the landscape were bonsai bamboo.
With Soriano, Badong and Jeo leading; I managed to reach the 1 st camp in OK form. That’s were we refilled our trail water and waited for others to arrive. When they arrived, we allowed them to rest while we moved again because we were trying to reach the ranger station by 4PM in fear of losing the only means of transportation out of Mt. Pulag.
Anyway, in the course of the trail, I was left behind, team 2 unseen behind me. I was already walking alone. But since they reassured me that there was only 1 trail visible along the course, there was no way I’d get lost. So I just walked on, what overcame was not the fear of getting lost BUT the fear of encountering that so called spirits and beings of the mountain. As I walked, I kept holding the cross I wore on my neck and prayed (himala talaga).
Remembering the tip of Jeo ‘to walk in your own pace’, that’s what I did. I walked cautiously, following the only trail visible and the shoe trail left by Jeo; I managed to reach Camp 2. There, the 3 guys were waiting for me. Natakot sila kase may lalake na naglalakad magisa, baka mapagkamalan akong enkanto eh itulak ako sa bangin. But upon seeing me, they were relieved (para silang nakatae). And dun namin naabutan un isang grupo na kasama namin sa sasakyan. But since balak yata nila magpaumaga dun, we moved along.
And again, naiwan na naman ako sa trail. Ok lang, the Apex Team 2 was always behind me naman and at least I was able to appreciate the scenery along the trail. And everytime I saw Two rocks on top of each other I know I’m still on the right track (un dalawang bato ginagawa nila Jeo). After a couple of hours, I reached the Ranger station. All smiles of course. I finally did it. To cap my greatest achievement so far, I took a very cold shower (ice tubig) at the station. Hay sarap maligo. Now I learned to appreciate the normally ignored activities I do at home. Imagine, 3 days of no bathing. YUCK.
It was exhausting, fun and nerve-wrecking. But the adrenaline rush you felt upon reaching the summit was no comparison to any other experiences you will encounter unless of course you take Mt. Everest. Personally, when I realized that it was finally finished, I can’t help but felt proud (Ang ANGAS!). I’ve finally faced my fear. My fear of not finishing the trail and ending up injured.
Now, I know what you’re mind can conceive your body can achieve, because that’s what I did. Sometimes, you need not push yourself hard to achieve something. What you need is to just focus on it and let yourself realize the NEED to reach it. And from there, everything else will fall in its place.
I know it’s really no big feat, that maybe after a few months or even few days, some neophyte will finish the trail in a much shorter time, BUT for now, I am King.
Now, I dare you… follow my trail or eat my dust. Damn I’m Gooooooood! =)
Please see the detailed photos of our climb @ http://www.wanderphilippines.com/luzon/mt-pulag.php
gari magianun feeling pag yaon ka na sa summit, ano?
really liked reading your blog, very nice of you to share your experiences at mount pulag… climb high steadfast and free… rock on be nice and cool…
i will be climbing mt pulag tomorrow with our students…, and it seems i have the same sentiments as you did before your climb..hope i will enjoy as much as you did! nice blog..
wow astig talaga considering that your 1st climb is a major climb, at Pulag pa! Can you put more details on how to handle the Killer Trail? how steep? how long?
pumunta kami jan nung 4 year engineering na kami… one day lang namin kinuha ang trail na yan… ang ganda ng site at astig kami 1 day lang kinuha namin muntiik na kami jan mamatay dahil sa lamig at pagod na dinanas namin umulan pa habang nasa treaking
hello po, im mark from cebu, we are planning for a pulag climb this october. i would like to ask permission if we can use your pic. (last pic on this page) for the poster design. full credits will be given as well.
thanks