Back in Banahaw

Banahaw Sunset

Time has a way of changing things and this is perhaps evident during my recent climb in Mt. Banahaw. Days before the climb, I could not think straight it was consuming me in a way, part excitement and maybe a little bit of fear. The excitement was for obvious reasons, the fear I guess stems from the unknown. While it is true that I have climbed this mountain before, this is the first time I will do it without my usual gang, the mountain being closed for so long might pose new challenges to my already challenged 36 year old body. Here is my story.

I “woke-up” early Friday morning, well actually I didn’t even get the chance to sleep. I would try several times but would get up to double check my gear, making a list in my mind and reminding myself to get the last items on my checklist. I loaded everything up and carried my pack. It was heavier than what I expected. Since we were not sure if there were available water sources along the way, we had to bring our own supply, 8 liters total (6 for group and 2 personal), I also brought along with me a bottle of Ginebra Premium (ang pumalit sa good old Gin Bulag of the 90’s)

There’s no turning back now, I quickly hurried down the condo to get a taxi. I got one quickly and realized that it was the oldest taxi in the planet, practically falling apart. Just my luck I thought to myself, I hope it doesn’t breakdown. The driver was another story, he beat all the red lights along the way. Anyway, I had no choice but to sit it out and just hope I get there quickly.

Our IT said the meet up place was Tritran Cubao. Taking about time wala na palang Tritran Cubao, It’s now being operated by Jam Transit. I scanned the area to look for some familiar faces. I saw all of the inductees present. Good sign, walang late.


Wala ng Tritran sa Cubao, wala!


Soon to be members having breakfast inside the bus.


Lonely is the night when I'm not with you....

After a few minutes the rest of the group came in, soon we were loading up and went on our way. I was wasted, I slept the entire way and woke up a few minutes from our stop in San Pablo. I hardly recognized the place, daming bagong buildings.


San Pablo

Anyway, we had to transfer to 2 jeeps to get to the Dolores jump off point. Syempre just my luck again I ended up riding the brand new jeep as in 1982 brand new hehe, everything inside was busted hehe. It had character though, I felt na I was riding an old horse, maybe this was the same jeep I rode when I first climbed this mountain in 1991.


Old Jeep

The trip was ahort, just 30 minutes or so along the highway and another 30-45 uphill to Dolores. We made a left turn from the highway and after a few minutes like a switch I was back in time. I saw the old buildings put of by the Rizalistas and some other familiar landmarks around the area. It was cool both figuratively and literally. The group made a quick stop to meet up with local group who will serve us as guides up the mountain. This again is another new thing for me since I never climbed this mountain with a guide, but hey times change and I figured that it was good livelihood for the community and also builds positive rapport with the locals.


Mistica De Dios


Perry Guide

The guides where seasoned veterans, except for 1 or 2 maybe but in general I knew that they were old guards since all spoke vividly about the trail/climbing in general. Well it was a mix of local beliefs and facts of the mountain. We handed over the permit to the local DENR rep and started to do last minute checks.


DENR Permit


Road to jump off

I was all set, I think I checked my pack at least 20 times in the past 24 hours hehe. I was set to go. The whistle went off and we started walking down the road towards the foot of the mountain. I quickly noticed that there were less trash than a few years ago, saw the old water pipes and I knew that soon we would slowly start our accent.


"Cartoon" hehe


Jump-off point


Dark skies above

30 minutes has passed and I’m feeling tired already, my mouth was bone dry and I had this urge to sleep. Yes, sleep. I was beginning to feel the effect of staying up late. I felt like crap. I didn’t stop but my pace was beginning to slow down. I drank water to keep myself hydrated. At this point I was starting to look back and reminisce how it felt like being an applicant all over again. I was imaging my old black and khaki Bomika pack and my green World Balance boots. I wanted to remember how hard it was back then and also the feeling of adventure climbing my first big mountain. At 115 lbs, I felt pretty macho in a sort of Montgomery Burns kind of way hehe.


Henry "2 poles" Nakpil


Pahinga muna anak...

These thoughts raced through my mind while climbing up and enjoying the view, trying hard to remember if I saw this tree or rock. Some looked familiar but some were definitely new. We had a few rests in between the climb, this gave me a chance to recover and chat with some of the members. Dennis (UPM President) who’s climbing this mountain asked me If I remember climbing this mountain, my reply was “Akyat di masyado, yung pababa naalala ko”. He looked puzzled and quickly brushed off my reply.
At the back of my mind, I knew going up was the easy part. It the way down that will test if you’ve got the knees.


Perry talking

After a few relaxing moments along the trail we continued our traverse through the forest towards the place called “Tatlong Tangke” loosely translated it’s “3 Tanks”, maybe referring to the 3 levels of pools found along the route of the falls. After 2 hours or so of trekking we reached the place to have lunch. Finally a chance to eat some breakfast and get some rest. After eating I looked around to investigate.


Tapa, rice and ponkan


Naalala na namin kung bakit...

Funny, I only saw this place actually had running water, there was a signal 2 up I think that was way back 1994, this time the water was still, the falls was smaller as I imagined it to be. I can recall back in 1991 I had “InstaMeal” and rice using my ever reliable army mess kit. Ubos lahat sa gutom and pagod, this time around it was beef tapa / chicken longanisa and a pot of rice. I was hungry but could only eat so much, more rest will do me good.


Tambay muna tayo


Nilo Ocampo

An hour has passed and we gathered around to resume the climb, this time this will be a 2-3 hour to a campsite called “Kapatagan” or as I know it, Puroy.


Puroy Gubat

As I recall, the Puroy during the 90’s was a huge campsite, I’m quite sure of this since we bought along an 8 man tent. Obviously this tent belonged more on somebody’s backyard that up in the mountain but was applicants that was the only tent we had (actually I borrowed this tent from a friend, a few years past Mike’s dad bought him another one hehe, talk about super sized gear).


Camp site - Puroy

You didn’t have a campsite problem since it was big, we were at the tail of the group so I figured we can camp anywhere we wanted. I was dead wrong, the forest reclaimed much of the campsite and we were left to pitch along side the other tents.


Henry nababaliw na papuntang Puroy


My yellow tarp, laking tulong sa ulan

We set up camp and moved quickly to prepared dinner, Papa Dick’s meal was the ever classic adobo and itlog na maalat. Good thing since It required little preparation and in no time dinner was served. Other groups had sinigang na isda sa miso. After dinner it started to rain, it rained so hard that the entire front area of our tent was muddy, good thing we had a tarps set up. We used these tarps and venues for our evening socials, socials meant talking and drinking gin while holding an umbrella to keep dry.


Putek hehe

This is clearly where the age gap is evident, remember that these inductees weren’t even born when I was in college (we have a pair of 16 year olds), I would play my 80-90’s classic rock to glam rock collection and I could hear them say “iba naman, wala bang iba or Kuya, ano bay an…”. Crap, anyway, I was god since I owned the Ipod. We met halfway sa The Best of OPM. Hehe funny how Sharon Cuneta can unite us all, maybe a good choice come 2010.


Sisig, pampabata.


Dennis shot naman dyan


Bernie, Casper and Dennis

Sisig was on the menu, the kids didn’t like it. Hmmm the kids these days will live forever. We killed time exchanging stories and passing the gin around, the topics ranged from WHEN YOU BECOME A MEMBER A FEW HOURS FROM NOW to Yamaha Vino and Vespa. Konting lecture again on why the UPM needs more students like you etc etc. One was grilled about her relations with another member.


Papa Dick and Al

This was the first time the inductees were allowed to bring alcohol during climbs so you can say that they were all excited to have a drink or two. The gin was running low since not all members/inductees were able to bring some.


Shot muna


Dilim


Socials sa ulan


Bagets


Henry galing sa ulan

We called it a night after the last bottle of gin, but before that we sent a special text message to our contacts below. Bring 1 gallon of Lambanog. That’s the power of communication for you, we paid a local to hike up and send us a gallon of Lambanog (fermented coco wine).


TNF tent.

Sleep was ok except that our tent floor was wet and the fly was leaking, good thing I was able to but an inflatable mattress and packed my emergency blanket. I woke up at the sound of people moving around, I checked my watch. 6:30 am. I can smell the people making fried rice and eggs. I woke up and slowly crept outside for a peak, most of the other groups were awake. Al was assigned for breakfast, actually most of the adobo was still intact so it was just a matter of adding some more comfort food.


Umaga na sa Puroy

As I waited for the food I went inside the tent again to pack my things, Henry was still fast asleep. Walang pang balak gumising to I thought to myself. I was done packing my stuff and made a bee line for breakfast, I didn’t each much since I knew that in a few minutes we would be on our way up the summit. I was in charge of dinner so my pack was still a bit heavy.

After eating breakfast we started to break camp, some of my gear got wet from the rain and it was a bit harder to pack. In a few minutes we were off, the air was crisp, you could smell the vegetation around you. I looked around Puroy and surveyed the place for the last time, it was alive, save for a patch of trash that was probably remnants of the past years the place was perfect. I vowed to myself to bring as much trash with me on the way down, as a way of thanking the mountain.

The trek up was difficult because of the lush terrain, we had to hurdle rocks, roots and more rocks. The roots were a bit slippery because of the moss. There were some familiar spots along the way up, rest stops that we have used in the past climbs. We would use these stops for a bit of rest and syempre “chismis”, I think this has always been a part of UPM culture.


The trail going up

I could see some cogon grass along the tree line, I figured at this point we were nearing the summit. My pace quickened and my stride a bit wider, I was excited to see the mountain were my “career” as a mountaineer was born some 17 years ago. I wanted to see how much it has changed and if I could still recognize it’s features. Large treess on the sides were growing diagonally and cogon grass was becoming more common along the trail. “Malapit na” I thought to myself. In a few minutes I saw the first camp of Sir Nilo’s group. Then Niko and then the rest of the team.


Cogon area towards Durungawan


Gapang Dennis, Gapanggg!

At last we reached the camp near the summit, I dropped my pack and raced towards the ridge to look at the view. It was still imposing and as huge as I imagined. You could see the rock formations along the rim of the mountain and the clouds rushing upwards as if to greet you on your arrival. I was great to be back, the peak was covered with trees, it has eaten away the patches of camps below where we would usually camp. Hmmm nice place to visit after a heavy meal hehe.


The view from the top

I prepared lunch, beef and vegetable Teppan cooked in clarified butter. Hehe secret to long life. We had left over rice so I didn’t have to cook. In a few minutes of preparation I cooked the meal and lunch was ready. Dami pala ng dala ko hehe, I bought 4 liters worth of beef and some veggies. After a few minutes of rest we came back up summit.

There was a huge metal cross left by the locals on the ground, the wind must have blown this thing off it’s hinges or something. There was also another cross at the center or at least remnants of it, it looks like it was vandalized by some people who came before us.

Some members of the team – Dennis and Casper decided to lift the cross and move it in a different location, at least move it from the ground. They carried the cross and placed It upright, using some plants for support. It was a bit unstable and we were sure that it was going to fall again.


Attempting to move the cross


Attempt ulit

The at this point most of the members were beginning to gather around the place, curious on what was happening. In an effort to prevent the cross from falling again, Dennis carried the cross by himself to attach it to the remnants of the other cross. We couldn’t help but laugh since we could see him grimace in pain because of the weight of the cross, it reminded me of scenes from the Holy Week TV specials.


Pasan ko ang UPM

We raised the cross and tied it to the pole, at last it was in a place were it should be, lording above all the trees and facing the sun as it set.


The Cross

The sunset was spectacular, since the horizon was full of clouds. The trees also gave the scene a more dramatic effect due to the contours of the braches. I took several pictures and then some more to remind me just how beautiful this mountain is. Something to look at during the sunset years. Naks, how profound.


Sunset View


Relax and enjoy the view


Trees covering the old camp sites

After an hour or so we heard that the inductees were already near, we quickly assembled to greet them. At this point I could see just how things have changed in the past years. The line was shorter this time, gone are the days when the lines would extend to for form a semi-circle. “Ganun kadami ang mga umaakyat nun I thought to myself”, at this point I missed my friends, my usual climbing group. On the other hand the numbers didn’t matter to these inductees. They had every right to be here having passed the rigid training of the UP Mountaineers.


Picture muna


Strike a pose

One by one each of them passed by, I shook their hands and looked at their faces. They were all smiling, happy I guess that that this is all over, at last they were part of the group. We had 9 inductees, lucky 9. Yung ibang ka batch nila nag-chicken out sa December na daw mag papa-induct, sayang since it's not often you get to climb this mountain.


Mabuhay UP Mountaineers!

Soon they found themselves going through the induction rites of the group. Needless to say, it was a memorable event for some. I will not expound on this subject, you need to join. Just remember, I was 115lbs then and thought that I was sporty because I played billiards hehehe. Kung kaya ko I guess anybody can join (naks plugging pa for 2009)

Dinner was chicken and mushroom resoto and grilled pork chop and tons of left overs. Henry was the main cook at this point. Niko and Bernie made some cheese sticks. In between we drank coffee and hot chocolate to keep us warm as the moon rose over the horizon.


Cheese sticks bagay sa tagay


Luto muna tayo

Ang lamig, I was wearing 3 layers of clothing to stay warm. Some of the new members stayed over to recover from the cold, obviously some were hungry. Lahat ng ibato mo kinakain nila haha. Dinner time was wild, everyone was busy feasting on the wide array of food available…from yesterday’s adobo to beef teppan and resoto, may pahabol pang tiring chicken langonisa haha. I was stuffed and as my batchmate Bunny used to say “Next Step, Hilata”. I went inside the tent for a quick nap, sarap malamig and it was not raining. After a few minutes I got up to join the group having their socials near the summit.

Lambanog was the available at the open bar. Honestly, I liked the gin better. I’ve always liked gin, better than Johnnie Walker or Tequila. But hey, no more gin so Lambanog Country here we come. The shots just kept coming,
I wasn’t getting tipsy since I ate so much food hehe. In between we just ate and listed to music. There was not much interaction this time since it was cold haha, some of the members were just too cold to even move around.

The moon was out so it was bright, you could see the entire mountain around you and all the city lights below. Music was a bit retro and to my surprise the newer members knew these songs from the 70s. Some started dancing, I don’t know if it because of the alcohol or they just wanted to move to keep warm. Hours passed and it was time to sleep. I was sober, this different from past induction climbs where I was usually crawling out of the tent looking for water at the middle of the night. Tanda na talaga ko hehe, sleepy na.

Woke up, Tope was busy cooking outside our tent, I could hear him prime the stoves to boil water for coffee. I was still half asleep, I could sleep all day hehe, the weather was perfect. The tent was dry and we had the entire camp to ourselves. Soon I started hearing some more people outside, I went out and saw that the breakfast was being prepared, Boneless Bangus. Looks good.


Tope in action

I went up to the ridge to find a number of people taking pictures, they must have been there since sunrise. It was nice, sarap magpaaraw kasi malamig. I took some pictures and headed back to camp. Breakfast was quick and we broke camp soon after.


Good Morning Banahaw

We were last on the team, I don’t mind being the tail since you can go down at your own pace. I was with Henry and Niko as we walked away from the summit. It was a great climb and I was happy to have climbed again.

The trail down was a bit tricky, it was hard to negotiate the roots and rocks along the way. I was careful not to injure myself. I already have a knee injury and would not want to get myself hurt going down. “Chika Pace” lang, we juts took our time going down the mountain, exchanging stories from the past hehe. We didn’t rush at all, I guess there was no use since we knew that it was a long way down to Dolores.


Birds singing

We reached Puroy in a few hours and took a quick rest. We all picked up trash from open pit near the campsite. There were assorted items you can choose from, I made my choice to pick up the old plastic sacks and bottles of mineral water and gin. Soon my blue plastic bag was full, I got some strings and tied it around the pack.


Time to pick up some trash


Basura Boys Club (BBC)


Henry sorting the trash


Niko getting ready to load the trash

I put on my pack and felt that it was quite heavy, bigat nung mga bote hehe. I hope we could bring some more down but I guess we juts need to do this some other time, I think several clean up climbs will do the trick. After this we headed down Tatlong Tangke. This time with heavier packs, now the party is just getting started.


Pack ni Pong Pagong

The way down to Tatlong Tangke was full of slips and slides. I fell down a couple of times and was just lucky I didn’t break an arm or twisted a ankle. The rocks were especially dangerous since there was moss and it was wet and very slippery.Slippery When Rock ang tawag ko sa place na to hehe.

Around 10 minutes away from Tatlong Tangke it happened. As I drove my climbing stick to the ground I git the rock and it slipped. I fell sideways and hit the rock hard, good thing the trash bag absorbed some of the shock. I almost broke my wrist as I tired to break my fall, good thing…well there’s no good thing at this point. I was happy It didn’t break anything.

As I reached Tatlong Tangke I was thirsty as hell, I took a quick sip from my hydration pack and walk towards the pool of water, it was still and there was no movement. I wanted to take a quick dip to cool myself but it looked a stagnant. Sarap siguro maligo if this had running water I said to myself.


Trail

This is the last stretch of the climb and I know that this would be the most difficult since we would be zigzagging down the mountain without forest cover, the roots will give way to muddy and slippery trails leading to the jump off area. I was beginning to feel hungry, we did not eat lunch to make up for lost time. I took a sip from my hydration pack and took some more….then it was gone, I ran out of water already. Most of the water was used for cooking, I was supposed to get from Henry when we broke camp but decided not to last minute since I had some left. Anyway, I figured we were 30-45 minutes from the jump off since I could already see signs that we were close. There were some farmers along the way and I could see houses in the vicinity. Just a few more minutes and we’re there.

Our pace quickened at the last stretch, I could sense that everyone wanted to go down quickly, hehe para matapos na. My knees started to hurt from the awkward position going down. At last we reached the road, I could see the new members fixing up in the distance. At last, may malamig ng Sprite hehe. The local Kapitan was kind enough to let us use his shower, we got ready to leave. Our jeeps were waiting to take us back to Manila, back to reality.


My boots after the climb

As I left the place I took a last look at the mountain again. It was like saying goodbye and thank you to an old friend. Climbing up was this mountain gave me a chance to look back at the past and realize that the world in changing. The UPM is evolving, the numbers of applicants may have gone down over the years but I could still see in them the fire within, this is their time. As for myself, I’m just happy to have been given the chance to see it all over again.

Lastly, on the way down the slopes we would pass by signs that say “DON’T CHANGE THE MOUNTAIN, LET THE MOUNTAIN CHANGE YOU”.



I now realize that it has, and I guess it always will.