A Walk To Remember

“Walk in the park”. This was the phrase that we used to describe the up coming climb on Mount Pulag, mainly to entice our fellow climbers to join this hastily planned trip. A few emails here and a few text messages there and we had a plan set. We were going to Pulag via the Ambangeg route, considered by most as the easiest of the routes to take up the mountain.

It was long over due climb for out group, most of which have already “retired” from active status in the UP Mountaineers. A good number of members of the team are climbing this mountain for the first time, maybe lured by the easy trail and availability of local porters. And so before we knew it we had 17 people signing up to join the climb.


Pre-climb sa "Old" UPM Tambayan


Bunny speaks


Pointers sa mga aakyat for the first time


Let's go happy climbers


Blackboard ni Isla (anak ni Bunny)


Paa ni Timaws, veteran na ng madaming climbs :)


“New and Old faces”

Majority of the people who signed up are members of the UP Mountaineers ranging from Batch 91 where I belong up to batch 2007. The rest are friends from work and some guest climbers (Bunny’s brother in law and his 2 teenage daughters). Interesting mix of people, all have different reasons for climbing this mountain. For me it was simple, I simply miss the place. I was going back to Pulag and an added bonus – I was climbing with the “old” team (no pun intended there). It’s been a while I guess, maybe too long ago that I can’t remember the exact year when we last climbed together. My heart was racing, I knew that there were many sleepless nights ahead of me before the trip. It was a trip back in time but this time with a slightly older (heavier) cast.

“Gears Galore”

3 words that best describe the mountain is this – cold, cold, cold. Last time I was there a few years back (I think 9 or 11 years ago) the temperature dropped -7. I was literally frozen stiff as I slept using the org’s old Eureka Tent. Some tents had ice forming on top of the tent body. I was still using my sisters white jacket as base layer for the cold weather (yes, my sister’s jacket that I borrowed way back 1991!). Gloves and other stuff was from Baguio (hmmm don’t worry wala namang name na “BAGUIO” na naka sulat). It didn’t do the trick that well because I can still recall waking up in the middle of the night shaking from the cold trying my best to keep warm.


Climbing Pulag during the 90's with my old crew. Ganda ng leggings Romy Garduce hahaha!

Having that flash back I was determined to fight the cold with new gear. At last I had an excuse to buy some new climbing equipment for this trip. Actually, I’ve been stock piling slowly all these years to the point that my wife said “San mo ba gagamitin yan? Punta ka bang US?”.



New gear for the new year!


Eto naman gamit ni Randell

I did mind her, like Noah and his Ark --- I was Ninoy and his Jackets. It didn’t matter if It was available online of the latest model from Surplus Shop, I had to have it. My wife Jen gave me a new backpack for Christmas (talk about a SIGN that I should climb!), this will go along with some of the gear that I bought ages ago that I stored in some dark corner at home.

“Pack Shirt”

Pack. Re-pack. Pack again and again. I was a wreck trying to fit everything inside my bag. Somehow I miss the good old packs, the really big ones because you never really cared what you put inside, well that is before you actually carried it up the mountain. I made some attempts at sleeping but only dreamt of my backpack. Crap, it’s late. In a few minutes I will have to leave for Joel’s place and help them pack. I made a quick check on my list, everything was there. My pack was bursting, it was a bit heavy but in the end I was ready to make some sacrifices for the sake of comfort.


Daming kalat!

We were supposed to meet up at 6pm but had to beg off since I had a busy schedule during the day, I arrived 6:30pm. Joel and Mariel (Joel’s sister) was in the middle of packing stuff. Everything seemed normal, I gave them a few tips here and there but something caught my eye --- they had tons of FOOD.


Food galore. Di kami magugutom hehe

Food to perhaps feed an entire army or a small country somewhere. I thought to myself that if we die in Pulag we would not die of hypothermia but of over eating. Good thing that place is perfect for foodies since it had water, we can cook all the meals we wanted without having to scrimp on water. Midway Ryan came in, I glanced his way and was surprised. He was packed and just had a paper bag with him. Good, I thought to myself…one less person to worry about. Well this feeling did not last very long as I watched him open his pack. He did not waterproof anything. Nothing. I was baffled by this and approached him.

“Ry, naka waterproof ba mga gamit mo? Baka umulan dun”

He replied with a cool voice “Noy, ok lang waterproof yung pack”

I didn’t know if I wanted to laugh or cry, I was speechless. I knew if he did not waterproof his gear he would end up freezing to death up there. Good thing we had some spare plastic bags that came in handy. After a few minutes he was done. We had no time to waste since we had to go over to Panay and hitch a ride going to the bus station. We loaded our bags and headed to Panay, no turning back now. We were off.


“Nasa CR lang”

I looked at my watch, it was almost 10pm, we were leaving at exactly 11pm. Randell was nowhere to be found. People who know me, know that I hate people who are late. I had a gut feeling that he would not make it on time. I was right. We boarded the bus at exactly 11pm. I called him up to ask where we was, he was in my estimate around 20 mins away from the terminal. Not enough time to make it by 11. I was fuming mad but kept my cool as I knew that he would have been sweating bullets just thinking about it.

The driver asked “Meron pa ba?”. Marica who was seated beside me replied “Boss asa CR lang yung kasama naming”.

A few tense minutes passed by and still no Randell. The driver asked again “Asan na yung kasama nyo kala ko ba nasa CR lang”. That was it, I knew that the bus will be leaving the terminal, as we made a U-turn I got a call, it was Randell 15 minutes late. I was a bit sad since I knew how excited he was, we all were. Oh well, I guess that’s one lesson you learn the hard way.

“Dagups”

If this climb were a training climb he’d be gone, kicked out of the training program for being late. Late is Late. I was always late for class in UP but was scared of being late for climbs for fear of being kicked out of the training pool.

Good for him this was just an ordinary climb among friends – I made a suggestion that he get another bus, any bus going to Baguio that can bring here by 6:30am. Any later time I advised him to go back or simply stay in Baguio until we return.

Midway our bus ride I got a text message, he caught a bus that would bring him to Baguio. He made it, but I knew riding Dagupan Bus Lines was an experience for him (imagine riding an old bus for 6 hours, you had tiny roaches and possibly a Bong Revilla movie for company hehe. Torture).


Randy, the lucky bastard..buti nalang umabot siya haha

Because of this the team coined a new name for him --- Randell “Dagups” Centeno.

“Wow bahay”

In the 4 or 5 times I’ve been to Baguio to climb Pulag this is the 2nd time we were fortunate to have stayed in a house, not just any house but a house that can accommodate all 17 of us. Jojo Gutierrez (UPM 88) was kind enough to let us use the house as a jump-off point for the trip. I was a good thing, much better than spending hours inside a bus station. Times have changed for the Timawa Family, buti naman hehe.


Thank you Jojo! Di kami namatay sa lamig sa labas hehe

Randell sent a text message saying that he was on his way to the house. Good at least umabot siya, my blood pressure went back to normal. Emman and I walked towards the main road to wait for him and our ride. After a few minutes waiting in the cold he arrived, smiling like a guilty dog hehe, well Dagupan Bus Lines was enough punishment for him so I let it go. We were at last complete.


Randell the late bastard hehe


Ang pagdating ni Dagups :)

“The Jeep”

I called up Roger our driver for the trip to inform him that we were ready for pick up. It was a bit dark and cold so I wished that he would hurry up. The past jeeps that we hired up Pulag were total wrecks, I remember them as old and beat up. Most could not manage to climb the steep terrain up Babadak (Ranger Station). I hope Roger’s ride is different, 4 hours is a long time to spend inside a jeep.

From a distance I heard the roar of a jeep, hmmm maybe it’s not a jeep I thought, maybe it’s a truck. I knew it was our ride. A monster sized jeep that will be our home for the next 4 hours up the rough and muddy trail of Mt. Pulag. It sounded like a beast as it revved towards us.

Our macho machine was at last here. But wait….I must be dreaming, our ride had colors so familiar to all us Metro Folk. It was PINK, as in MMDA Art pink! I froze in disbelief but found it amusing, I could not wait to let the group see our pimped up ride.


Pimp my jeep MMDA style

I heard some funny comments as we loaded our gear. I guess pink isn’t at all bad, the sky was dark and I had a feeling that this was going to be a wet ride.

“The Road to the Ranger Station”

After dozing off, we took a quick stopover at the view deck of Ambuklao Dam. After a few minutes of picture-taking we headed off our last stop for brunch – Pinkan Jo. I can still recall a stop where we had our lunch a few years back but it was in a different place, maybe this route was different, I really couldn’t remember and had a few pictures to review.


Mike and Amel - the comeback climbers!


Pinkan Jo Model - Marika aka "Uy Masuy"


Group shot muna tayo.


Emman and the general's daughter - Marge.


Dagups pagod sa byahe hehe

It was a nice cozy place to make a stop, at this point everybody was smiling and excited. The food was ok, I order of rice is good for 2 people. I wasn’t really that hungry and knew that we were about to go uphill, I was afraid of barfing or worse I might have to ask the jeep to make a stop along the road hehe. As we left the place my excitement doubled, this is it. I’m back, we’re all back…another story to repeat over and over again when we get the chance to get together.


Stop muna sa Pinkan Jo!


Kids along the road.


Nice shot.

Before I knew it we were hitting the rough roads up the mountain. Our pink jeep’s engine was screaming as it navigated towards to steep terrain, not a good place to overheat I thought to myself, not good at all. The view outside was spectacular, you could see the mountains that surrounds Mt.Pulag. I wish we could stop and take pictures but I guess that would take too much effort and time. We passed by some small villages along the way, I think how little has changed for them since I last climbed some 11 years ago.

Soon we reached the DENR office were we’ll be briefed and paying our park fees. I was surprised to see that they had a brand new office complete with video presentation about the mountain. We paid our fees and watched a short clip on the mountain. It was interesting, although it was a bit anti-climactic since you could see the features of the mountain.


Look alike ni Ryan sa bulletin board ng DENR.


Watching the video primer made by the DENR staff.

I had mix feelings about this, gone are the days when you felt you were entering a wild and untamed mountain --- my feeling was we were entering Parks and Wildlife near Quezon Memorial Circle. I guess I’m just too sentimental about some things, well 11 years is 11 years. I guess times have changed and Pulag along with it.

On the other had it was an excellent way of educating the visitors on park rules and guidelines. I guess in the end if it helps preserve the place I’m all for it.

After the DENR station our last and final stop was the Ranger Station in Babadak. This part I remember, it was the same as I remembered it, complete with the had written sign on the entrance. We last checks while some found time to eat some lunch. Outside our guides and porters were waiting for us.


Unloading the bags.


Ranger Station

I was in charge of securing porters for the trip, we had 5 for 4 members of the team. It was a good choice since we had people with back problems and some have not been actively climbing these past few years. Having porters would have been unthinkable 11 years ago but I guess 11 years has a way of changing the way you look at climbing, you’re less of the “gung ho type” and more of the “I want to live to climb another day” type of a climber. We secretly called them Harry as in Harry Porters, I know it’s corny but at least we didn’t need to call them porters, Harry is good enough. From now on all porters are named Harry hehe.


“Uy Masuy”

We managed to convince some “retired” climbers to join because we told them that this was going to be a “walk in the park”. We were walking alright, but the trek up was a bit too intense for some, this included Marica aka “Uy Masuy”.

I’ve known Marica since 1991, she was my batchmate but she was inducted in another batch. She’s one of my favorite people in UPM, the best person to play “kontra-bida” to my Bunny “Haring Timawa” Soriano. The stories between these two are legendary, some I would say can be passed on from generation to generation.

I knew that she was excited to climb Pulag for the first time, excited enough to place the news on Facebook. She was alright the first few minutes of the trek until we reached the point after the first sign I saw up the mountain. Her mood began to change, her looks as cold as the freezing weather.

I knew that it would take some effort to convince her that this trip was worth it. I was a couple of feet from her and I could hear her ask after a few steps “Malayo pa ba? Ilang minutes pa ba?”.

This phrase would be her mantra as we negotiated the trail up. She was getting a headache from the climb hehe, I can just image her being the perfect model for Tylenol or Advil. Then it started to rain, the trail steeper and Marica’s temper a bit shoter. She was asking our guide how look until the first camp, I know this is a hard question since the locals could reach the place in no time, the pace varies from climber to climber.

I was avoiding to have to answer her, to be honest I can’t recall the time it took us to reach the first camp since it was just a stopover. Finally we reached Camp 1 where most were having a break, Marica can finally take a break and rest.

We’re safe from the wrath of Uy Masuy for now.


“Comeback Climb”

Mike was with me during the last few times I climbed Pulag. He’s my batchmate and is a veteran of many major climbs. How can I forget Mt. Halcon 1998. I was waiting for him, Jojo and Kerwin at the summit ridge. It was getting dark and I was worried since we had to pitch the tent and get ready for dinner. Trust me, you don’t want to pitch in the dark up the slopes of Halcon. Minutes passed, finally I saw him, he was tired but ok. I thought someone got injured or something only to find out that they saw a rat along the way and decided to give it some crackers. I’m sure Mike is some sort of a god in the rat community in Halcon.


"Comeback Climb"

This climb up Pulag is his “comeback climb”. I guess the years have taken it’s toll on his gear, most especially his shoes. When we reached Camp 1 it was in the ICU, it was falling apart. Good thing we had some duct tape and some zip ties for some quick repair. The trail was muddy due to the rains, I hope his shoes hold up until the trek up the summit.


Sira na si Salomon


“Break muna sa Camp 1”

The mood during this stop was light, almost festive despite of the rain. Food was everywhere, a big leap from past climbs wherein you just drank water and waited for someone to take out some trail food, this time there was none of that we had all the junk food we could ever want. I guess theses were lest over from Christmas, maybe even Halloween.


Happy Campers


Pagod na si Sadako

After a few minutes it was time again to put on our packs and track towards our final destination for the day --- Camp 2.

“Camp 2”

The trek up Camp 2 was a series of rolling hills. The trail was ok, save for some areas that had patches of angle deep mud. We reached the camp at around 4pm. We quickly pitched our tents and prepared to some soup to fight the cold. It was colder than I expected. I actually don’t recall Camp 2 at all, I can’t seem to remember if we ever camp there in the past or spend the first night up the peak of Pulag. Anyway, it didn’t matter. What’s important was we were all able to survive the first day.


Ang lamig sa Pulag...just look at Marica's face hahaha

“Sinigang sa fresh na sampaloc”

After making camp, the next agenda was to prepare dinner. We pitched a tarp in between tents that will serve as our kitchen/socials area. Aside from the porters another interesting thing about this climb was we had a chef with us – Eugene (UPM 96). We requested a dish that had some soup for dinner for obvious reasons, it was cold and water was not an issue. Good thing we were able to pre-cook all the ingredients beforehand and soon we were devouring the meal like a pack of wolves. Walang pansinan hehe. It was good so I had several servings until I could no longer contain myself. Next step was to find my “spot” just in case I needed to go “into the wild”. Not to worry though, I saw during the video presentation at the DENR that they had pre-designated latrines on Camp 2.

Hours past before I knew it was time, I asked Randell if he wanted to check out the latrine. I usually go alone to do the “beast” but figured that it would be better to have someone with me so he can alert me if someone is coming.

“Left 4 Dead”

The latrine looked promising from afar, it had a sign that gave out directions for the male and female areas. There were GI sheets that acted as cover from the camp above.

In all my 18 years of climbing I’m used to the “cat hole” technique, just dig a hole and forget about it. This latrine experience is new, I walked slowly and surveyed the main area. I had a headlamp on so I could see the wooden planks that made up the place, it looked solid. But what if I slipped, hit my head and passed out or maybe fell inside the whole?

My imagination ran wild as I looked inside the latrine, images of the witch (complete with the sound track) from Left 4 Dead raced across my mind, the hole was dark and murky and I’m imaging being chased by the witch across the campsite. Playing a video game about zombies before a climb is not good at least for me it isn’t.

It was freezing cold and I didn’t want to go out again in the middle of the night to go back. I had to do it now, I removed all my layers of clothing and just let it go, in a few minutes I was done. Randell on the other hand had a harder time. Namamahay daw siya. It’s actually not as hard as some people think. When you need to go, you need to go.

“Russian Vodka Vs. Ginebra Premium”

Dinner time was quick for most of the team, everybody headed back to their tents as the mercury dropped. I can’t stop thinking how cold it is, I hope all the hype given to my new tent is true, I don’t want to wake up freezing in the middle of the night. I dropped by Bunny’s tent. He was outside with his wife Joy (UPM 94) sipping a cup of tea, I joined in. Soon our tea session became an exchange of Vodka (I’m assuming Bunny got this one from his trip in Russia a few months back). I took a shot and found it interesting, medyo matapang ng konti but it was alright.

We bought along our own vino – Ginebra Premium. This is the current rage in the UPM right now, I guess because it’s cheap and it tastes good. I like gin, I remember one climb in the past that we exchanged a bottle of Johnnie Black for 2 bottles of Gin Bulag hehe. Jologs talaga ako, at least if I progress into a full blown alcoholic mura lang ang gastos.

Only a handful of us came out to drink. Marica, Mike and the rest were fast asleep. I couldn’t blame them, just standing outside was a form of torture in itself and we had to wake up at 330AM to head for the summit. You heard that right, 330AM! Despite of the obvious bad weather we were still hoping to get a chance to see the sunrise and some view.

Our drinking session soon became another eating marathon. Joel began cooking some Hungarian sausages and I made some hot chocolate. Soon it was clear that we had to call it a night, it was getting late and I didn’t want to have to go back to the latrine. Haha natakot dun sa witch.

There was a slight drizzle as I headed back to the tent, Randell was already there. I set my alarm at 330am and went to sleep.

“Gising na!”

I woke up once during the night, I was shaking from the cold. I turned around to close the door that I left open and went back to sleep. Sulit yung tent, we were dry and warm the entire time, I’ve waited for more than a year to finally use it good thing I had a chance.

My alarm sounded off. Crap, I still wanted to sleep but I knew that we would need to move quickly to reach the summit in time. Sun or no sun. As soon as I went out, I wanted to go back in. The wind was blowing hard that it knocked down our tarp. Oh well, I’ll handle that later, I went to Bunny’s tent and woke him up.

Soon everybody was up and ready for the hike up the peak. I counted heads. Out of the 17 there were 14 people who were joining the trek. Honestly, I was surprised that Marica was one of them…kala ko katapusan na ni Uy Masuy nung gabi. Maybe some sleep did her good. Waking up is one thing, trekking another. Bahala na.


Gising na 4am na hahaha

We had a short briefing and soon headed off into the darkness. Good thing I bought along some batteries for my headlamp, the trail was a bid tricky and knew that it would be difficult for the team to move fast, I stayed behind and acted a tail along with Joel, Mike, Amel and our guide.

You had to pay attention when you walked, water was everywhere and there were some slippery areas along the way. 10 minutes off I spotted something shiny along the trail, I picked it up and examined it, it was duct tape. It must have fallen off as he made a step, I put in my pocket just in case, baka magamit pa hehe

Mike’s Salomon shoes was falling apart, I knew that it was only a matter of time before he would stop and notice. He did. A few minutes I saw him pick what’s left of the soles of his shoes. The zip ties didn’t help, I should have punched holes to secure them.

Soon after, I saw Amel lying on the side of the road. Obviously in pain and unable to move. She slipped while tying to cross a muddy portion of the trail. I checked her out and was glad she didn’t break any bones. She must have sprained her ankle though and I knew this was the end of the road for Mike and Amel. We stopped and gave Amel my climbing stick along with my headlamp. I made a decision to accompany them back to Camp 2. I told Joel to continue on with the trek with the guide.

We turned around and headed back to Camp. We were moving slowly, careful not to cause any more injuries. There was one point going down when Mike fell down along the side of the trail, I kept thinking on how he’ll manage to go down later that day. We reached the camp and headed towards our tarp.

I made an effort to fix it since it got knocked down by the wind earlier that night. Mike made some Miso soup while Amel when back to their tent to attend to her sprained ankle.

We had nothing to do but wait for the team to go back. I didn’t want to sleep because there might be an emergency of some sort. I stayed out until I saw Bunny. He approached us and had some interesting news about the climb up the peak.


Malapit na, malapit na

I wasn’t there but I’m sure these pictures will tell you what happened.


Group shot sa summit.


Dagups sa summit.




Uy Masuy, frozen sa summit.


Ryan, malamig ba?

After a few minutes all the team members have been accounted for, now it’s time to have breakfast and to break camp. I still hoping to see a little view of the summit from the camp, I guess a consolation prize of some sort but I knew it was not going to happen…not this time at least. I needed to start packing so I could get a head start but unfortunately for me I needed to wait for everyone to finish eating so I could pack my Trangia Stove. I also needed to wait for Randell to finish so I could pack the tent. At this point I was beginning to be come restless, all I could do was wait and hope it doesn’t rain.

Before I knew it I was the last person packing, I was in a panic mode since I didn’t want to the cause of delay. The guides were very helpful in fixing some of the stuff but to tell you honestly, I was a bit apprehensive since I might forget something, mahirap bumalik sa Pulag mag-isa. After a few minutes of “barubal packing” I was done. I looked at the summit (or at least the general direction of the peak) and said goodbye.

I won’t be seeing this mountain for a while but I vowed to be back, hopefully with the same group of friends.

We started our trek down in a leisurely pace, this time we could take our time going back to the Ranger Station below. It’s strange how you pass by the same road and see it differently coming from another direction. I saw some interesting views as we headed down the trail, stopping at times to take some pictures.


The road is long...

The narrow trail quickly gave way to a wider road, we were getting near and at this point I made a choice to make a dash for it, well dash is an exaggeration for a 37 year old hehe…basta humataw ako as best as I could. So fast at one point I went back in time, I was 21 again! I felt like I was climbing Pulag for the first time, back in the day when climbing was all it ever cared about. I could feel the wind rushing to greet me as I navigated the trail, my heart was raising with every step. It was a rush and I enjoyed every minute of it but like ice cream you can’t enjoy it forever. Soon I was tired and went back to walking, napagod na si Daddy Pusa.


Don't try this at home

I was trekking along the trail when I saw some familiar tracks along the trail – Nike Shox. Si Amel yun, sila siguro nasa unahan namin. A few minutes passed and I saw her with Mike, it was good to know that her sprain did not hamper her walking. Mike on the other hand was also doing ok, Chef Eugene’s sandals did the trick, matibay ang Manjaru sandals! My group quickly gained ground on us and soon we were together again as we headed back to the station just a few minutes away.

“Deboto”

One thing about climbing with the Timawa Gang we always find time to goof around, to make find humor in everything. I guess this is why we click, we don’t take things seriously as much as we needed to. It’s one way of coping and over the years we have tons of stories to tell all making fun of disastrous situations.

After a quick lunch we were started to load our gear for the ride back to Baguio. Bobby Acosta was there to meet up with Bunny, they were going down a different route on foot for another 2 days via the Nueva Viscaya route. Wala ng nagawa si Joy and admitted that this was Bunny’s “calling”.

“Cool Change”

At this point, our climb was over. It was a good climb despite the nasty weather, my old climbing buddies are back and hopefully back for good. It was a good cap to a long Christmas break.


Nawala ni Ryan cell niya sa trail, here he is giving the extra battery to Emman.


Oh my Gulay, 5 floors!


The name of the taxi we rode in Baguio.


Let's eat Shref!


Strawberrrrries!


Kainan na!


Look Ma, no meat!


Monkey Man


Nice tree.


Wolverine using his claws to eat the strawberries


I'm glad to see Mike climbing again!


Baguio Market


Hehehe sarap!


Watch this...This is why we climb.

For some it wasn’t what they expected, for me I guess I’ve come to learn one thing when climbing, don’t expect things to always happen as planned, sometimes mother nature has other plans. One thing is for sure, no matter what happens we’ll be back for more. For me, It was fun to be 21 one again..even just for 21 minutes or so.